Battle of Sorauren
Part of Peninsular War
Date July 28 - August 1, 1813 Location Result Anglo-Portuguese victory
Combatants
Britain Spain Portugal	First French Empire
Commanders
Arthur Wellesley	Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Strength
24,000	30,000
Casualties
2,600 dead or wounded	4,000 dead or wounded

The Battle of Sorauren was part of a series of engagements in late July 1813 called the Battle of the Pyrenees in which a combined British and Portuguese force under Sir Arthur Wellesley held off Marshal Soult's French forces attempting to relieve San Sebastian. Combatants Kingdom of Spain, United Kingdom, Kingdom of Portugal French Empire The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence (Guerra de la Independencia Española) was a war in the Iberian Peninsula. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (864 × 576 pixel, file size: 9 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): New Spain First... Image File history File links Flag_Portugal_(1707). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Map of the First French Empire in 1811, with the Empire in dark blue and satellite states in light blue Capital Paris Language(s) French Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1804 - 1814/1815 Napoleon I  - 1814/1815 Napoleon II Legislature Parliament  - Upper house Senate  - Lower house Corps législatif Historical era Napoleonic... Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1 May 1769–14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, widely considered one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century. ... Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, duc de Dalmatie (March 29, 1769 – November 26, 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of France in 1804. ... Combatants Kingdom of Spain, United Kingdom, Kingdom of Portugal French Empire The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence (Guerra de la Independencia Española) was a war in the Iberian Peninsula. ... Combatants Britain Portugal France Commanders Duke of Wellington André Masséna Michel Ney Strength 25,000 British 25,000 Portuguese 65,000 Casualties 1,250 dead or wounded 4,500 dead or wounded The Battle of Buçaco (pron. ... Battle of Fuengirola was one of the battles of the Peninsular War. ... The Battle of Barrosa took place on March 5, 1811 between Anglo-Spanish and French forces as part of the Peninsular war. ... // In the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro (May 3 - 5, 1811) the British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley checked an attempt by French troops under Marshall André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. ... Combatants Spain Portugal Britain France Duchy of Warsaw Commanders William Beresford Joaquin Blake Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult Strength 10,000 British 10,000 Portuguese 13,000 Spanish 38 guns 23,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 40 guns Casualties 5,916 dead or wounded[2] 5,936 dead or wounded... Combatants United Kingdom, Portugal First French Empire Commanders Earl of Wellington General Philippon Strength 25,000 regulars 5,000 regulars Casualties 5,000 dead or wounded 1,500 dead or wounded In the Battle of Badajoz (March 16-April 6, 1812) an Anglo-Portuguese army under Earl of Wellington, besieged... Combatants United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain French Empire Commanders Earl of Wellington Auguste Marmont Strength 51,949[1] 49,647[2] Casualties 5,914 dead or wounded 13,000 dead, wounded, or captured The Battle of Salamanca (July 22, 1812) was an important victory for an Anglo-Portuguese army under Earl... Combatants French Empire United Kingdom Spain Portugal Commanders Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, Joseph Bonaparte Marquess of Wellington Strength 58,000 80,000 Casualties ~5,000 dead or wounded, 3,000 captured[1] ~5,000 dead or wounded[1] In the Battle of Vitoria (June 21, 1813) Wellington and his Portuguese and... Combatants France Britain Portugal Commanders Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult Arthur Wellesley Strength 80,000 60,000 Casualties 1,300 dead and 8,600 wounded 2,700 captured 4,500 dead or wounded A large-scale offensive launched[1] on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Soult from the Pyrenees region... Combatants French Empire Spain Commanders Nicolas Jean Dieu Soult Manuel Freire Strength 18,000–55,000[1] 16,000[2] Casualties 4,000 dead or wounded[3] 2,500 dead or wounded[3] At the Battle of San Marcial, August 31, 1813, the Spanish Army of Galicia under General Freire... Combatants French Empire United Kingdom,  Spain, Portugal Commanders Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington Strength 60,000 80,000 Casualties 4,351 dead or wounded 2,450 dead or wounded The Battle of Nivelle (November 10, 1813) took place in front of the River Nivelle... Combatants French Empire United Kingdom Spain Portugal Commanders Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington Strength 62,000 64,000 Casualties 1,600 1,600 The Battle of the Nive (9-12 December 1813) was a battle towards the end of the Peninsular War (1808-1814). ... The Battle of Orthez was fought on February 27, 1814, between the First French Empire and the forces of the Allies. ... The battle of Toulouse, fought on April 10, 1814, was one of the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars, although its official classification is disputed as the battle occurred four days after Napoleons surrender of the French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants France Britain Portugal Commanders Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult Arthur Wellesley Strength 80,000 60,000 Casualties 1,300 dead and 8,600 wounded 2,700 captured 4,500 dead or wounded A large-scale offensive launched[1] on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Soult from the Pyrenees region... Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. ... Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, duc de Dalmatie (March 29, 1769 – November 26, 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of France in 1804. ... Geography > Europe > Spain > Basque Country > Guipúzcoa San Sebastián with sailboats Statue of Jesus on Urgull Mountain San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) is the capital city of the province of Guipúzcoa, in the Spanish autonomous community of Basque Country. ...

With sizable British forces tied up in assaulting San Sebastion and besieging Pamplona, the new French C-in-C Marshal Soult launched a counterattack through the Pyrenees in three columns. Although the French initially enjoyed local superiority, the tough terrain combined with stubborn British and Portuguese resistance slowed the French advance to a crawl. Pamplona (Basque: Iruñea or Iruña) is the capital city of Navarre, Spain. ...

The main French column, about 30,000 men under Soult was marching to attack Sorauren. On the 27th the heavily outnumbered British forces there were drawn up on a ridge. Wellesley made a dramatic ride along the ridge in front of the cheering British and Portuguese troops and Soult postponed the attack until the next day. By the time the French attack was launched, reinforcements had arrived, bringing the total allied force to about 24,000 men Sorauren is a small village placed near to Pamplona which is sourrounded by The mounts Ezkaba, Lanzador, Txaraka. In this meridional village we can visit the ancient church and the mountains where The Battle of Sorauren took place between Generals Soult and Wellington. ...

The fighting at the top of the ridge was bitter and bloody, but the defenders held the French off. About midday, British reinforcements arrived and Wellington sent them to assault the French right flank. More fresh units reached the field and Soult soon ordered a withdrawal. The French suffered 4,000 casualties, while Wellesley's army lost 2,600 men.

Two smaller battles occurred two days later as the French tried to get between Wellesley's army and the troops surrounding San Sebastian. At Tolosa, General Hill fended one attempt off. A night retreat, again near Sorauren, cost the French 3,500 casualties.

With his momentum lost, Soult withdrew into France to prepare his defences against the imminent British offensive. 10,000 men under the command of General Vandamme were cut off. They were nearly cut off at the first battle of Vera, but the British failure to reinforce the holding force allowed them to escape.