Key Facts
- Date
- 14 April 1814
- Context
- Fought after Napoleon's abdication on 4 April 1814
- Armistice signed
- 17 April 1814
- French commander
- General Pierre Thouvenot
- Allied commander
- Lieutenant General John Hope
Strategic Narrative Overview
Allied forces had secured Bayonne by bridging the Adour estuary in a combined land-sea operation, encircling the city from both north and south. The siege proceeded without urgency on either side. On 14 April 1814, Thouvenot unexpectedly launched a sortie against the besieging Allied lines. French troops achieved initial success in fierce hand-to-hand fighting but were ultimately repulsed with heavy losses on both sides, failing to break the siege or alter the strategic situation.
01 / The Origins
By early 1814 the Peninsular War had turned decisively against France. Allied forces under Wellington had pushed French armies back across the Pyrenees into southern France. The garrison of Bayonne remained besieged by British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops. When news arrived that Napoleon had abdicated on 4 April 1814, both sides were aware the war was effectively over, yet the French garrison under General Pierre Thouvenot remained in place within the fortified city.
03 / The Outcome
The sortie of 14 April did not lift the siege. On 17 April, Marshal Soult signed an armistice with Wellington, formally ending hostilities. Thouvenot refused to comply until Soult personally ordered him to observe the ceasefire. The battle produced casualties for no strategic gain, as the outcome of the war had already been decided by Napoleon's abdication. Bayonne was subsequently surrendered, marking the close of the Peninsular War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Pierre Thouvenot, Jean-de-Dieu Soult.
Side B
1 belligerent
John Hope, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.