Key Facts
- Duration
- 26 June – 31 October 1813 (~4 months)
- French commander
- General of Brigade Louis Pierre Jean Cassan
- Spanish commanders
- O'Donnell, later Carlos de España
- Relief attempt
- Failed at Battle of the Pyrenees, late July 1813
- Cause of capitulation
- Starvation of French garrison
Strategic Narrative Overview
British troops under Wellington initially surrounded the city before handing over blockade duties to Spanish forces under Captain General O'Donnell and later Lieutenant General Carlos de España. In late July 1813, Marshal Soult launched a relief offensive through the Pyrenees, but his effort was repulsed in the Battle of the Pyrenees. The French garrison, cut off from resupply, steadily weakened. Tense capitulation negotiations featured French threats to demolish the fortifications and Spanish threats to massacre the garrison, though neither threat was carried out.
01 / The Origins
Pamplona, a fortified city in the province of Navarre in northern Spain, held an Imperial French garrison as Wellington's Allied forces advanced after the decisive Battle of Vitoria in June 1813. Control of Pamplona was strategically significant as it sat astride communications between France and central Spain. With French power in the Peninsula crumbling, Allied forces moved to seal off remaining French-held strongholds, and Pamplona was encircled beginning 26 June 1813.
03 / The Outcome
General Cassan surrendered Pamplona to the Spanish on 31 October 1813 after his troops were reduced to starvation. The fall of the city removed the last significant French foothold in northern Spain and opened the way for Allied operations across the Pyrenees into southern France. The capitulation marked an effective end to organised French resistance in Navarre and reinforced the broader Allied momentum that would ultimately compel Napoleon's abdication.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Louis Pierre Jean Cassan, Nicolas Soult.
Side B
1 belligerent
Henry (Enrique José) O'Donnell, Carlos de España, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess Wellington.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.