Orthez 1814 Order of Battle

Last updated August 23, 2019

The Final Charge of the British Cavalry at the Battle of Orthez by Denis Dighton Denis Dighton Battle of Orthez.jpg — *The Final Charge of the British Cavalry at the Battle of Orthez* by Denis Dighton

The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Portuguese Army commanded by Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack a Imperial French army under Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult. Soult's army was posted on a ridge to the north of the town of Orthez in southern France and in the town itself. For over two hours the outnumbered French repulsed repeated Allied assaults on their right flank, forcing Wellington to order a general assault. After a struggle, the Allies overcame the French defenses and Soult was compelled to order a retreat. At first, the French divisions withdrew in good order, but as they approached the bridge over the Luy de Béarn at Sault-de-Navailles, many soldiers began to panic. The next day Soult decided that his army was too demoralized to resist more attacks and continued his retreat. Allied casualties were about 2,200 while the French lost about 4,000 killed, wounded and captured. The battle was fought near the end of the Peninsular War.^[1]

The Battle of Orthez saw the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered French repelled several Allied assaults on their right flank, but their center and left flank were overcome and Soult was compelled to retreat. At first the withdrawal was conducted in good order, but it eventually ended in a scramble for safety and many French soldiers became prisoners. The engagement occurred near the end of the Peninsular War.

The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the Exército Anglo-Luso or the Exército Anglo-Português.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as Prime Minister. He won a notable victory against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Orders of Battle

Allied Army

Marquess Wellington's Army at Orthez^[2]
Corps	Division	Strength	Brigade	Strength	Units	Losses
Field Marshal William Beresford	4th Division Lieutenant General Lowry Cole	5,952	Major General William Anson	1,814	3rd Battalion/27th Infantry Regiment	6
					1st Battalion/40th Infantry Regiment	5
					1st Battalion/48th Line Infantry Regiment	14
			Major General Robert Ross ( WIA )	1,735	1st Battalion/7th Infantry Regiment	68
					1st Battalion/20th Infantry Regiment	123
					1st Battalion/23rd Infantry Regiment	88
			Brigadier General José Vasconcellos	2,385	11th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	148
					23rd Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	122
					7th Caçadores Battalion	25
	7th Division Major General George Townshend Walker	5,643	Lieutenant Colonel John Gardiner	1,865	1st Battalion/6th Infantry Regiment	145
					2nd Battalion/24th Infantry Regiment	35
					2nd Battalion/56th Line Infantry Regiment	31
					Brunswick Oels Infantry Regiment	48
			Major General William Inglis	1,420	51st Infantry Regiment	absent^[3]
					68th Infantry Regiment	31
					1st Battalion/82nd Infantry Regiment	38
					Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment	40
			Colonel John Milley Doyle	2,358	7th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	0
					19th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	0
					2nd Caçadores Battalion	3
Lieutenant General Thomas Picton	3rd Division Lieutenant General Thomas Picton	6,626	Major General Thomas Brisbane	2,491	1st Battalion/45th Infantry Regiment	132
					5th Battalion/60th Infantry Regiment	42
					74th Infantry Regiment	34
					1st Battalion/88th Infantry Regiment	269
			Major General John Keane	2,006	1st Battalion/5th Infantry Regiment	40
					2nd Battalion/83rd Infantry Regiment	58
					2nd Battalion/87th Infantry Regiment	109
					94th Infantry Regiment	15
			Colonel Manley Power	2,129	9th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	49
					21st Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	37
					11th Caçadores Battalion	23
	6th Division Lieutenant General Henry Clinton	5,571	Major General Denis Pack	1,415	1st Battalion/42nd Infantry Regiment	60
					1st Battalion/79th Infantry Regiment	absent^[3]
					1st Battalion/91st Infantry Regiment	12
			Major General John Lambert	2,300	1st Battalion/11th Infantry Regiment	0
					1st Battalion/32nd Infantry Regiment	0
					1st Battalion/36th Infantry Regiment	0
					1st Battalion/61st Infantry Regiment	7
			Colonel James Douglas	1,856	8th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	9
					12th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	5
					9th Caçadores Battalion	10
Lieutenant General Rowland Hill	2nd Division Lieutenant General William Stewart	7,780	Major General Edward Barnes	2,013	1st Battalion/50th Infantry Regiment	14
					1st Battalion/71st Infantry Regiment	12
					1st Battalion/92nd Infantry Regiment	3
			Major General John Byng	1,805	1st Battalion/3rd Infantry Regiment	2
					1st Battalion/57th Infantry Regiment	0
					2nd Battalion/31st Infantry Regiment	2
					1st Battalion/66th Infantry Regiment	0
			Colonel Robert O'Callaghan	1,664	1st Battalion/28th Infantry Regiment	0
					2nd Battalion/34th Infantry Regiment	0
					1st Battalion/39th Infantry Regiment	0
			Colonel Henry Hardinge	1,856	6th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	0
					18th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	0
					6th Caçadores Battalion	0
	Portuguese Division Major General Carlos Frederico Lecor	4,465	Brigadier General Hippolita Da Costa	2,109	2nd Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	3
			Brigadier General Hippolita Da Costa	2,109	14th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	0
			Brigadier General John Buchan	2,356	4th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	1
					10th Port. Infantry Regiment, two battalions	1
					10th Caçadores Battalion	10
Reserve	Light Division Major General Charles Alten ^{[note 1]}	3,480	Major General James Kempt	British total 1,777	1st Battalion/43rd Infantry Regiment	absent^[3]
					1st Battalion/95th Infantry Regiment	absent^[3]
					3rd Battalion/95th Infantry Regiment	0
					3rd Caçadores Battalion	26
			Major General John Ormsby Vandeleur	Port. total 1,703	1st Battalion/52nd Infantry Regiment	89
					2nd Battalion/95th Infantry Regiment	0
					17th Port. Infantry Regiment	0
					1st Caçadores Battalion	47
Cavalry	Cavalry Division Lieutenant General Stapleton Cotton	3,373	Major General Edward Somerset	1,619	7th Hussar Regiment	16
					10th Hussar Regiment	1
					15th Hussar Regiment	9
			Major General Hussey Vivian	989	18th Hussar Regiment	0
			Major General Hussey Vivian	989	1st Hussar Regiment, King's German Legion	0
			Major General Henry Fane	765	13th Light Dragoon Regiment	9
			Major General Henry Fane	765	14th Light Dragoon Regiment	2
Artillery	Not given	1,162 54 guns	Not given	1,162 54 guns	6 British Batteries	28
					1 King's German Legion Battery	0
					1 Portuguese Battery	0
Engineers, etc.	Not given	350	Not given	350	Staff	6
					Engineers	2
					Wagon drivers	0
Total strength and casualties	Allied strength:	44,402	By nationality:	26,798	British	1,645
Total strength and casualties	Allied strength:	44,402	By nationality:	17,604	Portuguese	529

French Army

Marshal Jean de Dieu Soult's Army at Orthez^[4]
Corps	Division	Strength	Losses	Brigade	Units
General of Division Honoré Charles Reille	5th Division General of Brigade Claude Pierre Rouget vice General of Division Jean-Pierre Maransin	3,717	521	General of Brigade Étienne de Barbot	4th Light Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					40th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					50th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
				General of Brigade Claude Pierre Rouget	27th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					34th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					59th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
	4th Division General of Division Eloi Charlemagne Taupin	5,455	591	General of Brigade Jean-Pierre-Antoine Rey	12th Light Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					32nd Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					43rd Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
				General of Brigade Joseph Gasquet	47th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					55th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					58th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
	Detached from Harispe	Not given	448	General of Brigade Marie Auguste Paris^{[note 2]}	10th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					81st Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					115th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
General of Division Jean-Baptiste Drouet, comte d'Erlon	1st Division General of Division Maximilien Sébastien Foy ( WIA )	3,839	349	General of Brigade Joseph François Fririon	6th Light Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					69th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					76th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
				General of Brigade Pierre André Hercule Berlier	36th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					39th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					65th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
	2nd Division General of Division Jean Barthélemy Darmagnac	5,022	566	General of Brigade Louis Jean-Baptiste Leseur	31st Light Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					51st Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					75th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
				General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Pierre Menne	118th Line Infantry Regiment, three battalions
				General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Pierre Menne	120th Line Infantry Regiment, three battalions
General of Division Bertrand Clausel	6th Division General of Division Eugène-Casimir Villatte	4,609	339	General of Brigade Louis Paul Baille de Saint Pol	21st Light Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					86th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					96th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					100th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
				General of Brigade Étienne-François Lamorendière	28th Light Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					103rd Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					119th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions
	8th Division General of Division Jean Isidore Harispe	5,084	834	General of Brigade Guilhem Dauture	9th Light Infantry Regiment, two battalions
					25th Light Infantry Regt., two battalions (at Lescar)^[5]
					34th Light Infantry Regiment, two battalions
				General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Charles Baurot	45th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					115th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
					116th Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion
Cavalry	General of Division Pierre Benoît Soult ^{[note 3]}	2,000^[6]	266	General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Breton	2nd Hussar Regiment (near Pau)^[5]
					13th Chasseurs-à-Cheval Regiment
					21st Chasseurs-à-Cheval Regiment
				General of Brigade Jacques-Laurent Vial	5th Chasseurs-à-Cheval Regiment
					10th Chasseurs-à-Cheval Regiment
					15th Chasseurs-à-Cheval Regiment
					22nd Chasseurs-à-Cheval Regiment (at Pau)^[5]
Artillery	Not given	48 guns^[7]	59	Not given	Not given
Reserve	General of Division Jean-Pierre Travot	7,267 3,750^[6]	Not given	General of Brigade Bernard Pourailly	"New conscript levies"
Reserve	General of Division Jean-Pierre Travot	7,267 3,750^[6]	Not given	General of Brigade Vuillemont (?)	"New conscript levies"
Total strength and casualties		34,993	3,985	6 guns were lost.	Losses include 8 staff officers and 4 sappers.

Notes

Footnotes

↑ Light Division organization is taken from Glover (2001) p. 383. Strength and losses are from Smith.
↑ Smith gave separate casualties for Paris' brigade, but did not list its strength or composition in Smith (1998) pp. 500–501. Paris' units come from Smith (1998) p. 483. They are removed from Baurot's brigade of Harispe, which was credited with seven battalions on p. 500.
↑ French cavalry order of battle is listed under the Battle of Toulouse in Smith (1998) p. 518. For Orthez, Smith listed only seven squadrons from the 15th, 21st and 22nd Chasseurs.

Citations

↑ Glover 2001, pp. 320–323.
↑ Smith 1998, pp. 501–504.
1 2 3 4 Oman 1997, p. 357.
↑ Smith 1998, pp. 500–501.
1 2 3 Oman 1997, p. 354.
1 2 Oman 1997, p. 355.
↑ Gates 2002, p. 455.

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References

Broughton, Tony (2010). "Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 30 December 2016. This is an excellent source for the full names of French generals.
Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-9730-6.
Glover, Michael (2001). The Peninsular War 1807–1814. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-141-39041-7. This source provided the full names of Allied generals.
Oman, Charles (1997) [1930]. A History of the Peninsular War Volume VII. 7. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole. ISBN 1-85367-227-0.
Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.

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Michael Glover (1922–90) served in the British army during the Second World War, after which he joined the British Council and became a professional author. He has written many articles and books on Napoleonic and Victorian warfare.