Qualla: Battle of the Bidassoa https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:18 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of the Bidassoa https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa Battle of the Bidassoa: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa/ Photo credit Robert Batty, Public domain. Basque fishermen held the secret that undid Marshal Soult. The Bidassoa estuary, where the river meets the Bay of Biscay between Irun and Hendaye, appeared to be an impregnable barrier - 910 metres wide and six metres deep at high water. The French were so confident in its defensive value that they posted only 4,000 men to guard six kilometres of riverbank. What Soult never suspected was that at certain low tides, the lower fords held barely four feet of water. Allied intelligence, gleaned from local fishermen who knew every sandbar and channel, identified 7 October 1813 as the next suitable tide. Wellington planned the crossing with meticulous care, and at 7:25 that morning, his troops waded into the estuary and onto French soil for the first time in the Peninsular War.

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Image: Robert Batty | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/ezwy-battle-of-the-bidassoa-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of the Bidassoa: The Intelligence That Changed Everything https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa/ Photo credit William Heath, Public domain. Soult faced an impossible geometry. Napoleon's Minister of War had ordered him to defend a position as close to the frontier as possible, which meant holding a 48-kilometre front through the Pyrenees mountains. The terrain was defensible but lateral communications were poor, maki...

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Image: William Heath | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/ezwy-battle-of-the-bidassoa-the-intelligence-that-changed-everything.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of the Bidassoa: Seven Twenty-Five in the Morning https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa/ Photo credit William Heath, Public domain. British engineers had built a turf wall near the lower fords to shelter Andrew Hay's 5th Division before the crossing. Wellington positioned five field batteries and three 18-pound siege cannon to cover the infantry. At 7:25, the 5th Division launched from near Hondarribia into w...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/ezwy-battle-of-the-bidassoa-seven-twenty-five-in-the-morning.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of the Bidassoa: The Fight for La Rhune https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa/ Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. Harrieta171 assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5. The toughest combat occurred in Clausel's central sector around La Rhune, the mountain that anchored the middle of the French line. John Colborne's brigade of the Light Division attacked the La Bayonette redoubt. Initially the French charged downhill and drove back the green-jack...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/ezwy-battle-of-the-bidassoa-the-fight-for-la-rhune.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of the Bidassoa: The First Victory on French Soil https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa/ Photo credit William Heath, Public domain. The allies had achieved something unprecedented in the Peninsular War: victory on French territory. Total French losses across both sectors amounted to roughly 1,650 killed, wounded, and captured, plus seventeen cannon. Allied casualties totaled about 1,600, with the Spanish bear...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/ezwy-battle-of-the-bidassoa-the-first-victory-on-french-soil.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of the Bidassoa: Looters and the Next Act https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-bidassoa/ Photo credit William Heath, Public domain. Victory brought complications. Some allied troops, finding themselves on French soil for the first time, indulged in looting French homes and towns. Wellington punished British soldiers caught plundering harshly, understanding that provoking a guerrilla war on French territory wo...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/y/battle-of-the-bidassoa-wp/ezwy-battle-of-the-bidassoa-looters-and-the-next-act.mp3 0:06 6 full