Battle of Maya

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Maya
partof=the Peninsular War


caption=
date=25 July 1813
place=Maya Pass, Spain
result=French victory
combatant1=flagicon|France French Empire
combatant2=flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
commander1=General d'Erlon
commander2=Lieutenant-General Stewart
strength1=21,000
strength2=7,000
casualties1=2,000 dead or wounded
casualties2=1,347 dead or wounded

The Battle of Maya (25 July 1813) was a battle between French and British forces during the Peninsular War (1808-1814).

Background

After Wellington's decisive defeat of King Joseph at Vitoria, he advanced to capture San Sebastián and Pamplona, the last French outposts on Spanish soil.

While Wellington concentrated his efforts on capturing the strategically important port of San Sebastián, he sent 11,000 men under the Irish-Spanish General O'Donnell to blockade Pamplona. To prevent a French counter-attack over the Pyrenees Wellington positioned General Hill's Corps over a 50 mile (80 km) front, to cover the coastal road and the main passes over the mountains.

The battle

Having rapidly rebuilt and reorganised his forces after their defeat, the French under Marshal Soult launched an attack towards Pamplona through the passes of Maya and Roncesvalles. The French force at Maya consisted of three divisions, with additional units of National Guards, around 21,000 men in all, commanded by d'Erlon. The pass at Maya was defended by units of the British 2nd Division commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart. The pass itself was held by the 1st Brigade (Lieutenant-Colonel John Cameron) and the 3rd Brigade (Brigadier-General Pringle), while the reminder of the division were posted several miles further back.

The French advanced from Urdax at around 10:30. Stewart, having heard the sounds at gunfire from Roncevalles had ridden off earlier to investigate, and so command devolved to Brigadier-General Pringle, who had arrived in Spain only the day before.

Pringle was heavily outnumbered, and despite fierce resistance - particularly from a half battalion of the 1st/92nd, when only 400 Scotsmen held an entire French division at bay for twenty minutes before pulling back, having lost half their strength killed or wounded - and the gradual arrival of the rest of the Division, the British were slowly, but inevitably, pushed back.

At 14:00 Stewart returned and ordered the British to retreat to a better defensive position. An hour later, with the French on the cusp of a decisive victory, the arrival of three battalions (about 1,500 men) from the British 7th Division on the French flank made d'Erlon hesitate. Wary of walking into a trap, he disengaged, and the fighting subsided.

At 20:00 the British, having learned of the defeat at Roncesvalles, were obliged to retreat southwards towards Pamplona.

Aftermath

The Allied forces regrouped and made a stand near the village of Sorauren (see Battle of Sorauren).

Later Wellington admitted that splitting his forces in order to besiege both San Sebastián and Pamplona simultaneously was "one of the greatest faults he ever committed in war".

ources

* Chandler, David, "Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars", Wordsworth Editions, 1999. ISBN 1 84022 203 4
* Longford, Elizabeth, "Wellington: The Years of the Sword", Panther Books Ltd., 1971. ISBN 586 03548 6

External links

* [http://www.peninsularwar.org/maya.htm Battle of Maya at peninsularwar.org]