Because of this minor victory, the Allies were able to secure a crossing over the Bidouze River during this clash from the final stages of the Peninsular War.

In the Battle of the Nive on 9–13 December 1813, Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult's army failed to drive Wellington's forces away from Bayonne.

After the Nive, bad weather imposed a 2-month pause in military operations, during which time the French confined the Allied forces to an area south and west of the fortresses of Bayonne and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

To break out of the region, Wellington launched an offensive toward the east in February, pressing back Soult's left wing.

[2] Heavy rains began soon after the fighting stopped, rendering the roads impassable and washing away the Allies' temporary bridges across the Nive.

The Coalition allies begged the British commander to continue his campaign but Wellington politely declined to mount an offensive when the weather was so bad.

[4] After the Battle of Nivelle on 10 November 1813, Wellington's Spanish troops had run amok in captured French villages.

Only Pablo Morillo's Spanish division was retained since the men were regularly paid and fed by the British government.

[5] Wellington's policy soon paid off when his soldiers found it unnecessary to guard the roads in his army's rear areas.

[6] In January 1814, Soult's army was reduced by three divisions and one brigade when Napoleon demanded reinforcements to help defend eastern France.

[6] Cavalry outposts covered the gap between Hélette and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which was blockaded by Spanish guerillas under Francisco Espoz y Mina.

[14] On Hill's left was the 25,400-man corps of William Beresford with the 4th, 6th, 7th and Light Divisions plus the cavalry brigades of Vivian and Somerset.

In the face of this threat, Harispe's division at Hélette abandoned the line of the Joyeuse and fell back toward the Bidouze River at Saint-Palais.

Late in the afternoon of 15 February, William Henry Pringle's brigade at the front of Hill's corps,[14] came up to the position but merely skirmished with the French.

As this combat was going on, Morillo's Spanish and Lecor's Portuguese began to envelop the flanks of the outnumbered French division.

[17] The rout so demoralized Harispe's division that their general was unable to rally his soldiers in Saint-Palais and had to retreat west to Domezain-Berraute.

[16] By 18 February, Soult's units were all on the Gave d'Oloron line as Hill probed at Sauveterre and Beresford reconnoitered Hastingues, a French bridgehead on the south bank.

[21] Since the river is 300 yards (274 m) across with a tidal rise of 14 feet (4.3 m), the French never suspected their enemies would attempt it and left no forces to guard the Adour below Bayonne.