Resuming their eastward drive, the remaining two Allied corps pushed Soult's army back to Orthez where the French marshal offered battle.

In subsequent operations, Soult decided to abandon the large western port of Bordeaux and fall back east toward Toulouse.

Soult had found the Allied army divided by the Nive River but failed to inflict a damaging defeat.

[6] Wellington's policy paid dividends; his soldiers soon found that guarding the roads in his army's rear areas was no longer required.

Once the French army was pressed sufficiently far to the east, a strong Allied corps would seize a bridgehead over the river Adour to the west of Bayonne and encircle that fortress.

[17] On 15 February, Hill's column defeated Harispe's division in the Battle of Garris and forced the French to abandon Saint-Palais and the line of the river Bidouze.

[18] The 25,400-strong Allied left flank corps under William Beresford began its advance on 16 February, aiming for the village of Bidache.

[19] The French marshal sent Abbé's division to help defend Bayonne, a questionable move which left his army with fewer troops to fight Wellington.

Since Adour is 300 yards (274 m) wide with a tidal rise of 14 feet (4.3 m) below Bayonne, Soult never suspected the Allies would cross there and did not guard the north bank.

[24] He found an apparently unguarded ford about 1,000 yards (914 m) from the bridge and pushed four light companies from John Keane's brigade across.

[22] With his latest position compromised, Soult ordered a retreat to Orthez on the Gave de Pau River.

Since Beresford was already on the same side of the Gave de Pau, the river only protected Soult's position to the east of Orthez.

The brigade finally reached some dead ground where the guns could not hit them, but French skirmishers began picking off the soldiers.

The 1/45th Foot fought its way close to the top of the ridge where Joseph François Fririon's brigade of Foy's division held the ridgeline.

[42] On the left of Brisbane's brigade, the 1/88th Foot had two companies guarding the divisional artillery battery as it began pounding the French line.

[38] While Foy walked behind his front line units, a shrapnel shell burst over his head, driving a bullet into his left shoulder.

These fresh troops fired a volley from close range and advanced with the bayonet, driving the French down the ridge's rear slope.

[43] Pierre André Hercule Berlier's brigade of Foy's division, which was closer to Orthez, fell back after Fririon's retreat exposed its flank.

Seeing a gap open between Rouget and Taupin, Wellington ordered the 52nd Foot to advance from the Roman Camp and drive a wedge into the French defensive line.

The unit's commander John Colborne led his men across some marshy ground and then up the slope toward the Luc knoll, followed by Wellington and his staff.

At some position to the rear, Rouget's division and Paris' brigade joined together and fought a hard battle against the pursuing Allies.

[48] Joined by some newly arrived conscript battalions, Harispe attempted to make a stand at the Motte de Tury heights.

The raw recruits proved to be poor fighting material; Hill's men broke Harispe's line and captured three guns.

[49] Wellington's Spanish liaison officer, Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel, was hit by a spent bullet during the advance.

As Wellington was teasing Álava, he was knocked off his horse when a bullet-sized canister shot struck his sword hilt.

That the cavalry brigades of Fane, Vivian and Somerset did not wreak havoc on the French was due to the terrain, which was criss-crossed with walls and ditches.

Only the 7th Hussars made an effective charge, riding down one battalion of the 115th Line and a French National Guard unit from Harispe's division.

At Sault-de-Navailles, Soult's artillery chief Louis Tirlet set up a 12-gun battery to cover the bridge over the Luy de Béarn.

Villatte and Harispe's infantry and Pierre Soult's cavalry stayed in Sault-de-Navailles until 10:00 pm when they blew up the bridge and joined the retreat.

[58] Wishing to capitalize on Soult's failure to defend Bordeaux, Wellington sent Beresford and the 4th and 7th divisions to seize the seaport.