British right. At noon Picton was directed to force the passage of the river and carry the heights in the centre, a manœuvre which was so rapidly executed that he was in possession of the commanding ground before the enemy were aware of his design. They soon attempted, with greatly superior numbers, to dislodge him, and with some success, as his right flank was not covered by any other troops. The check, however, was only temporary, and as soon as troops arrived to protect his exposed flank, Picton rapidly pushed the enemy from his positions, forced him to abandon his guns, and drove him in confusion beyond the city of Vittoria, until darkness intervened to protect his disorderly flight. The third division was the most severely and permanently engaged of any part of the allied army, and sustained a loss of nearly eighteen hundred men in killed and wounded, which was more than a third of the total loss of the army in this battle. Picton's division then moved slowly towards Pamplona, whence the enemy retreated over the Pyrenees. He was soon engaged in the pursuit of another French corps towards Saragossa, and returned to the siege of Pamplona. During these operations his division was on the march for thirty-four days, and for several days along roads up to their knees in mud.
On 24 July Soult concentrated his troops for the relief of Pamplona. The allies occupied a strong position in the passes of the Pyrenees, Picton and the third division being at Olaque in reserve. Soult attacked on the 25th, and succeeded in pushing back the British at several of the passes. The several columns, however, concentrated under Sir Lowry Cole near Lizoain. Picton at once marched his division there, and, being the senior officer on the spot, assumed command. He fell back, and took up a strong position about four miles from Pamplona. On the 27th Wellington arrived from San Sebastian, and fully approved Picton's dispositions. The allied army concentrated at this position, and the attacks of Soult on the 27th and 28th were repulsed. On 30 July the French moved towards the mountains on the right of the river Lanz. Picton crossed the ridge abandoned by the French, and, marching along the Roncesvalles road, successfully turned the enemy's flank, and, after a sharp but short conflict, drove them from their position. Soult retreated, and a short period of inactivity followed. San Sebastian fell on 31 Aug., and Picton was left to cover the blockade of Pamplona.
There being no apparent probability of early operations, Picton went to England on leave of absence, and took his seat in the House of Commons as member for Carmarthen, for which he had been returned at the last election. On 11 Nov. the speaker, in accordance with a resolution of the house, addressed Picton in terms of high encomium; and, in the name and by the command of the commons, delivered their unanimous thanks to him for his great exertions at Vittoria on 21 June, and in repelling the repeated attacks made on the positions of the allied army by the whole French forces under Soult between 25 July and 1 Aug. 1813.
In December Picton again joined the army of the Peninsula. He had, after consulting with Wellington, declined the command of the Catalonian army, and he resumed command of the third division. During his absence in England his division had won fresh laurels. The Bidassoa had been forced, Pamplona had fallen, the Nivelle had been crossed and the allied army had poured down into the plains of France, the battles of the Nivelle and Nive had been fought, and Soult had taken up a strong position round Bayonne. Picton was posted with his division in the vicinity of Hasparren, where the advanced posts of the enemy could be observed. With the exception of an affair on 6 Jan. 1814, in which Picton's division was employed to drive an advance of the French back upon their main body, there was no movement of importance until the middle of February.
Wellington having crossed the Adour and invested Bayonne, Soult withdrew his army towards Orthez, followed by the allied army. Picton and the third division had some fighting at Sauveterre, and succeeded in effecting the passage of the Bédous, the Petit Gave, and the Gave d'Oloron, at points where the enemy did not expect him. On 26 Feb., at four p.m., Picton forded the Gave de Pau, drove in the enemy's advanced posts, and took up a position within four miles of Soult's army, which was concentrated in a strong mountainous position, in front of the town of Orthez, in the Gave de Pau. The other divisions crossed the river during the night, and on the 27th Wellington attacked. Picton directed his division against the centre and left flank of the French, and after several hours' fighting he succeeded in turning the left flank of the enemy, and in forcing his centre back. Soult covered his retreat with large masses of infantry, and fell back for some time in good order, but as he became more pressed towards evening the retreat became a rout.
The allied army, delayed by swollen rivers and demolished bridges, followed Soult slowly towards Toulouse. Picton's division
