Battle of Toulouse (1814)

The Battle of Toulouse took place on April 10, 1814, just four days after Napoleon's surrender of the French Empire to the Sixth Coalition, marking one of the final conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars. Having pushed the demoralised and disintegrating French Imperial armies out of Spain in a difficult campaign the previous autumn, the Allied British-Portuguese and Spanish army under the Duke of Wellington pursued the war into southern France in the spring of 1814.

The city of Toulouse, the regional capital, put up a fierce resistance under the command of Marshal Soult, who defended it tenaciously. One British and two Spanish divisions were badly mauled in bloody fighting on 10 April, with Allied losses exceeding French casualties by 3,000. Marshal Soult retreated from Toulouse, leaving behind 1600 wounded soldiers including three generals.

Wellington's entry on the morning of 12 April was acclaimed by a great number of French Royalists, validating Soult's earlier fears of potential fifth column elements within the city. That afternoon, the official word of Napoleon's abdication and the end of the war reached Wellington. Soult agreed to an armistice on 17 April.

Prelude
Following their successful invasion of France earlier in the year, an allied army of the Sixth Coalition, composed of British, Portuguese and Spanish troops under the supreme command of the Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington, laid siege to the city of Toulouse, one of the few remaining urban centres in France still loyal to Napoleon.

The city of Toulouse was garrisoned by around 42,000 French troops, under the command of Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult, Duke of Dalmatia. Imperial forces across southern France were greatly demoralised by fighting the Anglo-Allied forces in their own country, and were further shaken by news of repeated Coalition victories in northern and eastern France. Allied campaigning had gradually pushed French forces out of Spain during 1813, after endless guerrilla wars which had resulted in more than 300,000 French casualties between 1808 and late 1813. The French suffered greater losses in manpower in southern France, as Napoleon diverted many southern forces to bolster his troops facing the Coalition armies invading northern and eastern France after an allied victory at Leipzig in October 1813.

Orthez
After Soult's defeat by Wellington at the Battle of Orthez in late February 1814, the French Marshal retreated north behind the river Adour to Saint-Sever. Soult was on the horns of a dilemma. He could defend Bordeaux to the north-west or Toulouse to the east, but he could not protect both. The French army would have difficulty obtaining food near Bordeaux and it would place the river Garonne in their rear. Therefore, Soult elected to base himself on Toulouse.

Bordeaux
With Soult moving east, Wellington sent Beresford and two divisions to seize Bordeaux, the third-largest city of France. To make up for this subtraction of strength, the British general called up 8000 Spanish infantry and the British heavy cavalry as reinforcements. Fearful that the Spanish would plunder the French countryside and incite a guerrilla war, Wellington put his allies on the British payroll and supply system. Meanwhile, the British-Portuguese-Spanish army pushed the French out of Aire-sur-l'Adour on 2 March in a skirmish. Soult pulled back to Plaisance and Maubourguet, facing west. A ten-day lull followed, during which time Wellington's reinforcements began to arrive.

On 12 March, Beresford captured Bordeaux without resistance. Leaving the 7th Division as a garrison, he rushed back to join Wellington with the 4th Division. Meanwhile, on 17–18 March, in a raid with 100 French cavalrymen, Captain Dauma circled the Allied army's south flank and attacked Saint-Sever where he captured 100 men. At the same time, Wellington launched his offensive, hoping to ensnare Soult's army. By rapidly marching east to Saint-Gaudens and north-east to Toulouse, the French avoided the British flanking columns. Reaching Toulouse, Soult placed his soldiers behind the city's walls and fortifications.

Initial moves
On 4April, Wellington's engineers threw a pontoon bridge across the flooding Garonne north of the French city. After 19,000 Anglo-Allies crossed, the bridge gave way, trapping the men for three days. But Soult failed to take advantage of his opportunity to defeat Wellington's army in detail. On 8April, in a fine charge, the British 18th Hussars under Lieutenant-colonel Sir Henry Murray seized the bridge at Croix d'Orade on the Hers. Meanwhile, on 7April at midnight, the official couriers left Paris with news that Napoleon had abdicated and that the war was over.

French defences
Toulouse lies on the Garonne, which runs into the city from the south-west, then turns and exits to the north-west. Just east of the Garonne, the smaller Hers-Mort (Hers) runs past the city from the south-east to the north-east, forming a narrow corridor. To attack the city from the north, Wellington's main force would have to cross to the east bank of the Garonne, then drive south-east down the corridor between the two rivers.

West of the Garonne lies the fortified suburb of St-Cyprien. Marshall Soult's defensive perimeter was anchored on the Languedoc Canal to the north, with three strategic bridgeheads at Pont Jumeaux (northwest), Pont des Minimes (north) and Pont de Matabiau (north-east). Each bridge was heavily fortified with a robust redoubt, providing a strong defensive anchor. The Heights of Calvinet (also known as Mont Rave) situated east of the city and west of the Hers River, were fortified with multiple redoubts, forming a formidable defensive stronghold. Marshall Soult's forces were deployed strategically across the city. One division held the suburb of St-Cyprien while another defended the canal line. Jean-Pierre Travot's conscripts manned the city walls, and Jean Darmagnac's division stood between the Heights and the canal. The divisions of Jean Isidore Harispe and Eugene-Casimir Vilatte defended the Heights, with Eloi Taupin's division in reserve. Meanwhile, Pierre Soult's cavalry screened the eastern and southern approaches. The battlefield, now urbanized, lies within the modern city of Toulouse.

Battle


Wellington began his attack on Easter Sunday, 10 April. Hoping to divert some of Soult's forces, the British general sent Hill with the 12,600 men of the 2nd Division and Portuguese Division to attack St-Cyprien. The rest of the Anglo-Allied army (36,000) operated east of the Garonne and north of the city. The 3rd Division faced the north-west canal line with the Light Division to the east. Wellington planned to make his major effort against the Heights of Calvinet. Beresford would take the 4th and 6th Divisions and the Hussar brigades down the west bank of the Hers. Once he reached a point east of the city, Beresford would veer west and attack the Heights with the Hussars protecting his south flank. At the same time, Freire would assault the northern end of the Heights with his two Spanish divisions. Two heavy dragoon brigades waited in reserve.

Initial attacks
In the western sector, General Hill's troops successfully pushed back the French outposts, engaging in a relatively minor skirmish that resulted in approximately 80 casualties for his forces. Exceeding his orders, Thomas Picton mounted a full-scale attack on the Pont Jumeaux with his 3rd Division and was repulsed with 400 casualties. Meanwhile, Beresford's men encountered muddy fields and fell behind schedule. Unable to move his artillery, he ordered the cannons to take a position near the northern end of the Heights and open fire. Freire, thinking this was the signal for the combined attack, sent his men to assault the Heights. The Spanish infantry forged uphill and gained a momentary foothold in a road cut, but they were counter-attacked by a cloud of French skirmishers and soon sent fleeing. Covered by the Light Division, the Spanish foot soldiers rallied, then attacked and were defeated a second time.

Taking the heights
At last, Beresford's two Anglo-Portuguese divisions reached their jumping off positions, with the 6th Division leading. A French division counter-attacked, but was easily driven uphill. "A shower of Congreve rockets at very close range threw the French into disorder; Rey's Brigade was routed and this, in turn, caused Gasquet's Brigade to fall back in disorder" The Allied divisions began to advance up the slope. They fought their way to the top of the Heights despite bitter resistance, then paused to drag up some cannon. Swinging to the north, they began rolling up the French defences. Beresford's men captured two redoubts, lost them to a counterattack and finally seized them again after bringing the 4th Division forward. The heights being lost, Soult withdrew his soldiers behind the city's fortifications.

Aftermath
Soult maintained control of Toulouse throughout the day on April 11, but upon observing Allied cavalry advancing along the Toulouse-Carcassonne road, he made the strategic decision to withdraw his forces from the city. At 9 pm that evening, the French withdrew out of Toulouse by the Carcassonne road.

On the morning of 12 April, a delegation of city officials handed over the city to the Allied army. That afternoon, Wellington got news via Bordeaux from Frederick Ponsonby of Napoleon's abdication. A few hours later in the evening, this was confirmed when the official couriers arrived from Paris. Wellington sent them on at once to Soult.

Casualties
The Allied army suffered 4,558 casualties, including 1,900 from Freire's divisions and 1,500 from the 6th Division. Brigade commanders Denis Pack, James Douglas, and Thomas Brisbane were wounded. French casualties numbered 231 officers and 3,005 privates, including Taupin killed.

Armistice
On 13 April, while on his march from Villefranche to Castelnaudary, the Marshal was caught up by the officers from Paris. They were met with a rebuff – Soult declared himself not convinced of the authenticity of their credentials. He stubbornly refused to recognize the provisional government until he had received what he considered conclusive proof of its legitimacy. Upon receiving Soult's refusal to recognize the Provisional Government, Wellington responded on April 14, stating that no armistice would be granted until Soult submitted to the new authority. Wellington's message implied that he suspected Soult of seeking to maintain control over his army for potential Napoleonic machinations. By 15 April, Marshal Suchet at Perpignan had accepted the evidence, placed himself at the disposition of the new government and asked Wellington for an armistice.

The last major action of the war occurred on 14 April at the Battle of Bayonne, when the French commander Thouvenot led a sortie from the besieged city against the Allied lines.

On 17 April, Soult at last received a dispatch from Berthier which formally announced the Emperor's abdication and consequent cessation of hostilities in all quarters. There was nothing more to be done and, the same day, his chief of staff went to Toulouse to sign an armistice, ending the fight in the south. The city was briefly placed under Coalition control during the summer of 1814, with the withdrawal of allied troops in September.

Commentary
Both British and French historians claimed victory in the Battle of Toulouse, with differing perspectives on the outcome. The French argued that they had achieved a strategic success, as Wellington failed to trap and defeat the French army, and Soult's intention was only to delay the British while planning to unite with Marshal Suchet's forces and launch a counterattack. From the French viewpoint, the capture of Toulouse was a hollow triumph, as their army remained intact despite ceding ground, and Wellington's forces suffered significant casualties and depleted their supplies. The British claimed victory because Toulouse ended up in their hands and the French were forced to give up ground. In addition, the British took one gun on the heights and the French abandoned others when they left Toulouse (the taking or loss of guns being often taken by contemporaries as a sign of victory or defeat).