Wellington, soldier and statesman, and the revival of the military power of England . ictory had once more abandoned theeagles. After the battles of the Pyrenees, as they havebeen named, Soult took a strong position in front ofBayonne, holding the range of hills along the Ni-velle, a stream parallel to the Nive and the Adour,but keeping possession of St. Jean Pied de adversary, taught by recent experience, en-trenched the passes leading into the mountain rangeand placed his army in a better situation for defence;there were no operations in the field for some British commande
Wellington, soldier and statesman, and the revival of the military power of England . ictory had once more abandoned theeagles. After the battles of the Pyrenees, as they havebeen named, Soult took a strong position in front ofBayonne, holding the range of hills along the Ni-velle, a stream parallel to the Nive and the Adour,but keeping possession of St. Jean Pied de adversary, taught by recent experience, en-trenched the passes leading into the mountain rangeand placed his army in a better situation for defence;there were no operations in the field for some British commander now turned to the siege ofSan Sebastian, which had been for some time an ob-ject of attack; as has been said, it was essential tomaster the place before the borders of France couldbe crossed. San Sebastian was not a great strong-hold in itself, but its position and the peculiaritiesof the ground made it very difficult to besiege andreduce; and it was defended by an able command-ant and a devoted garrison. The fortress stands onan isthmus projecting into the Bay of Biscay ; it is. Fro)ii the Pyrenees to the Garonne. 225 covered to the north by a river called the Urumcea,and to the south by a creek, an inlet of the Bay ; onthe west it is commanded by a steep hill, crownedat this time by an old castle ; the only easy approachto it is by a rising ground from the east. The for-tifications were not imposing ,• but they comprised asuccession of outer and inner works which formed akind of fourfold barrier; the hill and the castle werepoints of vantage; an enemy advancing to assaultthe place would be dangerously exposed to the gar-risons efforts. Two of the outworks were carried onthe 17th of July; but an assault on the breacheswhich had been made on the northern front wassuccessfully repulsed on the 25th, the day whenSoult forced the Pyrenean passes. The siege wasnow suspended for more than three weeks, for asufficient battering train had not arrived from Eng-land ; Graham, who com
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectwelling, bookyear1904
