Preliminaries
After failing to defeat Wellington in the Battle of the Nive, Soult tried to confine the Anglo-Allied army in the extreme southwest corner of France. On the north side of the allied-occupied area, the French marshal kept a strong garrison in the fortress of Bayonne and held the line of the Adour River to Port-de-Lanne with three divisions. On the east side, Soult strung out four divisions behind the Joyeuse River, with his cavalry forming a cordon as far south as the fortress of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees.
From December 1813 through January 1814, heavy rains brought operations to a standstill. Finally, on February 14, Wellington launched his offensive. On the right flank, Lieutenant General Rowland Hill quickly breached the line of the Joyeuse. The following day, Hill's forces crossed the Bidouze River after winning the Battle of Garris. By now, Wellington's left flank corps, under William Beresford was in motion. Sending the division of Louis Abbé to help defend Bayonne, Soult assembled his remaining six divisions and his reserve behind the Gave d'Oloron River. The weather broke again on February 18, causing another pause in operations.
On February 24, John Hope's corps crossed the Adour to isolate the city of Bayonne on the Bay of Biscay. That day, Wellington quickly manoeuvred the French army out of its position on the Gave d'Oloron. Soult pulled back to Orthez on the Gave de Pau River.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Orthez