War in the Penins._ book xviii. chap. 3.) The battle of Vitoria was fought on the 21st June, 1813. The weather was rainy, and a thick curtain of vapour overspread both armies till noon. The utter rout which the French sustained was in great part the result of a complication of enormous faults and errors on the part of King Joseph. The basin of Vitoria, into which he poured not only his troops, but his parks, baggage, convoys, stores and encumbrances of every description--is unequally divided by the winding Zadora, and nearly ten miles long by an average breadth of eight miles. The stream which intersects it is narrow, and the banks very steep in parts and uniformly rugged. Here he was utterly exposed, and to the last moment undecided even as to a line of retreat. The line of the Ebro had been admirably turned by Wellington, and of the strength of the country about that river the French were by most judicious movements deprived. Their position was liable to be taken in flank, and this advantage was mercilessly seized. My emotion here was little short of that which I experienced on the plain of Waterloo; for though the contest here was immeasurably more brief, the blow was struck with matchless vigour, and likewise on a noble battle ground. The stress of the action lay about the heights of La Puebla. This important point by which the river was passed and the village of Subijana de Alava having been successively carried by the allies, as well as the bridges of Tres Puentes, Mendoza, and Arriaga, the French hotly pressed on all sides were forced to retire on Vitoria, when the rout ensued which was one of the most complete in history. “It was the wreck of a nation.” (Napier, _Hist. War in the Penins._ book xx. chap. 8.) An officer who was present well expressed it thus: “The French were beaten before the town, and in the town, and through the town, and out of the town, and behind the town, and all round about the town;” and Gazan, a French officer’s account was that “they lost all their equipages, all their guns, all their treasure, all their stores, and all their papers, so that no man could prove how much pay was due to him.” From the total wreck even king Joseph with difficulty escaped, a pistol-shot having been fired into his carriage. “The trophies were innumerable,” (Napier, _ibid._) The spoils resembled those of an Oriental rather than an European army; for Joseph had all his luxuries and treasures with him. Five millions and a half of dollars were stated by the French accounts to have been in the money-chests. Our troops had abundant spoil, for “not one dollar,” says Napier, “came to the public.” A profusion was found of the choicest wines and delicacies, the baggage was rifled, and our soldiers attired themselves in the gala dresses of the enemy. Marshal Jourdan’s bâton was taken by the 87th regiment. “The Duke”’s despatch is excellent.