Battle of Roncevaux Pass

The Battle of Roncevaux Pass (French and English spelling, Roncesvalles in Spanish, Orreaga in Basque) was a battle in 778 in which a large force of Basques ambushed Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain, that took place during Charlemagne's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The Basques' attack was a retaliation caused primarily by Charlemagne's destruction of the city walls of their capital Pamplona. They took the opportunity of attacking the Franks while the latter were crossing the Pyrenees to retreat back to France. The rear guard consisting of notable Frankish lords, was cut off, stood their ground, and was wiped out as Charlemagne evacuated his army. The battle remained the only military defeat suffered by Charlemagne during his reign.