250 SPANIARDS DEFEATED AT ARZOBISBO. CHAP.VII. from the extreme heat of the weather, insufficient nourishment, and the miserable condition of the roads. 1809. August. On the same day, Victor entered Talavera, where he behaved with the utmost humanity and kindness to the wounded British. Joseph, when it was ascertained that Sir Arthur Wellesley had crossed the Tagus, went to Aranjuez. Mortier and Soult marched on Arzobisbo, and Ney on Almaraz, with the view of cutting off the retreat of the Allies. But this object was defeated by the precaution of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had posted the division of General Crawford to prevent the passage of the river. In the meanwhile, Cuesta had followed the British in their retreat to the bridge of Arzobisbo, and leaving the Duke del Albuquerque with two divisions of infantry and one of cavalry to defend it, he withdrew the remainder of his army to Paraleda de Garben. The French, however, having taken post on the opposite side of the river, soon succeeded in discovering a ford by which they crossed, and surprising the Spaniards, drove them at once from the works, with the loss of thirty pieces of cannon. After this, Cuesta with his whole force PROJECT OF SOULT. 251 fell back on Deleytosa, while the British moved CHAP.VII. to Xaraicejo. Frustrated in his hopes of passing the Tagus at Almaraz, which would have placed the allies in a situation of great danger, Soult was desirous of again uniting the corps of Ney and Mortier to his own; and, by a rapid march, to interpose his army between those of Wellesley and Beresford, while two divisions of the corps of Victor should guard the passages of the Tagus from Talavera to Almaraz. Soult then proposed to push on to Abrantes; and having gained possession of that important stronghold, to advance on Lisbon, entertaining little doubt of the immediate submission of the capital. This plan, however, did not meet the approbation of Jourdan. The corps of Ney was ordered to Salamanca, in the neighbourhood of which the Spaniards, under the Duke del Parque, were actively engaged in the prosecution of a desultory war. Soult himself, was directed to remain at Placentia, and to leave the corps of Mortier to guard the Tagus. Meanwhile, Sir Robert Wilson, who, at Escalona, found himself cut off by the enemy from Arzobisbo, moved rapidly to his right, 1809. August. 252 1809. August. VANEGAS DEFEATED AT ALMONACID. CHAP. VII. crossed the Tietar, and scrambling over the mountains, gained with difficulty the pass of Banos, at the very moment when the corps of Ney was discovered to be approaching on its march from Placentia to the North. Sir Robert Wilson, with his usual enterprize and gallantry, determined to make an effort to defend the pass; but, after a spirited resistance of several hours, the superior numbers of the enemy prevailed, and the Lusitanian legion was dislodged with great slaughter, and its fugitive remnant with difficulty escaped to Castello Branco. On Vanegas, after relinquishing his attempt on Toledo, remained with his army in the neighAug. 5. bourhood of Aranjuez. On the fifth of August, he succeeded in gaining a decided advantage over an advanced division of the enemy learning the retreat of Cuesta, he subsequently fell back to Madrilejos, and opened a communication with that General, who directed him on no account to risk an action, but to remain prepared to combine his movements with those of the allied armies. But between Cuesta and the Supreme Junta there was no unity of purpose; and harassed by SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY FALLS BACK ON BADAJOS. 253 This August. Aug. 11. inconsistent orders, Vanegas was unfortunate- CHAP. VII. ly induced again to advance, and give battle 1809. to the corps of Sebastiani at Almonacid. engagement, though many of the Spanish troops behaved with great gallantry, terminated in the complete defeat of the army of Vanegas. It was driven to the Sierra Morena, with the loss of all its baggage and artillery. With this action terminated the campaign which had been undertaken for the relief of Madrid, and the expulsion of the enemy from the central provinces of Spain. The British army at Xaraicejo, still served as a shield to the southern provinces, and Sir Arthur Wellesley, (whom the gratitude of his country had now ennobled,) considered it of importance to maintain the position he then occupied. But the total failure of supplies rendered this impossible, and about the twentieth of August he fell back through Aug. 20. Merida on Badajos, in the neighbourhood of which he established his army. At this period all operations in concert ceased between the English and Spanish armies. The Supreme Junta complained bitterly of the retreat of the former, which left the road to Se 254 TERMINATION OF THE CAMPAIGN. 1809. August. CHAP. VII. ville and Cadiz open to the enemy, while the Marquis Wellesley, then ambassador in Spain, made strong representations of the privations to which the British army had been exposed, by the inattention and neglect of the authorities. In the correspondence which ensued, it appeared that the measure of retreat had been forced on Lord Wellington, by the absolute impossibility of supporting his army in the ground he occupied ; and that so far from shewing a contemptuous disregard of the wishes of the Junta, it was in compliance with their earnest entreaty that he had retained his army in the neighbourhood of Badajos, notwithstanding the well-known unhealthiness of the situation. By these unpleasant discussions, however, a spirit of temporary estrangement was generated between the nations, and jealousies were excited which could not fail to operate injuriously on the interests of the common cause. Thus ended the campaign. Of its policy we shall say little, because, in truth, little remains to be said. The calculations of the allied Generals appear throughout to have been founded on principles radically vicious, and it seems impossible that any permanent and important benefit could, |