156] ANNUAL REGISTER, iS12. 



loss. The hopes of final success 

 now grew fainter, especially as the 

 French army began to make de- 

 monstrations of a serious design to 

 raise the siege. The army of Por- 

 tugal had been reinforced by fresh 

 troops from France, and by all the 

 disposable part of the army of the 

 North, and was now in formidable 

 strength. On the 13th they had made 

 a recomioissance of the allied out- 

 posts at Monasterio ; and on the ISth 

 they had made an attack in force, 

 and gained possession of the heights 

 commanding that town, whence the 

 outpost had been obliged to retire. 

 They afterwards attempted to drive 

 in other outi)osts, but for the time 

 were repulsed. General Hill now 

 sent intelligence of the enemy's in- 

 tentions on his side to move to- 

 wards the Tagus ; and it was be- 

 come necessary for Lord Welling- 

 ton to be near him, that their two 

 armies might not be insulated and 

 rendered incapable of communica- 

 tion. His lordship therefore found 

 it advisable to take the mortifying 

 step, on the night of tlie 20th, of 

 breaking up the siege, and moving 

 his whole army back to the Douro. 

 He affirms, that he was never very 

 sanguine in his hopes of success in 

 this siege, though the advantage 

 he would have derived from the 

 possession of the place appeared to 

 justify a trial. He probably de- 

 pended upon a coup de main, his 

 artillery being apparently inade- 

 quate to regular operations. The 

 time lost before Burgos was, how- 

 ever, a serious evil, by allowing 

 the enemy to coll 3ct all his force, 

 and was probably decisive of the 

 remainder of the campaign. 



The retreat was at first unper- 

 ceived by the enemy, who did not 

 follow till late on the 22nd, They 



afterwards pressed close on the 

 rear of the allied array, making at- 

 tacks with their cavalry and light 

 troops whenever they had an op- 

 portunity, in which considerable 

 losses were sustained. On the 24th 

 the army took up its ground on 

 the Carrion ; and on the 26th 

 reached Cabecon, where it crossed 

 the Pisuerga. The enemy having 

 found means to pass that river, 

 Lord Wellington broke up from 

 Cabecon, and crossed the Douro on 

 the 29th. Finding that the F'rench 

 were in full march to Tordesilia;., 

 he marched again on the 20tli, and 

 ])Osted his army on the heights be- 

 tween Rueda and that town op- 

 posite to the bridge. He con- 

 tinued in that position on Novem- 

 ber 3rd, the enemy having made no 

 attempt to cross the Douro, along 

 which river their army was ex- 

 tended from Toro to Valladolid. 

 The allied troops were withdrawn 

 from 3Iadrid, having first destroy- 

 ed the fort of La China, and all 

 the stores and guns it contained, 

 which had not been carried away. 

 A body of the enemy entered that 

 capital on November 1. Sir Row- 

 land Hill, who had retired from 

 the 1 agus, and taken post on the 

 Jacama, was directed to quit that 

 position, and march northwards ; 

 and in the beginning of Novem- 

 ber he arrived unmolested on the 

 Adaja. 



The bridge of Toro having been 

 repaired by the enemy sooner than 

 Lord Wellington had expected, he 

 directed Sir Rowland Hill to con- 

 tinue his march upon Alba de 

 Tormes, and on November Cth he 

 himself broke up from his position 

 before Tordesillas, and proceeded 

 for the heights of St. Christoval in 

 front of Salamanca. On the 8tli he 



took 



