lso discovered that the enemy were in complete ignorance of
the position of his own army. Next day an intercepted despatch showed
him that he might possibly be able to cut off Soult in an isolated
position at Saldana. Having at last effected a junction with Baird's
corps on the 19th he reached Sahagun on the 21st, and was on the point
of delivering his attack under favourable conditions, though his triumph
must have been short-lived.

His real success was of another order. He had anticipated that Napoleon
would postpone everything to the opportunity of crushing a British army,
and the ultimate object of his march to Sahagun was to draw the French
away from Lisbon and Andalusia. He was not disappointed. Napoleon at
last divined that Moore was not flying in a south-westerly direction,
but carrying out a bold manoeuvre in a north-easterly direction. He
instantly pushed division after division from various quarters by forced
marches upon Moore's reported track, while he himself followed with
desperate efforts across the snow-clad mountains between Madrid and the
Douro. Apprised of his swift advance, and conscious of his own vast
inferiority in numbers, Moore had no choice but to retreat without a
moment's delay upon Benevente and Astorga. He was now sufficiently far
north to prefer to retire upon Galicia rather than upon Portugal. The
retreat began on the 24th and was executed with such rapidity that on
January 1, 1809, Napoleon gave up the pursuit at Astorga, leaving it to
be continued by Soult. Whether he was influenced by intelligence of
fresh armaments on the Danube, or of dangerous plots in Paris, must
remain uncertain, but it is highly probable that he saw little honour to
be won in a laborious chase of a foe who might prove formidable if
brought to bay.

Moore's army, disheartened as it was by the loss of a brilliant chance,
and demoralised as it became under the fatigues and hardships of a most
harassing retreat, never failed to repel attacks on its rear, where
Paget handled the cavalry of the rear-guard with signal ability,
especially in a spirited action near Benevente. In spite of some
excesses, tolerable order was maintained until the British force, still
25,000 strong, reached Astorga, and was joined by some 10,000 Spaniards
under Romana. Thenceforward, all sense of discipline was abandoned by so
many regiments that Moore described the conduct of his whole army as
"infamous beyond belief," though it is certain