and again threatening Talavera. General Cuesta was so alarmed at his
position that he sent word to Sir Arthur he intended to leave Talavera
that evening, and join the British army at Orepesa, in order to assist
it in repelling Soult. Cuesta rejoined Sir Arthur on the next morning,
leaving 1,500 in the hospitals unprotected. Sir Arthur was now placed
between the mountains and the Tagus, with a French army advancing upon
each flank, and with his retreat by the bridge at Almaraz completely
cut off. As, therefore, he could place no confidence in Cuesta and the
Spanish army, and as with 17,000 British forces fatigued and famishing,
he could not hope successfully to fight with two French armies each
about three times stronger than his own, he resolved to retire to
Portugal. One way was happily still left open for him a little below
Talavera, where the Tagus was crossed by the bridge of Arzobispo, and
by this route he retreated. Cuesta followed in his route, halting his
troops at the bridge of Arzobispo, in order that they might be ready
to pass the Tagus at any moment. While here Cuesta was attacked by the
French, and lost nearly 2,000 mon, and the rest only escaped by taking
refuge in the mountains. In the meantime the British army was advancing
unmolested towards the frontiers of Portugal. Sir Arthur had his
head-quarters at Badajoz, close to those frontiers, on the 2nd of
September, and in a day or two a part of his army with the sick and
wounded re-entered that country. About six days after his arrival at
Badajoz, Sir Robert Wilson arrived on the frontier, having successfully
eluded the vigour of Marshal Ney, who was in pursuit of him. The other
corps, which had advanced upon Madrid under General Vinegas, had been
defeated at Alinoracid by General Sebastiani, who drove it back
upon the Sierra Morena and the Andalusian frontier, from which it had
advanced. On the arrival of Sir Arthur Wellesley at Badajoz, the French
armies again separated. Soult with his forces went into cantonments at
Estramadura and Leon, near the borders of Portugal; Joseph Buonaparte,
who accompanied Marshal Mortier in this campaign, returned with that
General to Madrid; while some French moveable columns traversed various
parts of Spain in order to subjugate the country. From this time until
the month of November no events of importance, however, took place in
Spain. A guerilla warfare was carried on in many distant provinces and
districts, and some to