he placed them in quarters along the valley of the Mondego. His
head-quarters in January were at Viseu; General Hill being left with
10,000 men, half British and half Portuguese, at Abrantes, in order to
watch Badajoz and protect Lisbon; while Marshal Beresford was stationed
at Thomar. In the meantime the French armies had fully established
themselves in Spain. Cadiz indeed defied the proud enemy, and the
highest junta retired to the island of Leon, while the wild Sierra
Morena carried on a guerilla warfare against the French; but there
was no real army to oppose them, and the country might therefore be
considered for the time being as conquered. Lord Wellington foresaw that
the conquest of this country would lead to the invasion of Portugal; and
he turned his whole attention to the defence of that country. And what
the English general foresaw soon came to pass. The peace with Austria
had enabled Napoleon to send large re-enforcements from Germany into
Spain, audit was rumoured that he himself was coming. By the beginning
of the month of April, Ney, Kellermann, and Loison, with about 60,000
men, were in Old Castile and Leon, threatening the Portuguese frontier
in that direction: as a preliminary step they had captured Astorga, and
had made preparations for the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo. General Meigner
was also at this time on the borders of Spanish Estramadura, menacing
the frontier of Portugal on that side. Subsequently, as Napoleon was now
engaged with his bride of Austria, he sent Massena to take the command
of the forces in Old Castile and Leon, which now assumed the name of
"The army of Portugal," thereby declaring its destination. Massena
arrived at Valladolid about the middle of May; and he not only assumed
the command over the forces of Ney, Kellermann, and Loison, but also
over those of Junot and Drouet, which had recently crossed the Pyrenees
from German. In the whole, Massena had a force of 80,000 men under arms
for the field; but the corps of Drouet, about 18,000 strong, and the
forces of Regnier in Estramadura did not immediately join him in his
expedition into Portugal. As it was, however, Massena had a force
of about 62,000 men when he first put himself in motion against Lord
Wellington. Against these Wellington could only bring about 24,000
British troops, and from 28,000 to 30,000 Portuguese regulars; a part
of which he was compelled to leave south of the Tagus, in order to guard
against any sudden moveme