Talavera

The battle opened about 0500 hours (this is the "Alternate Start") with a surprise attack by Marshal Victor's I Corps on the British positions on the Cerro de Medellin. General Hill repulsed this thrust after some brisk fighting. For the remainder of the morning, the Allied armies sat in place while the remainder of the French army marched onto the field. Screening the entrenched Spanish positions with dragoons and infantry skirmishers (except for the divisions on the Allied left, the Spanish army played no real part in the battle), Marshal Jourdan had General Senarmont mass French guns on Cascajal Hill to bombard the Cerro de Medellin. The light French guns did little damage. Then, the French infantry columns surged forward, to be met by the steady lines of British infantry. After much hard fighting, all of the French attacks were repulsed by 1700 hours (the arrival of General Crauford's Light Division at 1800, after an epic march, thus played no part in the battle). Most of the numerous French cavalry was held back during the battle, and this factor eased the task of the hard-pressed British defenders. Despite the French repulse, the imminent arrival of Marshal Soult's corps, the unreliability of the Spanish army, and the heavy British losses forced Wellesley to withdraw to Portugal following the battle. Allied losses, almost all British, came to about 5,400 men, while the butcher's bill for the French topped 7,000.