Here,
however, a slight reverse took place. Some companies of the 95th and 60th
Rifles pressed forward three miles farther in pursuit, when they were
suddenly attacked in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not
been that General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance behind,
pressed forward to their assistance, they would have suffered heavily; as
it was they escaped with the loss of two officers and twenty-seven men
killed and wounded. Their rashness, however, led to the discovery that
Laborde's force had taken up a strong position in front of the village of
Rolica, and that he apparently intended to give battle there.
The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French position. It was a very
strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land rising in a valley, affording a
view of the road as far as Obidos. The various points of defence there,
and on the flank, were held by strong parties of the enemy. A mile in the
rear was a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong second line of
defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through a deep defile,
and then mounted over a pass through the range of hills extending from the
sea to the Tagus, and occupying the intermediate ground until close to
Lisbon. Laborde's position was an embarrassing one. If he retired upon
Torres Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be lost, if he
moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct road to Lisbon, while
if he remained at Rolica he had to encounter a force almost three times
his own strength.
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