While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that a retreat into
Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps to have magazines
established on two of the principal routes to the coast, that a choice
might be left open to him by which to retire when he had accomplished his
main object of diverting the great French wave of invasion from the south.
On the 11th of December the march began, and for the next ten days the
army advanced farther and farther into the country. So far Moore had only
Soult's army opposing his advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible
to strike a heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was convinced
that the British must fall back into Portugal if they had not already
begun to do so, should come up. He had been solemnly assured that he
should be joined by Romana with 14,000 picked men, but that general had
with him but 5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
when the British reached the spot where the junction was to be effected,
he was ashamed to show them, and marched away into Leon.
The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to move along several
lines of route. Sir David Baird's division joined them as they advanced,
and when they reached the Carrion their effective force amounted to 23,583
men, with sixty pieces of artillery.
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