Giron is
reeling from the fighting of the last three days
He has
held Bargas, and the French have retreated
However he
is concerned that 2nd corps will be surrounded
He orders
them to abandon Bargas and retreat to Toledo
He is also
concerned about his flanks, and particularly Albareal
3rd
corps is reduced to two infantry brigades and corps artillery
They are
in no condition to hold Albareal
If the
town is captured the French could by pass Toledo and invade Andalusia
He sends 1st
corps to support 3rd corps and secure the town
Suchet has
even more pressing problems
The
failure of his attack on Bargas has forced 7th corps to retreat towards
Madrid
This has
left a large gap between 15th and 16th corps
If the
Spanish pursue 7th corps they could take Madrid
He orders 16th
corps to attack Bargas to seal the gap and support 7th corps
When they
reach the town they find it empty as the Spanish have marched south
He could
hold his position until 7th corps have rallied and regrouped
This will
give the initiative to Giron, who might attack and overwhelm
As a
typical French marshal he considers that attack is the best form of defence
He orders 15th
Vistula corps to march south and attack Albareal
In doing
so he hopes to crush the battered 3rd Spanish corps
He will
also open an alternative route to Andalusia
3rd
Spanish corps do much better than expected during the battle of Albareal
They have
only two infantry brigades and corps artillery
But they
hold the full strength 15th Vistula corps at bay for nine moves
By then 1st
Spanish corps have started to arrive, and the town is secure
The
Vistula cavalry were routed charging the Spanish guns
One of
their four brigades also ran away, and a second was shaken
They withdrew under cover of darkness and abandoned their attack on Albareal
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