A history of the Peninsular War . front ofthe bivouacs of the troops half-way up the hill. Now Suchet had been given a week of warning since Bentinckmade his forward move from Tarragona to Villafranca onSeptember 5th, and this week had enabled him to collect fromvarious quarters an army almost as large as that with which hehad scared away his enemies in August. He got together at thebridge of Molins de Rey, where the main road crosses theLlobregat, the whole of the available infantry of the Army ofAragon, and he had called back Decaen and Severoli, and addedto their force a battalion or two fr
A history of the Peninsular War . front ofthe bivouacs of the troops half-way up the hill. Now Suchet had been given a week of warning since Bentinckmade his forward move from Tarragona to Villafranca onSeptember 5th, and this week had enabled him to collect fromvarious quarters an army almost as large as that with which hehad scared away his enemies in August. He got together at thebridge of Molins de Rey, where the main road crosses theLlobregat, the whole of the available infantry of the Army ofAragon, and he had called back Decaen and Severoli, and addedto their force a battalion or two from the garrison of own column had some 10,000 infantry and 1,500 horse, whileDecaens was somewhat less—7,000 infantry and a squadron ortwo of chasseurs. His intention was to make a sudden descentupon Bentinck, with the two columns converging—he himself1 Peninsular War, vi. pp. 179-80. OATAl HNI A INSET:- THE COUNTRY BETWEEN BARCELONA AND TARRAGONAUMSMLU! lr\ Showing bhe localities oP Benti neks Campaign op i8i3. LaRapita 9~n/^_JJIdecona^_//^^ Molins ue Rey ^BARCELONA Reus Cape Sa/ou ^^deSitjes SCALE 20 50 ,u ENGLISH MILES 1813] SUCHET MARCHES ON ORDAL 101 marching by the high road and bridge of Ordal, while Decaen,crossing the Llobregat higher up, at Martorel, was to sweep theCatalan detachments out of the valley of the Noya, and thenturn in on the flank of the Anglo-Sicilians by the road SanSadurni-Villafranca. His scheme must have been formed beforehe knew that Bentinck had occupied the pass of Ordal, for thiswas only done at noon on the 12th, and the two French columnswere massed and ready, to move at that same moment. ProbablySuchet had intended originally to seize the pass of Ordal himself,and descend on Bentinck at Villafranca. But he informs us inhis dispatch that he received prompt information of the occupa-tion of the defile, and resolved to retake it by surprise. Successwould stop any further advance of the enemy, and might leadto a definite victory,
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