or crews.

The capitulation of Baylen paralysed for a time the aggressive movements
of France in Spain. Catalonia remained unconquered, even Bessieres
retreated, and Joseph, as we have seen, abandoned Madrid. Happily for
the French, the Spaniards proved quite incapable of following up their
advantages, and though a "supreme junta" was assembled at Aranjuez, it
wasted its time in vain wrangling, and did little or nothing for the
organisation of national defence. Meanwhile, Napoleon was pouring
veteran troops from Germany into the north of Spain, where they repulsed
the Spanish levies in several minor engagements. On October 14 he left
Erfurt, where he had renewed his alliance with the tsar, and reached
Bayonne on November 3. His simple but masterly plan of campaign was
already prepared, and was carried out with the utmost promptitude. On
November 10-11, one of three Spanish armies was crushed at Espinosa; on
the former day another was routed at Gamonal; on the 23rd the third was
utterly dispersed at Tudela. Napoleon himself remained for some days at
Burgos, awaiting the result of these operations; on December 4, after a
feeble resistance, he entered Madrid in triumph, and stayed there
seventeen days, which he employed with marvellous activity in maturing
fresh designs, both civil and military, for securing his power in Spain.

[Pageheading: _ADVANCE OF SIR JOHN MOORE._]

Already, on October 7, Sir John Moore had taken over the command of the
British forces. He probably owed his appointment to George III., who
seems on this occasion to have overruled his foreign and war ministers,
Canning and Castlereagh. In spite of his unwillingness to offer the
appointment to Moore, Castlereagh gave him the most loyal and efficient
support during the whole campaign; and this loyalty to Moore was one of
the reasons for Canning's desire to remove Castlereagh from the war
office, which, as we have seen, led to the famous duel between those two
statesmen. It was at first intended that Moore should co-operate with
the Spanish armies which were then facing the French on the line of the
Ebro. For this purpose he was to have the command of 21,000 troops
already in Portugal and of about 12,000 who were being sent by sea to
Coruna under Sir David Baird. Burrard was to remain in Portugal with
another 10,000. Nothing had been done before Moore was appointed to the
command to provide the troops with their necessary equipment or their
commander wi