French
army, and of harmony between its generals, was more felt than ever now
that Napoleon's master-mind was engrossed in retrieving the awful ruin
of the Russian expedition.

Yet Napoleon's instructions to Joseph show that he had fully grasped the
critical nature of the situation. He enjoined Joseph to mass all his
forces round Valladolid, and imperatively directed that at all hazards
the communications with France should be maintained. The Spanish
guerillas had long rendered communications so insecure that couriers
with despatches had to be escorted by bodies of 250 cavalry or 500
infantry; they were now so effectually intercepted that Napoleon's own
despatch reached Joseph more than two months late, by way of Barcelona
and Valencia. Meanwhile, Joseph was openly accusing Soult, in a letter
to his brother, of criminal ambition--a charge to which he laid himself
open before in Portugal--and did not hesitate to add, "the Duke of
Dalmatia or myself must quit Spain". In England, on the contrary,
parties were at last united in the desire to bring the war to a
triumphant end, and parliament grudged neither men nor money to aid
Wellington's plan of campaign. It was, then, under happier auspices than
in former years that he broke up from his cantonments then stationed on
the Coa, a little to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo, and set forward
with 70,000 British and Portuguese troops, besides 20,000 Spaniards, to
drive the French out of Spain. So confident was he of success that, as
Napier relates, he waved his hand in crossing the frontier on May 22,
and exclaimed, "Farewell, Portugal".[50]

[Pageheading: _VITORIA._]

He advanced by the valley of the Douro; then, turning to the north-east,
he compelled the French to evacuate Burgos, and passed the Ebro on June
13. Graham in command of his left wing there joined him, after forcing
his way by immense efforts across the mountains of the Portuguese
frontier. Hill, commanding the right wing of his composite but united
army, was already with him. A depot for his commissariat and a military
hospital were established at Santander, where a British fleet was lying,
and whence he could draw his supplies direct from home. The French army,
under Joseph and Marshal Jourdan, fell back before him by a forced night
march on the 19th and took up its position in front of Vitoria, in the
province of Biscay. Here, on the plain of the river Zadorra, was fought
on the 21st the greatest battle of