The King of Holland, Louis Bonaparte, soon wearied of that throne which he had accepted with regret, abdicated without consulting the Emperor, and immediately took refuge in Germany. Napoleon responded by a decree uniting the Low Countries to France. The Hanseatic cities had met the same fate. The Emperor confided to Massena the command of the French armies in Spain. The old Marshal accepted the task with dissatisfaction, and his lieutenants were still more displeased. Wellington had chosen for his base in Portugal, the fortified lines of Torres Védras, without allowing himself to be turned from his plan by the insults of the enemy or the inconsiderate ardor of his officers, who wished to march at once against the French. The first encounter took place at Alcola, on the 27th of September, 1810, but without brilliant results to either army. Massena saw the impossibility of forcing the English entrenchments, and demanded reinforcements. Napoleon was preparing for the fatal Russian campaign: he was unable to detach even a single army corps; his forces were recruiting, but with difficulty and slowly. Soult refused to aid Massena, who was now reduced to the most extreme distress. "They have but few resources other than pillage," wrote Wellington; "they receive scarcely any money from France, and very few contributions are raised in Spain." On the 4th of March, 1811, Massena began slowly to retreat. On the 10th of May the French had once again evacuated Portugal, and Marmont was ordered to replace Massena at the head of the armies in Spain. The campaigns of 1810 and 1811 had this sad result for the French: their victories were scarcely sufficient to preserve past conquests, while the national resistance lost none of its desperation; and at the same time Wellington had not been compelled to yield a single foot of ground in the Peninsula. In the West Indies the Isle of France had fallen into the hands of the English. {435} The campaign of 1812 was to be still more active and more fatal to France. Before Napoleon entered Russia, during the month of January, Wellington quitted his intrenchments and boldly took the offensive. On the 19th he recaptured Ciudad-Rodrigo, but recently taken under his very eyes, by the troops of Massena. On the 7th of April, he wrested from Marshal Soult his conquest of Badajoz, and on the 22nd of July, he defeated Marmont at the battle of Arapiles before Salamanca, where the Marshal was so grievously wounded that he was believed to be dying. On the 14th of August the English entered Madrid, without, however being able to remain there long. After having failed before Burgos, the English forces concentrated themselves near Salamanca. When the three French armies united themselves to pursue and crush him, Wellington was out of reach, and secured his retreat upon Ciudad-Rodrigo without difficulty.