Junot designed that Laborde’s and Brennier’s attacks should be simultaneous, but the latter coming unexpectedly upon the ravine before mentioned as protecting the left, got entangled among the rocks and water courses, and Laborde alone engaged Anstruther’s brigade under a heavy and destructive fire of artillery that played on his front and flank, for the eighth brigade being then in the act of mounting the heights where the left was posted, observing the advance of the columns against the centre, halted, and opened a battery on their right flank. Junot, perceiving this failure in his combinations, ordered Loison to support Laborde’s attack with one brigade of his division, and directed general Solignac, with the other, to turn the ravine in which Brennier was entangled, and to fall upon the extremity of the English line. Loison and Laborde formed one grand and two secondary columns of attack; of the latter, the one advanced against Fane’s brigade, while the other endeavoured to penetrate by a road which passed between the ravine and the church on the extreme left of Anstruther; but the principal column, headed by Laborde in person, and preceded by a multitude of light troops, mounted the face of the hill with great fury and loud cries; the English skirmishers were forced in upon the lines in a moment, and the French masses arrived at the summit; but, shattered by a terrible fire of the artillery, and breathless from their exertions, and in this state, first receiving a discharge of musketry from the fiftieth regiment at the distance of half pistol shot, they were vigorously charged in front and flank, and overthrown. At the same time Fane’s brigade repulsed the attack on their side, and colonel Taylor, with the very few horsemen he commanded, passing out by the right, rode fiercely among the confused and retreating troops, and scattered them with great execution. Margaron’s cavalry seeing this, came suddenly down upon Taylor, who was there slain, and the half of his feeble squadron cut to pieces, and Kellerman taking advantage of this check, threw one half of the reserve into a pine wood, that flanked the line of retreat followed by the beaten troops, and with the other endeavoured to renew the attack by the road leading to the church, where the forty-third regiment were engaged in a hot skirmish among some vineyards. The grenadiers coming on at a brisk pace, beat back the advanced companies of the forty-third; but to avoid the artillery that swept their left, they dipped a little into the ravine, and were taken on the other flank by the guns of the eighth and fourth brigades, and at the same time the forty-third rallying in a mass, broke down upon the head of the column at a moment when the narrowness of the way and the discharges of the artillery had somewhat disordered its formation, a short yet desperate fight took place; the enemy were repulsed in disorder, but the regiment suffered very severely.