The plan of operations now occupied his mind. The Somosierra and the Guadarama were both in possession of the enemy, no direct movement could therefore be made towards Madrid; besides, the rear of Baird’s troops was still several marches behind Astorga, and a general movement on the side of the capital could not commence before the 12th of the month. Zaragoza, the general knew, was determined to stand a second siege, and he had the guarantee of the first that it would be an obstinate stand. He had received from the junta of Toledo a formal assurance of their resolution to bury themselves under the ruins of the town sooner than submit; and he was informed from several quarters that the southern provinces were forwarding crowds of fresh levies. Romana at this time also was in correspondence with him, and with the usual exaggeration of a Spaniard, declared his ability to aid him with an army of twenty thousand men. Upon this data sir John Moore formed a plan, bearing the stamp of genuine talent and enterprise, whether it be examined as a political or a military measure. [Sidenote: Appendix, No. 14.] He supposed the French emperor to be more anxious to strike a heavy blow against the English, and to shut them out of Spain, than to overrun any particular province, or get possession of any town in the Peninsula. He resolved, therefore, to throw himself upon the communications of the French army, hoping, if fortune was favourable, to inflict a severe loss upon the troops which guarded them before aid could arrive. If Napoleon, suspending his operations against the south, should detach largely, Madrid would thereby be succoured; if he did not detach largely, the British could hold their ground. Sir John Moore knew well that a great commander would in such a case be more likely to unite his whole army, and fall upon the troops which thus ventured to place themselves on his line of operations. But, to relieve the Spaniards at a critical moment, and to give time for the southern provinces to organise their defence and recover courage, he was willing thus to draw the whole of the enemy upon himself. He felt that in doing so, he compromised the safety of his own army, that he must glide along the edge of a precipice, that he must cross a gulf on a rotten plank; but he also knew the martial qualities of his soldiers, he had confidence in his own genius; and the occasion being worthy of a great deed, he dared essay it even against Napoleon.