While St. Cyr rested at Villa Radoña, Reding pursued his march to St. Coloma de Querault, and having rallied many of Castro’s troops, the aspect of affairs was totally changed; for the defile of San Cristina being forced by Souham, he reached Villa Radoña on the 21st, and, at the same time, all the weakly men, who had been left in charge of the head-quarters at Villa Franca, also arrived. Thus more than two-thirds of the whole French army were concentrated at that town at the moment when the Spanish commander, being joined by the detachment beaten from San Cristina and by the battalion at the abbey, also rallied the greatest part of his forces, at St. Coloma de Querault. Each general could now, by a rapid march, overwhelm his adversary’s right wing; but the troops left by Reding, in the plain of Tarragona, might have retired upon that fortress, while those left by St. Cyr, at Igualada, were without support. Hence, when the latter commander, continuing his movement on Tarragona, reached Valls the 22d, and heard of Reding’s march, he immediately carried Pino’s division to Pla and the pass of Cabra, resolved, if the Spanish general should advance towards Igualada, to follow him with a sharp spur. The 23d the French halted: Souham at Valls to watch the Spanish troops in the plain of Tarragona; Pino’s division at Pla and Cabra, sending, however, detachments to the abbey of Creus and towards Santa Coloma to feel for Reding. In the evening these detachments returned with some prisoners; the one from Creus reported that the abbey was abandoned; the other that the Spanish general was making his way back to Tarragona, by the route of Sarreal and Momblanch. Hereupon St. Cyr, remaining in person with Pino’s division at Pla, pushed his advanced posts on the right to the abbey of San Creus, and in front to the defile of Cabra, designing to encounter the Spaniards, if they returned by either of those roads. Souham’s division took a position in front of Valls, with his left on the Francoli river, his right towards Pla, and his advanced guard at Pixa Moxons, watching for Reding by the road of Momblanch. The 24th the Spanish general, being at St. Coloma, called a council of war, at which colonel Doyle, the British military agent, assisted. One party was for fighting St. Cyr, another for retreating to Lerida, a third for attacking Chabran, at Igualada, a fourth for regaining the plain of Tarragona. There were many opinions, but neither wisdom nor resolution; and finally, Reding, leaving general Wimpfen, with four thousand men, at San Coloma, decided to regain Tarragona, and took the route of Momblanch with ten thousand of his best troops, following the Spanish accounts, but St. Cyr says with fifteen thousand. Reding knew that Valls was occupied, and that the line of march was intercepted, but he imagined the French to be only five or six thousand, for the exact situation and strength of an enemy were particulars that seldom troubled Spanish generals.