[Sidenote: Appendix, No. II. Section 1.] From the 10th to the 13th he halted at Dos Barrios, and informed his government of Sebastiani’s stubborn resistance, and of the doubts which now for the first time assailed his own mind. It was then the Junta changing their plans, eagerly demanded the assistance of the British army, and commanded the dukes of Albuquerque and Del Parque to unite at Talavera. Albuquerque commenced his movement immediately, and the Junta did not hesitate to assure both their generals and the public, that sir Arthur was also coming on. Thus encouraged, and having had time to recover from his first incertitude, Areizaga on the 14th, made a flank march by his right to Santa Cruz la Zarza, intending to cross the Tagus at Villa Maurique, turn the French left, and penetrate to the capital by the eastern side; but during his delay at Dos Barrios the French forces had been concentrated from every quarter. [Sidenote: S. Journal of Operations. MSS.] South of Ocaña, the ground is open and undulating, but on the north, the ramifications of the Cuença mountains, leading down the left bank of the Tagus, presented, at Santa Cruz, ridges which stretching strong and rough towards Aranjuez, afforded good positions for Sebastiani to cover that place. Soult was awake to his adversary’s projects, yet could not believe that he would dare such a movement unless certain of support from the British army; and therefore kept the different corps quiet on the eleventh, waiting for Heudelet’s report from Oropesa. In the night it arrived, stating that rumours of a combined Spanish and English army being on the march, were rife, but that the scouts could not discover that the allied force was actually within several marches. Soult, now judging that although the rumours should be true, his central position would enable him to defeat Areizaga and return by the way of Toledo in time to meet the allies in the valley of the Tagus, put all his masses again into activity. The first corps was directed to hasten its march to Aranjuez; the fifth corps to concentrate at Toledo; the second corps to abandon Oropesa, Calzada and Arzobispo, and replacing the fifth corps at Talavera, to be in readiness to close upon the main body of the army. Finally, information being received of the duke Del Parque’s retreat from Salamanca to Bejar and of the re-occupation of Salamanca by the sixth corps, Dessolle’s division was recalled to Madrid.