of Murcia, Aragon, and Valencia. Granted his wish, he sailed at the end of July with 7,000 infantry and 500 cavalry in the divisions of José Pascual de Zayas y Chacón and Manuel Lardizabal. Landing at Almería on 31 July, Blake marched his troops north toward Baza. This accretion of strength would place Leval's outnumbered force in a truly alarming situation. However, Blake and Zayas hurried off to Valencia where they began to prepare the city to face Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet's army, which hovered to the northeast. Battle On 3 August 1811, Blake's troops joined Freire's army near Baza, so that he had 15,000 foot soldiers and nearly 2,000 horsemen on hand. With Zayas absent, Joseph O'Donnell became the acting commander of his division. At Albuera, Lardizabal's command had included two battalions of the Murcia Line Infantry, and one battalion each of the Campo Mayor, Canarias, and 2nd of Leon Line Infantry Regiments. Zayas' division had consisted of the 2nd and 4th Battalions of the Spanish Guards, the 4th Battalion of the Walloon Guards, the Legion Estranjera, and the Ciudad Real, Irlanda, Patria, and Toledo Line Infantry Regiments. Being superseded by Blake seemed to take away what little initiative that Freire had. Historian Charles Oman wrote that Freire had Leval "absolutely at his mercy" beginning on 3 August. Yet all the Spanish general did was position his army behind a ravine near Gor, which was west of Baza. At the end of July, Soult ordered General of Division Nicolas Godinot to march to Jaén. When he heard that Freire was being reinforced, he left Seville on 3 August to rescue Leval. Soult took four cavalry regiments under General of Division Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg and part of General of Division Nicolas François Conroux's division. After a forced march, the French marshal arrived at Granada on 7 August. Between 3 and 7 August 1811, Freire frittered away his chance to crush Leval. Soult left Granada and reached the Gor ravine on 9 August with 6,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry. The position was so strong that Soult made no attempt to attack, but instead mounted occasional bombardments of the Spanish lines. Earlier, Soult had ordered Godinot to advance from Jaén against La Cuadra's position at Pozo Alcón. Godinot left Baeza on the 7th with at least 4,000 foot soldiers and 600 horsemen. In the face of this advance,