transport, did not trust his ally to provide these essentials and made general excuses blaming the Spanish for various deficiencies of their government and army. In the event of the retreat the British abandoned nearly all of their baggage and ammunition as well as the artillery captured from the French at Talavera. The Spanish made another attempt to take Madrid, with Wellesley still refusing to participate, and they were ultimately badly defeated at the battle of Ocaña in November 1809. Historian Charles Oman, in volume II of A History of the Peninsular War, calls the Talavera campaign a failure for the Anglo-Spanish allies, placing the blame on various Spanish errors while dismissing much of the criticism of Wellesley and the British, suggesting there was no reason to imagine a concentration of the French forces opposing them. Oman also attributes some of the failure to Wellesley's ignorance of the conditions in Spain at the time. At the start of the campaign Wellington received the promised provisions while both the French and the Spanish were suffering severe shortages of food. He complained more about the failure of the Spanish to provide transport for the provisions than food attributing this to maliciousness on the part of the Spanish, apparently unaware that there was no transport to be had for any army in that area. After this battle Wellesley was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera. Popular culture Talavera is the setting for Sharpe's Eagle, the first book written in Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe" series, and is depicted in the conclusion of the film adaptation of the same name. The flanking manoeuvre by the Light Company is completely fictional as is the South Essex regiment they are attached to. Cavalry is notably absent from the battle, with the hidden ditch used by Sharpe and his men for cover instead. The Monument to the Battle of Talavera, a war memorial located in Talavera de la Reina, was inaugurated on 2 October 1990. Notes References Holmes, Richard. (2003). Wellington: The Iron Duke, HarperCollins: New Ed edition Leslie, John H. (1908). 'Some Remarks concerning the Royal Artillery at the Battle of Talavera', Journal of the Royal Artillery, Vol. XXXIV, No. 11 February 1908. Napier, William. History of the war in the Peninsula and the south of France, from the year 1807 to the year 1814 (1873) New York : D. & J. Sadlier. Zimmermann, Dick. (1983). "The Battle of