Burgos. During these important events Suchet and Maitland remained mostly inactive.> After Maitland became ill in September, he was replaced in turn by Generals John Mackenzie, William Henry Clinton, James Campbell, and John Murray, 8th Baronet. The last-named general repulsed Suchet's attack at the Battle of Castalla on 13 April 1813, but the overcautious Murray withdrew after his victory. At the prompting of Wellington, Murray mounted a sea-borne attack in June. In the Siege of Tarragona, Murray's timidity caused him to pass up a chance to conquer the weakly defended port. Fearing relief efforts by Suchet and General of Division David-Maurice-Joseph Mathieu de La Redorte, he ordered a hasty retreat, needlessly abandoning 18 heavy siege cannons. Murray was immediately superseded by Lord Bentinck. Wellington's decisive victory at the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813 made it impossible for Suchet to hold onto the provinces of Valencia and Aragon. Severely harassed by Francisco Espoz y Mina's guerillas, General of Brigade Marie Auguste Paris abandoned Saragossa on 10 July and fled over the Pyrenees to France. Suchet evacuated the city of Valencia on 5 July and deliberately pulled back to Tarragona, leaving several French garrisons in his wake. Largely untroubled by Bentinck, the French marshal dismantled the fortifications of Tarragona and fell back toward Barcelona. Suchet paused in his retreat at Vilafranca at the end of July. After staying there about one month, the French withdrew to the Llobregat River. Cautiously, Bentick moved forward to occupy the abandoned territory, reaching Vilafranca on 5 September. At length, the British general linked with Francisco Copons y Navia so that he controlled 28,000 troops distributed between Tarragona, Vilafranca del Penedès, and Ordal. Battle Holding 10,500 troops at Vilafranca, Bentinck accompanied Frederick Adam's 1,500-man Advanced Guard east to the Ordal Cross heights early on 12 September. This position, which blocked a good road, was well known for its defensive strength. The Spanish army built some field works there, which were largely demolished in 1810. Moving southeast from Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Colonel Torres arrived at the Ordal heights with 2,300 Spanish troops from General Pedro Sarsfield's division. A cavalry patrol was sent east and found no Frenchmen. Before riding back to Vilafranca, Bentinck assured Adam that the position was secure. Adam's unit consisted of the 2nd battalion of the 27th Foot, one rifle company each from De Roll's Swiss Regiment and the 4th Line Infantry Battalion