 La Peña had determined not to heed plans from Graham and Admiral Keats to make a cautious advance against the French at Chiclana , and he even refused to send out cavalry scouts to find out what Victor was doing . After remaining entrenched at Bermeja during 5 – 6 March , the Spanish army crossed to the Isla de León the following day , leaving only Beguines 's irregulars on the mainland . This force did manage to briefly secure Medina @-@ Sidonia , but then returned to the Ronda mountains . By 8 March , just three days after the battle , Victor had reoccupied even the evacuated southern section of his lines and the siege was back in place . It would remain so for another eighteen months , until finally being abandoned on 24 August 1812 , when Soult ordered a general French retreat following the Allied victory at Salamanca . 
