Background In July 1812, after the Battle of Salamanca, the French had evacuated Madrid, which Wellington's army entered on 12 August 1812. Deploying three divisions to guard its southern approaches, Wellington marched north with the rest of his army to lay siege to the fortress of Burgos, away, but he had miscalculated the enemy's strength, and on 21 October he had to abandon the Siege of Burgos and retreat. By 31 October he had abandoned Madrid too and retreated first to Salamanca then to Ciudad Rodrigo, near the Portuguese frontier, to avoid encirclement by French armies from the north-east and south-east.
Background In July 1812 after the Battle of Salamanca the French had evacuated Madrid which Wellington's army entered on 12 August 1812 Deploying three divisions to guard its southern approaches Wellington marched north with the rest of his army to lay siege to the fortress of Burgos away but he had miscalculated the enemy's strength and on 21 October he had to abandon the Siege of Burgos and retreat By 31 October he had abandoned Madrid too and retreated first to Salamanca then to Ciudad Rodrigo near the Portuguese frontier to avoid encirclement by French armies from the north-east and south-east