We have been busy burning mills and destroying provisions, but the French cavalry are all over the country, so I was ordered to join you, and aid you to harass the French line of communication, and to do them what damage we could." "There is not much to be done in the way of cutting their communications; at least, there is nothing to be done to the north and east of this place, for Massena brought all his baggage and everything else with him; and cut himself loose, altogether, from his base at Ciudad.

If the people had but carried out Wellington's orders, Massena would have suffered a fearful disaster.

We have learned, from stragglers we have taken, that the fourteen days' provisions with which they marched were altogether exhausted; and that they had been unable to obtain any here.

They would have had to retreat, instantly; but I hear that, in Coimbra alone, there is enough food for their whole army, for at least two months." "But could we not have destroyed it, as we retreated ?" "Of course, we ought to have done so," Trant said; "but from what I hear, the affair was very badly managed.

Instead of the first division that went through burning all the magazines and stores, it was left to Crawford to do so; and he, as usual, stopped so long facing the enemy that, at last, he was regularly chased through Coimbra and, the roads being blocked with carts, his brigade would have been destroyed had the French infantry pushed strongly after him.
"Things are just as bad, in the way of provisions, on the other side of the river.