After the failure of Napoleon s attempted takeover of Spain in early 1808, with a crushing defeat at Bail n in July with the surrender of a whole Corps under Dupont, plus defeats also at the sieges of Gerona, Zaragoza and Valencia, the French armies were almost back to their border, the Spanish army on the move, and a British army had landed in Portugal under a new commander, Sir Arthur Wellesley, future Lord Wellington. After the failure of Napoleon s attempted takeover of Spain in early 1808, with a crushing defeat at Bail n in July with the surrender of a whole.