Question: why did the spanish fail in their repression of holland

title: Peninsular War
text: With Ney on leave , Jean Gabriel Marchand assumed command of the VI Corps , based at Salamanca . The corps had been forced out of Galicia earlier in 1809 and had been involved in the operations in the aftermath of the Battle of Talavera in July . After hard campaigning and a lack of reinforcements , VI Corps was in a poor condition to fight and Marchand 's talents were not equal to those of Ney . Del Parque advanced from Ciudad Rodrigo in late September with the divisions of La Carrera , Losada , Belveder , and Anglona . Marchand , overconfident and scornful of his Spanish adversaries , advanced on the village of Tamames , 56 kilometres ( 35 mi ) southwest of Salamanca . In the Battle of Tamames on 18 October 1809 , the French suffered an embarrassing defeat . The French lost 1,400 killed and wounded out of 14,000 soldiers and 14 guns . Spanish casualties were 700 out of 21,500 men and 18 cannons . After the battle , Del Parque was joined by Ballesteros ' division , giving him 30,000 troops . As the Spanish advanced , Marchand abandoned Salamanca and Del Parque 's men occupied the city on 25 October .