It had been nearly two weeks since Madrid had fallen and Napoleon had spent most of the time devoting his energies to drafting his plans for Spain. Some eighty thousand men were camping in an arc round the south and east of the capital and another forty thousand were billeted in Madrid itself. Soon General Junot would be joining them, having marched directly from France the moment his troops had been repatriated by the British navy. Once he had attended to the political situation Napoleon would lead his armies in the next, and final, stage of his conquest of Spain and Portugal.There were only two enemy forces to deal with. A Spanish army concentrated around Seville, and the British army of General Moore, which had emerged from its lair in Portugal to interfere with events in Spain.

As December wore on, the temperature steadily dropped and the nights were cold. The troops camped outside the capital had soon recovered from their march to Madrid and now that they were fed and rested they were keen to complete the campaign and return to France. The inhospitality of the climate, the hostility of the people and the scarcity of food to forage and property to loot had combined to undermine the morale of the French soldiers.They had complained to their officers, who had complained to their commanders, who had reported the mood of their men to imperial headquarters.The Emperor had long since discovered the best medicine for such disgruntlement and immediately gave orders for the army to hold a review in the centre of Madrid. That would serve the double purpose of raising the morale of his army as well as impressing upon the Spanish the might of the army they had dared to oppose.

The review was scheduled for the nineteenth of December and the day was overcast and chilly as the first division marched through the streets of Madrid towards the royal palace, where the Emperor and his staff stood watching on a balcony. With regimental colours raised high and buttons and boots polished to a high gleam, the men let out a lusty cheer that echoed back off the palace walls as they passed the Emperor and snapped their eyes to the right. Napoleon raised his hat to acknowledge them, with a smile. Once the entire division was formed up, he descended from the balcony and began a close inspection of his soldiers, stopping regularly to question individuals, and to award medals and other rewards to those who had been singled out for their courage by their superiors.

It was as he was handing a sword to the captain of the first company to enter Madrid that a staff officer came running up to Berthier and muttered something to him in a low voice. Napoleon was aware of the interruption but continued his congratulations to the captain before he passed on, with a brief gesture to Berthier to accompany him.

‘What is the news?’