Soon after, still hovering near the French, and threatening them, he advanced to the position of St. Hilario; and on St. Cyr preparing to storm the post called Calvary, Blake, from the 20th to the 25th of September, 1809, made movements as if he meant to force the blockade; but being incapable of doing so, his whole object was merely to introduce another convoy; and, watching an opportunity, while drawing the attention of St. Cyr towards the heights of San Sadurnia, on which he had posted a column, he sent 10,000 men under Wimphen towards Gerona. O'Donnel led the vanguard. A dreadful conflict took place on Wimphen's attempting to force the French lines. He was defeated; and in the twilight Blake failed to succour him; but Henry O'Donnel, another gallant Irish soldier of fortune, succeeded in hewing a passage into Gerona with 1000 men and 200 laden mules. Irritated by Blake's second attempt to succour Gerona, St. Cyr marched a column to menace his communication with the citadel of Hostalric, a depôt of magazines on the Tordera. On this he was forced to retreat, leaving to its fate the noble little city of Gerona, which, as its heroic captain, General Alvarez, said, "if not succoured again by all Catalonia, will soon be but a heap of carcases and ruins."
Again, on the 29th October, we find the unwearied Blake hovering on the heights of Brunola, watching the siege of Gerona, and while he was thus occupied, Hostalric was stormed by the French, and 2000 Spaniards, with all his magazines, were taken therein. On the 10th November Gerona capitulated, and Alvarez, its brave and veteran governor, died of a broken heart at Figueras, when on the march towards France, a prisoner of war. Blake now retired to Tarragona, leaving the remains of his army under Henry O'Donnel, who drove Marshal Augereau into Gerona, and received command of the troops at Vich, on Blake being called into Andalusia.
In May the seaport of Tarragona was besieged, taken, and sacked by Suchet, in a manner discreditable alike to his talents as a soldier and his humanity as a man. During the horrors of that affair, which covered the French with infamy, Blake was in Valencia, having sailed for that province on the 16th of May, in search for succour; but Tarragona was lost, and then he assumed command of the Murcian army, which was 22,000 strong, and had remained inactive ever since General O'Mahy's appointment. In June, 1811, the firmness and activity of Wellington formed a strong contrast to the wavering and indolent demeanour of the Spanish generals, until Blake marched to Condado de Niebla, on concerting a movement down the right bank of the Guadiana with the British general, who delivered to him the pontoons lately used at Badajoz. He marched on the 18th, crossed the Guadiana on the 22nd, at the ancient town of Mertola, where the stream first becomes navigable: but halted at Castillegos on the 30th, and sent his siege train to Ayamonte by water. Then, instead of moving his whole force directly on the great city of Seville, he sent only a small column of cavalry, under the gallant Conde de Penne Villamur, in that direction; and, unfortunately, consumed two entire days in besieging the castle of Niebla--a small fortress, which gave the title of count to the eldest son of the Duke of Medina, and was garrisoned by 300 Swiss, who had deserted from the Spanish army at the commencement of the war, and whom he was most anxious to capture and punish. The absence of his siege train rendered the attack futile; and Soult, on hearing of it, sent a detachment from Monasterio to relieve the Swiss, who defended themselves with great valour, while General Conraux crossed the mountains by the Aracena road, to cut off all communication between Blake and his artillery at Ayamonte. Thus he was compelled to abandon the siege, and by a precipitate march reach a pontoon bridge which was thrown across the stream for him by Colonel Austin at San Lucar de Guadiana, from whence he took shelter in Portugal.