Meanwhile, on the Allied left flank, the French 3/36eme Ligne charged the 3/1st Foot and forced them to fall back. The cavalry melee between the 22eme Dragoons and the 7th Hussars was also resolved, also resulting in a fallback, which led to the entire brigade's morale failing and the remaining units then falling back as well.
At this point, Moore had had enough. Although the Merle's Division and Franceschi's cavalry had been roughly handled, the French right flank was unbroken and Soult's Corps remained in control of Carrion. Under the cover of his reserves, he was able to extricate his army and deftly made his way back to Benevente where Napoleon finally caught up with him.
Casualties for the battle were as follows:
French
1st Division
-1980 infantry
-45 gunners
-3 guns dismounted
2nd Division
-360 infantry
Franceschi's Cavalry Division
-routed with heavy casualties
TOTAL
-2340 infantry
-1500 cavalry
-135 artillery
-Total = 3985
Allies
1st Division
-2280 infantry
2nd Division
-2160 infantry
Cavalry Division
-600 cavalry
Spanish Division
-300 infantry
TOTAL
-4740 infantry
-600 cavalry
-Total = 5340
This was a much closer battle than may have been portrayed in the posts. At their zenith, the British had captured half of Carrion and were threatening to crush the French right flank. Only the critical arrival of Lorge's Dragoon Division and some inopportune morale failures saved Soult from a terrible defeat. I look forward to running future "what-if" battles based upon real campaigns.
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