six o'clock in the
afternoon
Picton and Kempt carried the village of Arinez with the bayonet , Vandeleur captured the village of Margarita , and the 87th Regiment won that of Hermandad . This advance turned the flank of the French troops near Subijana de Alava , and of those on the Puebla mountain , and both fell back in disorder for two miles , until they made a junction with the main body of their army . Still the British troops pressed forward , the French again fell back , and for six miles a running fight of musketry and artillery was kept up , the ground being very broken , and preventing the concerted action of large bodies of troops . At six o'clock in the afternoon the French stood at bay on the last heights before Vittoria , upon which stood the villages of Ali and Armentia . Behind them was the plain upon which the city stood , and beyond the city thousands of carriages , animals , and non-combatants , women , and children , were crowded together in the extremity of terror as the British shots rang menacingly over their heads . The French here defended themselves desperately , and for a while the allied advance was checked by the terrible fire of shot and shell . Then the fourth division with a rush carried a hill on the left , and the French again commenced their retreat .