five in the afternoon
Hill attacked the defences of the town on the left bank , while Freyre 's Spaniards , Picton , with the third and light divisions , and Beresford with the fourth and the sixth divisions , assaulted a French position . The entrenchments in front of Picton were too strong to be more than menaced . Freyre 's Spaniards were repulsed with great loss , and the brunt of the battle fell upon Beresford 's division , which nobly sustained the character of the British soldier for stubborn valor in this the last battle of the war . The French fought stubbornly and well , but fort by fort the British drove them from their strong positions , and at five in the afternoon Soult withdrew the last of his troops in good order across the canal which separated the position they had defended from the town itself . The French lost five generals and 3000 killed and wounded ; the allies four generals and 4659 killed and wounded , of which 2000 were Spaniards , for they upon this occasion fought bravely , though unsuccessfully . On the 11th all was quiet , Wellington preparing for an attack upon the city on the following day . Soult , however , finding that the British cavalry had been sent off so as to menace his line of retreat , evacuated the city in the night , drew off his army with great order and ability , and by a march of twenty-two miles placed it in safety .