The Siege of Tortosa ended on 2 January 1811 when the Spanish garrison surrendered to Louis Gabriel Suchet's III Corps.

During the siege, Marshal Jacques MacDonald's VII Corps blocked the Catalan army of Luis González Torres de Navarra, Marquess of Campoverde from interfering with Suchet's operations.

After reaching Valls, his vanguard commander Francesco Orsatelli (called Eugenio) heard that an enemy force was nearby and determined to attack it.

After Giuseppe Federico Palombini's brigade joined Eugenio's survivors, Sarsfield attacked again and defeated both Italian units.

During the night, the French marshal force-marched his troops north to Montblanc on the road to Llieda, conceding the battlefield to the Spanish.