Marshal Moncey's French Imperial troops failed to take the city by storm and retreated upon Madrid, leaving much of eastern Spain unconquered and beyond the reach of Napoleon.

By the summer of 1808 large parts of Spain had rebelled against the French invaders, but Napoleon believed that he was facing a series of minor insurrections.

Moncey shared Napoleon’s belief that he was facing a local insurrection, and chose to take the quicker mountain route.

The commander of the Spanish force, the Conde de Cervellon, expected Moncey to take the easier route, and so left the mountain passes almost undefended.

Three battalions of regular troops, supported by 7,000 Valencian levies, all under the command of Don José Caro, a naval officer, were defending a position at San Onofre, four miles outside the city.

However, the surrounding area was very flat, and the Spanish were able to flood it, forcing Moncey to concentrate his attack on a limited number of gates on the southern side of the city.

In the event the Spanish moved to defend the mountain passes, believed that the French would return by their original road, and the two armies missed each other again.

Moncey’s failure in front of Valencia was the first indication that the Spanish would prove to be very determined defenders of fortified positions.