Suchet heard that a Spanish army commanded by Henry O'Donnell was trying to interfere with the planned operation.

Suchet's total of 23,140 effectives included 4,162 soldiers in garrisons,[3] La Val, Musnier, Habert, and Boussart.

King Joseph Bonaparte was in the process of overrunning Andalusia and believed that the Spanish armies were on the verge of collapse.

Suchet reluctantly obeyed the king's command and his army reached the outskirts of Valencia on 6 March.

Lacking siege artillery and facing a determined set of defenders, the French general retreated after blockading the city for only four days.

Back in his base in Aragon, Suchet spent a few weeks suppressing Spanish guerillas before he was ready to march on Lérida.

After hours of futile searching, the French turned back toward Lérida and bivouacked 3 miles (5 km) from the city on the evening of 22 April.

Harispe managed to contain the numerically superior Spanish column until Musnier's division appeared on the scene.

[8] Having disposed of O'Donnell's relief army, Suchet invested Lérida and demanded the city's surrender but García Conde refused his summons.

Suchet posted Musnier's men and the majority of his cavalry on the east bank to watch for any relief forces.

[10] Showing no moral scruples, Suchet ordered his soldiers to drive the civilian population under the castle's walls.

[10] After the Spanish commander admitted the non-combatants into the citadel, the French began a high-angle bombardment of the castle,[8] using howitzers and mortars.

[10] Horrified at the slaughter as bursting shells struck down soldiers and civilians alike,[8] García Conde asked for terms at noon on 14 May.

[6] The seizure of Lérida was the beginning of a remarkable series of successful sieges by Suchet's apparently invincible army.

[8][11] The Siege of Tortosa ended on 2 January 1811 when General Miguel de Lili, the Count of Alacha, capitulated with 3,974 survivors, 182 guns, and nine colors.

After a climactic assault on 28 June, Lieutenant General Juan Senen de Contreras was captured and his large garrison was annihilated.

The Siege of Valencia ended when Captain General Joaquin Blake y Joyes capitulated with 16,270 men on 9 January 1812.

[17][18] Soon afterward, the fortresses of Dénia and Peniscola submitted to the French, making Suchet the master of the province of Valencia.