The battlefield was just southeast of the town of Medellín, roughly 300 km southwest of Madrid. The Guadiana River ran along a west-east axis in the northern edge of the battlefield, joined with the Hortiga River, which ran along a north–south axis that precluded any Spanish flanking maneuvers on the French right. Victor had roughly 17,500 troops while Cuesta possessed about 23,000. However, Victor had a 50-30 advantage in guns and could also count on more cavalry than the Spanish, 4,500 to 3,000.