On 4 June a small British army inflicted a stunning defeat on the French in the Battle of Maida, in Calabria. Hoping to follow up this victory, Pezza and a band of followers landed at Amante, in Calabria, on the 26th. Pezza proved to be the most effective of the many guerrilla leaders who had sprung up in the aftermath of the invasion, and soon attracted considerable local support. The French were soon closely invested at Cosenza. Given time the guerrillas might have taken the city. But Gaeta had fallen to the French on 18 July, after twelve days of heavy bombardment, during which Hesse-Phillipsthal had been gravely wounded. This released some 10,000 French troops, most of whom were promptly sent into Calabria. The various guerrilla leaders unwisely attempted to make a stand at Lauria. There, on 8 August, Marshal André Masséna defeated them, virtually annihilating their forces in a no quarter fight. Although on 14 August, with the support of Sir Sydney's ships, Pezza managed to capture Fort Licosa from the enemy, that very same day the French relieved Cosenza. As by this time enormously superior French forces were on the march, the British decided to withdraw their expedition; this withdrawal arguably prevented the Neapolitan insurgency from developing into an "ulcer" such as the Peninsular War in Spain beginning in 1808.