Battle of the Lines of Elvas

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Battle of the Lines of Elvas
Part of Portuguese Restoration War
Date January 14, 1659 Location Near Elvas, Portugal Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Portugal	Spain
Commanders
António Luís de Meneses, Sancho Manoel de Vilhena	Luis de Haro
Strength
8,000 infantry 2,900 cavalry 7 artillery	14,000 infantry 5,000 cavalry unknown artillery
Casualties and losses
200 killed	12,700 of whom more than 2000 killed

Portuguese Restoration War Montijo – Battle of the Lines of Elvas – Ameixial – Castel Rodrigo – Montes Claros

The Battle of the Lines of Elvas (pronounced [ˈɛɫvɐʃ] in Portuguese), was fought on January 14, 1659, in Elvas, between Spain and Portugal.

[edit] History

In 1658 a Spanish army commanded by D. Luis de Haro, was camped in the frontier of the River Caia, with 14,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and several artillery equipment. The preparation of the siege of the Portuguese city of Elvas took several days, and Portugal expecting the attack had several days to prepare the defence. De Haro distributed his troops in trenches, giving orders to kill everyone that approached the city. The only way the situation could turn in favour of the Portuguese was a hypothetical arrival of a true army. Queen-Mother Luisa de Guzman decided to call for António Luís de Meneses, Count of Cantanhede, and gave him the command of all Portuguese troops in Alentejo. She also transferred to the same theatre of operations Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, who assume the post of "Field-Master". The Spaniards initially bombarded the city, causing panic and huge casualties among the civil population while the black death was causing 300 deaths a day.

Confronted with this situation, the Count of Cantanhede, although having extremely poor logistical conditions, managed to gather an army in Estremoz. He organized recruitments in Viseu and in the Madeira islands and united the garrisons of Borba, Juromenha, Campo Maior, Vila Viçosa, Monforte and Arronches. The army had 8,000 infantry, 2,900 cavalry and seven cannons. The Portuguese plan was to attack the enemy lines in Elvas, by a near village called Murtais. The Portuguese left Estremoz and occupied the hill of Assomada, where they could see the city of Elvas and the enemy lines, in a majestic display.

On January 17, around 8 o'clock in the morning, the Portuguese attacked by Murtais. The victory was undecided in the initial stages, as the Spanish were valiantly defending their lines, but after some time the armies of Cantanhede managed to break the lines, and the Spanish fled.

Spanish casualties were huge. Of the 18,000 men commanded by D. Luis de Haro, only 5,000 infantry and 300 cavalry managed to reach Badajoz

After the success in the battle the Count of Cantanhede received among several honours, the title of Marquis of Marialva on June 11, 1661.