Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762)

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Spanish invasion of Portugal
Part of Seven Years' War
Date May 9 - November 24, 1762
Location Northern and Eastern Portugal,
Result Anglo-Portuguese Victory
Belligerents
Portugal
Flag of the United Kingdom Great Britain		 Flag of Spain Spain
Commanders
Count of Lippe
Earl of Loudoun
George Townshend
John Burgoyne		 Marquis of Sarria
Count of Aranda
Strength
10,000 Portuguese
8,000 British		 45,000 Spanish
12,000 French (not in action)
Casualties and losses
low low
v • d • e
Spanish-Portuguese War

1761–1763
v • d • e
Anglo-Spanish War

1761–1763

The Spanish invasion of Portugal was a military campaign as part of the Seven Years' War, between May 9 and November 24, 1762.

Contents

[edit] The Spanish Plan

The original Spanish plan was to take Almeida and then to advance towards the Alentejo and Lisbon. But after the Marquis of Sarria had been appointed commander-in-chief he decided to begin by an attack in the north with Oporto as its aim. This would deal a hard blow to the British, who had large commercial interests in Oporto, and would also be agreeable to Elisabeth of Parma, the Queen Mother, who was still very much a power behind the Spanish throne and wished to spare the position of her daughter Mariana Victoria, the Queen Consort of Portugal. In any case there was no point in antagonising the Portuguese unduly, and if they were not attacked in their capital they might be readier to give in.

[edit] The Spanish attack

In the beginning of May, the Spanish troops from Galicia crossed into Portugal and easily took the undefended towns of Chaves and Bragança and also Miranda do Douro, which was fortified but capitulated at once after an accidental explosion had made a large breach in the walls. They then overran the Trás-os-Montes plateau as far as Torre de Moncorvo, which was also an open town though the Spaniards expected it to be defended, and where they found a large number of guns and munitions.

The attack on Oporto came to a standstill, because the Spanish did not realise the difficulties of the country to be traversed. A further delay was caused by the fact that the main body of Spanish troops at Zamora, intended for Almeida, were held up by the flooded River Esla, a northern tributary of the Douro, which they could not cross until a pontoon-bridge had been laid across it. France also send some 12,000 men, but this force was decimated by disease and never used on the field, because their relations with the Spaniards were difficult. The Marquis of Sarria lost precious time and was replaced by the Count of Aranda by mid August.

[edit] British entry in the War

This delay gave the British the time to bring over five regiments under John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun from Belle-Ile. They arrived in Lisbon in the third week of July. It was decided that the Earl of Loudoun would be second-in-command and that the German Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe would take over the command from the sick Baron Tyrawley.

In mid-August the new Spanish commander-in-chief, Conde de Aranda, crossed the Côa river, occupied Castelo Rodrigo and took the fortress of Almeida on August 25. Lippe had decided he would relieve the pressure on Almeida and Oporto by organizing a counter-attack. A task force under John Burgoyne supported by a sizeable body of Portuguese infantry crossed the Tagus and on August 24 took the Spanish city of Valencia de Alcántara by surprise. They cleared the neighbourhood of the enemy, taking a number of prisoners including a Spanish general and returned with a ransom of a year's taxes paid in corn. This little victory raised Portuguese moral and Burgoyne was given a large diamond and the Spanish Colours captured.

Lippe then organized a defence along the Zêzere river, and spent the summer studying the enemy positions and thinking up counter-measures, directing his troops in many marches and counter-marches.

He prevented the enemy to cross the Tagus at Vila Velha de Ródão, and on October 7 Burgoyne raided the Spanish at Vila-Velha and put out of action a battery of guns which were about to be emplaced, and safely crossed the river again.

By half October the rains had swelled the Zêzere to render it impracticable. In November the enemy attacked two small places, Marvão and Ouguela, but both cities were successfully held.

On November 24 the Count of Aranda informed Lippe that peace preliminaries had been signed, emissaries were exchanged and an armistice agreed.

[edit] Conclusion

The Allies won by adroit marches and counter-marches, so that the enemy, although superior in numbers, were always confronted by defenders in a good position and never dared to risk an all-out attack. There had been few deaths in battle, but many soldiers on both sides had died from sickness.

[edit] Source