Battle of the Lines of Elvas
| Battle of the Lines of Elvas | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Portuguese Restoration War | |||||||
Praça de Elvas sitiada pello Exercito Castelhano e levantamento do Sitio a forçoa das armas porteguesas em. 14.Ja. 1.6.5.9., engraving by Dirk Stoop, c. 1662 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Portugal | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
António Meneses André Ribafria † | Luis de Haro | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
10,500 50 cannons |
15,800 10 cannons | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 898 killed, wounded and captured | 11,200 killed, wounded and captured | ||||||
Location within Portugal Battle of the Lines of Elvas (Spain) Battle of the Lines of Elvas (Mediterranean) | |||||||
The Battle of the Lines of Elvas (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛlvɐʃ]), was fought on 14 January 1659, in Elvas, between Portugal and Spain during the Portuguese Restoration War. It ended in a decisive Portuguese victory achieved by commanders António Meneses and André Ribafria.
The battle took place during the Spanish siege of Elvas under the lead of Luis de Haro; the Portuguese garrison under the leadership of Ribafria was later supported by a field Portuguese army under Meneses, which attacked the Spanish besiegers from the rear while the garrison attacked from the front. Ribafria was the one who reformed the Portuguese cavalry into a formidable force. While skillfully exercising his command, he was killed in this clash. In addition, the Spaniards had very few cannons compared to the Portuguese garrison and field force. Thus, the Spanish army was decisively assaulted from both sides and routed.