Battle of the Lines of Elvas

1659 CE.

Shown on the map at 38.891°, -7.177°.

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.

Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Lines of Elvas, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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