Battle of Montijo

Battle of Montijo

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Montijo

caption=
partof=Portuguese Restoration War
date=May 26, 1644
place=Near Montijo, Spain
result=Portuguese victory
combatant1=flag|Portugal|1640 and
flagicon|Netherlands|pri Dutch allies
combatant2=flag|Spain|1506
commander1=Matias de Albuquerque
commander2=Baron of Mollingen
Marquis of Torrecusa
strength1=7,000 infantry
1,600 cavalry
6 guns
strength2=4,400 infantry
1,700 cavalry
4 guns
casualties1=~4,000 dead or wounded
casualties2=~900 dead or wounded

The Battle of Montijo, was fought on May 26 1644, in Montijo, Spain between Portuguese and Spanish forces.

Portuguese General Matias de Albuquerque knew the Spanish were commanded by the Marquis of Torrecusa, a renown military tactician and he was willing to affirm his own presence. Although having several difficulties, he managed to gather 6,000 infantry, 1,100 cavalry and 6 cannons, in order to make a "real" battle. He crossed the frontier and attacked Montijo.

Not having encountered the Spanish army he decided to return to the initial point from where he had departed, a better terrain for defending a possible Spanish retaliation. The Spaniards did so, and a split of Torrecusa's army led by the Baron of Mollingen met the Portuguese with an army composed by 6,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry. Albuquerque had disposed his men for defense brilliantly and on May 26 1644 the two armies met.

The first stage of the battle was disastrous for the Portuguese flanks as it was at that point that the Spanish cavalry first attacked, causing many Portuguese infantry to flee, among them around 150 Dutch allies. Led by Mollingen himself, the Spanish cavalry opened a breach in the centre of the Portuguese positions. Albuquerque's horse was killed and he was found fighting on foot by a French officer named Lamorlé (fighting for the Portuguese) who gave him his own horse.

Matias de Albuquerque noticed that their enemy didn't had any reserves, so the hostilities began once again. The Portuguese artillery officer, D. João da Costa, mobilized every battery to shoot the enemy at the same time, not allowing the Spanish forces to regroup. The Baron of Mollingen, retreated until he reached the Guadiana river.

With this victory, Matias de Alburquerque was named conde de Alegrete.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Montijo, Spain — Montijo   City   Spain Square …   Wikipedia

  • Montijo — Montiijo can refer to: Contents 1 Places 1.1 Panama 1.2 Portugal 1.3 Spain 2 See also …   Wikipedia

  • List of battles (geographic) — This list of battles is organized geographically, by country in its present territory. For other lists of battles, see List of battles. Angola* Battle of Mbwila 1665 * Battle of Quifangondo 1975 * Battle of Cassinga 1978 * Battle of Cuito… …   Wikipedia

  • History of Portugal (1578–1777) — History of Portugal caption=The Marquês of PombalThe history of Portugal from the dynastic crisis in 1578 to the end of the reign of the Marquis of Pombal in 1777 is a period of transition. The Portuguese Empire was near its height at the start… …   Wikipedia

  • Iberian Union — is a modern day term that refers to the historical political unit that governed all of the Iberian peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640, as a personal union. [History of Portugal by António Henrique R. de Oliveira Marques 1972, Page 322 …   Wikipedia

  • Portuguese Restoration War — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Portuguese Restoration War partof= caption= , by Francisco Goya (1814) date=1 December, 1640 ndash; 13 February, 1668 place=Portugal result=Portuguese victory; Treaty of Lisbon combatant1=flagicon|Portugal|1640… …   Wikipedia

  • Napoléon, Prince Imperial — This article refers to the son of Napoleon III. For the stepson of Napoleon I, see Eugène de Beauharnais Napoléon Prince Imperial of France Head of the …   Wikipedia

  • Portugal — /pawr cheuh geuhl, pohr /; Port. /pawrdd too gahl /, n. a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 9,867,654; 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Cap.: Lisbon. * * * Portugal… …   Universalium

  • Napoleon III — Louis Napoleon redirects here. For other uses, see Louis Napoleon (disambiguation). Napoleon III 1st President of the French Republic Term 20 December 1848– 2 …   Wikipedia

  • ¿Cuánto Quieres Perder? — Genre game show Country of origin Mexico Production Producer(s) Javier Williams Broadcast …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”