Battle of Alvito (1762)

Battle of Alvito
Part of Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762)
The ruins of Castle of Alvito c. 1900
Date 3 October 1762 Location Alvito, modern day Portugal 39°49′32″N 7°48′01″W Result Anglo–Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Spain France	Portugal Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Marquis of Sarria Count of Aranda	Count of Lippe Earl of Loudoun
Strength
6,000–7,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Minimal
Location within Europe Battle of Alvito (1762) (Portugal)

The Battle of Alvito also known as Clash of Alvito was a military encounter fought on 3 October 1762 during the Fantastic War, between the Franco-Spanish troops of the Count of Aranda, who had invaded Portugal, and those of the Count of Santiago de Beduído , as the latter retreated from Alvito to Sobreira Formosa, supported by the English. The clash took place near the Alvito river in the Catraia Cimeira area, close to the Batarias I Fort.

Battle

In the context of the Seven Years' War, Portugal was invaded by Franco-Spanish forces in 1762, and numerous towns along the Beira border were occupied by forces commanded by the Count of Aranda, among them Castelo Branco. From Castelo Branco, the Count of Aranda decided to cross the Tagus River at Vila Velha de Ródão at the end of September. Upon learning of this, the Count of Lippe ordered the Count of Santiago de Beduído, Lourenço António de Sousa da Silva e Meneses, to withdraw with his detachment and establish themselves in Alvito to block the advance of the invading army on the road from Sarzedas to Sobreira Formosa.

Spanish map of the route between Alvito and Sobreira Formosa, showing the Fort of Alvito

The position occupied by the Count of Santiago with 1000 men, 200 horses and 8 cannons was strong in the front and on the right flank (provided the Portuguese maintained control of the heights of Perdigão, Vila Velha and a small passage of the Ocreza River at its confluence with the Alvito) but weak on the left. Some earthen and stone redoubts were built, but they left large gaps between them along the mountains, which, despite being high and without paths, were accessible to the infantry. On October 2nd, the Count of Lippe was in Alvito in person.

On October 3, the military corps under the command of Field Marshal Count of Sampaio was attacked by a Spanish force under the command of Count de la Torre. A force of about 4,000 men, "positioned itself in the Sarzedas region opposite the Alvito positions, occupied by units of Count de Santiago. Another force of 2,000 to 3,000 men advanced further north, along the Pampilhosa road to the São Simão region, on the road to Oleiros, and which was also garrisoned with a battalion". Count de la Torre attempted to flank the left side of Count de Santiago's position with 600 men.

The clash between the forces occurred on October 3rd, when the Portuguese contingent of the Count of Santiago was retreating from Alvito to Sobreira Formos.

given the repeated warnings received from Castelo Branco that everything was ready for the enemy's entry into the mountains, Marshal Count Lippe marched some regiments from the Mação camp to Cardigas: he ordered Lord Loudoun to advance with four regiments of English infantry ahead of Sobreira Formosa, near the heights of Talhadas, in order to hold back the retreat of our troops through Cortiçada, Cardigas and Mação, a retreat that was becoming very critical, because Count Lippe had decided not to withdraw Count Santiago's troops and dependent posts until very late, for fear that the enemy would not be able to carry them away in their movements

On October 3rd, at daybreak, the Marshal-General withdrew the Count of Santiago's troops from the vicinity of Alvito: the four English regiments remained on the heights of Talhadas until the Portuguese regiments were near Sobreira Formosa and the structures of the Santiago post were demolished. The pickets of the four English regiments (fifty men from each regiment, fifty English dragoons, twenty-four Portuguese), with eight cannons from the English regiments, formed the rearguard. The body of enemy troops encamped at Sarzedas, which had dismantled its tents since dawn, advanced as our troops retreated along the road from Sobreira Formosa, which, after descending from a height, passes through a small space between two high hills close enough together to form a narrow valley. At five o'clock after midday, as our last troops descended from the height they occupied to enter the valley, the enemy advanced rapidly, and their guerrillas fired rifles at nearly fifty horses that brought up the rear. Two battalions simultaneously struggled to occupy the hill to the left of the defile, attacking the pickets covering the left flank, firing several shots in the process. As the enemy also advanced in force and rapidly towards the nearby heights, the Count of Lippe promptly counter-marched the four English regiments that preceded the rearguard to prevent the enemy from seizing the hill, from where they would have greatly troubled us. Concealing for some time the mountain crest this movement of the two battalions, which were ascending to dislodge the pickets from it, they were so astonished by the sudden appearance of the English regiments that, when the first was seen marching rapidly against them, the two enemy battalions descended the mountain again with the greatest haste, to join the bulk of their troops, throwing some artillery volleys upon them. The body of the enemy, which was marching on the heights that we had just abandoned, halted: we continued to occupy the height with a rearguard departure until nightfall and our march was no longer disturbed.

Simão Coelho Torrezão, who participated in the war as a cadet and may have taken part in the events that took place in Talhadas, left an account:

With the forts demolished and the artillery secured, Marshal Count of La Lippe ordered the regiments to join him, and forming a large column of infantry, he made such a swift retreat that the Castilians did not dare to attack him. He ordered two regiments of English infantry and a large part of the cavalry to march from Sovereira Formoza, where they were stationed, and join our column at Campo de Alvito. Upon reaching its front, they would open from the center to the sides and position themselves in our rear. The march of our column continued, halting near the neighboring towns of Sovereira Formoza. The Count of Aranda, General of the enemy army, detached a large group of soldiers, and some infantry companies, to attack our rear, and when they came near the river, they were driven back by the English with such valor that the Castilians had to stop their march. The Count of La Lippe had a large gunpowder store burned and much flour wasted so that the enemy could not take advantage of our ammunition, and he set out to march to the town of Cardigos, and being hurried and at night, an inviolable silence was maintained there.

The withdrawal was carried out successfully, with all means of subsistence in the area that could be used by the enemy having been destroyed. The Franco-Spanish army thus found itself confronted with difficult terrain, a defensive system in excellent condition and the need to bring in essential logistics from Spain for its advance.

See also

• Battle of Vila Velha
• Battle of Valencia de Alcántara
• History of Portugal

Reference

Citations

• Monteiro, Mário; Pereira, André (2008). "O Forte das Batarias sobre a Ribeira do Alvito (Proença-a-Nova): Análise preliminar da intervenção arqueológica" (PDF). AÇAFA On Line (in Portuguese) (1). Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)