Key Facts
- Duration
- 4 months (July–October 1658)
- Portuguese troop attrition
- One-third died or deserted
- Primary cause of Portuguese losses
- Plague
- Previous Portuguese attacks on Badajoz
- 3 prior sieges during the war
- Spanish relief commander
- Don Luis de Haro, Philip IV's favourite
Strategic Narrative Overview
Portuguese forces assaulted Fort San Cristóbal for 22 days without success, then shifted to building a circumvallation around Badajoz. They captured Fort San Miguel but could not exploit it. Meanwhile, plague and desertion devastated their ranks, eliminating roughly one-third of the army. Spanish defenders under the Duke of San Germán held out until a relief army led by Don Luis de Haro arrived in October 1658, forcing the Portuguese to abandon the siege.
01 / The Origins
During the Portuguese Restoration War, Portugal repeatedly targeted Badajoz, headquarters of the Spanish Army of Extremadura. In 1658, Portuguese commander Joanne Mendes de Vasconcelos assembled a large army at Elvas, judging Badajoz's essentially medieval fortifications to be vulnerable. This fourth attempt reflected Portugal's ongoing strategy to strike at the core Spanish military infrastructure in Extremadura and press its claim to independence from the Spanish Crown.
03 / The Outcome
The Portuguese withdrawal exposed their base at Elvas to a Spanish counter-invasion led by Don Luis de Haro, who besieged the city while the plague-stricken Portuguese army sheltered there. A hastily assembled Portuguese relief force defeated the Spanish at the Battle of the Lines of Elvas on 14 January 1659, preserving Portuguese independence. The failed siege's commander, Mendes de Vasconcelos, was stripped of rank and imprisoned.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Joanne Mendes de Vasconcelos.
Side B
1 belligerent
Francisco de Tuttavilla, Duke of San Germán, Don Luis de Haro.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.