The Battle of Atoleiros () took place on 6 April 1384, between a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

force and a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...

from Castile sent by

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. The

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

took place near the population centre of Fronteira in

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

. It was the first major battle of the 1383–1385 Crisis.

Nuno Álvares Pereira D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, O. Carm. (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a Portuguese general of great success who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a mystic ...

had been chosen to protect the frontier in this area, amid fear that a Castilian force could enter Portugal here. He left

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

with 1,000 infantry, adding to the strength of his forces on his way to Atoleiros. The Castilian army consisted of some 5,000 men, mostly cavalry, which was besieging the village of Fronteira. As Pereira approached, the Castilians sent an

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to him, attempting to persuade him to retire. He refused, and the Castilians advanced to meet him, lifting the siege. The Portuguese formed a defensive square. In the short battle that followed, the Castilian

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

was unable to break the Portuguese formation, suffering heavy losses. The Portuguese suffered none, and the Castilians withdrew. The battle of Atoleiros represents the first effective use of “square tactics” on the battleground. This tactic, in which groups of infantry armed with both missile and hand-to-hand weapons defended themselves from all directions, was so successful that it was still in use over 500 years later during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

against mass French cavalry attacks, and during the

Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coup ...

against huge masses of predominantly spear-armed infantry. It was especially effective when the infantry had to fight against strong cavalry.

Notes

References

*Tony Jaques, ''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E'' (2007) *''History of Portugal: Pamphlet Collection'' (197?) {{ISBN, 1-00-128780-0 *Cláudio da Conceição, ''Gabinete historico: Desde 1325 até 1580'' (1818) *José Soares da Sylva, ''Memorias para a historia de Portugal: que comprehendem o governo del rey D. Joaõ o I., do anno de mil etrezentos e oitenta e tres, até o anno de mil e quatrocentos e trinta e tres'' (1731) *José María da Graça Affreizo, ''Compendio de historia de Portugal'' (1885) *Damião António de Lemos Faria e Castro, ''Historia geral de Portugal, e suas conquistas'' (1786) 1384 in Europe Atoleiros 1384 Atoleiros 1384 Atoleiros Atoleiros

See also

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