Battle of Lleida (1642)

Battle of Lleida
Part of the Catalan Revolt and the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59)
Date 7 October 1642 Location Lleida, Principality of Catalonia Result Franco-Catalan victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France Catalonia	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt	Diego Felipez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés
Strength
9,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry	15,000 infantry 5,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
1,000	2,000–3,000 dead thousands fled, captured or wounded

The Battle of Lleida was a battle fought on October 7, 1642 during the Catalan Revolt.

History

After a series of victories in 1642 the Franco-Catalan army under the command of Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt controlled almost the whole of Catalonia, including Lleida. King Philip IV of Spain ordered Diego Felipez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés to assemble an army from Tarragona and Zaragoza to retake Lleida. La Mothe positioned his smaller army in the Llano de las Forques and defeated the Spanish army. After the victory, the French Army besieged Tortosa, but was forced to withdraw.