Battle of Aljubarrota - Battle

Battle

The initiative of starting the battle was with the Castilian side. The French allied heavy cavalry charged, as they were accustomed to do, in full strength, in order to disrupt order in the enemy lines. Even before they could get into contact with the Portuguese infantry, however, they were already disorganized. Just as at Crécy, the defending archers and crossbowmen, along with the ditches and pits, did most of the work. The losses of the cavalry were heavy and the effect of its attack completely null. Support from the Castilian rear was late to come and the knights that did not perish in the combat were made prisoners and sent to the Portuguese rear.

At this point the main Castilian force entered the battle. Their line was enormous, due to the great number of soldiers. In order to get to the Portuguese line, the Castilians became disorganized, squeezing into the space between the two creeks that protected the flanks; it was not an auspicious start. At this time, the Portuguese reorganized. The vanguard of Nuno Álvares Pereira divided into two sectors. Since the worst was still to come, John of Portugal ordered the archers and crossbowmen to retire, while his rear troops advanced through the space opened between the vanguards. With all his troops needed at the front, there were no men available to guard the knight prisoners; John of Portugal ordered them to be killed on the spot and proceeded to deal with the approaching Castilians.

Advancing uphill with the sun on their backs, squashed between the funnelling Portuguese defensive works and their own advancing rear, and under a heavy rain of English longbowmen's arrows shot from behind the Portuguese line and crossbow quarrels from behind both the Sweethearts' and the Honeysuckle wings on their flanks, the Castilians did their best to win the day. The Castilian knights on the main body were forced to dismount and break in half their unwieldy four metre-long lances in order to join the constricted melèe alongside their infantry. At this stage of the battle, both sides sustained heavy losses, especially on the "Ala dos Namorados" where the Portuguese students became renowned for holding off the heavily armoured knights of the Castilian wings who, still on horseback, attempted to flank the Portuguese lines. A similar attack was more successful on the right "Honeysucle" flank, though only briefly and late in the fight.

By sunset, only one hour after the battle began, the Castilian position was indefensible and the situation quite desperate. When the Castilian royal standard-bearer fell, the already demoralized troops on the rear thought their King was dead and started to flee in panic; in a matter of moments this became a general rout where Juan of Castile himself had to run at full speed to save his life, leaving behind not only common soldiers but also many still dismounted noblemen. The Portuguese pursued them down the hill and, with the battle won, killed many more while there was still light enough to see the enemy.