Battle of Lleida
Part of the Reapers' War and the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59)
The battle of Lleida by Hippolyte Lecomte
Date 7 October 1642 Location Lleida, Principality of Catalonia 41°37′0″N 0°38′0″E / 41.61667°N 0.63333°E / 41.61667; 0.63333 Result Franco-Catalan victory
Belligerents
France  Catalonia	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt Comte de Roches-Baritault  † [1]	Marquis de Leganés
Strength
12,000[2]-13,000[3]	22,000[4]-25,000[2]
Casualties and losses
1,000 killed[2]	2,000 killed[3][2]

The Battle of Lleida took place on 7 October 1642, during the Catalan Revolt, part of the wider Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659). A combined Franco-Catalan army under Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt defeated a larger Spanish force led by Marquis de Leganés, sent to capture the town of Lleida.

Background

In the summer of 1642, an army commanded by Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt, French military commander in Catalonia, marched into Aragon. In order to divert him, Leganés assembled troops from Tarragona and Zaragoza to retake the important city of Lleida, then held by a French garrison.^[5]

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.