 But the lack of ammunition, food and money paralysed the Spanish army.The Portuguese raised a 17,000 men strong army led by Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, aided by Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, Fernando de Meneses, Count of Ericeira and other senior officers, and marched against the Spanish.The Spanish commander decided to retreat to a strategic position at the north east of Évora and wait for the enemy, leaving a garrison of 3,700 in Évora.