Atlas of Battles

siege, early modern

Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir

Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir was a siege conducted on 3 April 1563 at Oran, in what is now Spain; it lasted 2 months. It was part of the Ottoman–Spanish War, which ran from 1515 to 1577. The recorded result: Spanish victory; Spanish forces keep the fort until Algerian forces retreat after arrival of Spanish naval reinforcements. Recorded strength: 1,500 men; 90 guns; Naval reinforcements: 34 galley and 4000 men against 15.000 men; 10 000 horsemen<ref name="Abadie">Abadie.

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Desembarco de los moriscos en el Puerto de Orán. Pintura de Vicent Mestre.
Desembarco de los moriscos en el Puerto de Orán. Pintura de Vicent Mestre.. Vicent Mestre, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought3 April 1563lasted 2 months
WhereOran, Spain35.697N, 0.633W
OutcomeSpanish victory; Spanish forces keep the fort until Algerian forces retreat after arrival of Spanish naval reinforcements.
BelligerentsSpanish EmpireagainstRegency of Algiers; Ottoman Tripolitania; Kingdom of Ait Abbas; Kingdom of Kuku; Kingdom of France
Casualties and lossesUnknownandHeavy human losses; 5 galliots captured; 4 carracks captured
Part ofOttoman–Spanish War1515 to 1577

Where it sits in the Ottoman–Spanish War

Capture of Algiers, 1516Fall of Tlemcen, 1518Battle of Algiers, 1529Capture of Algiers, 1529Battle of Formentera, 1529Siege of Coron (1533–1534), 1534Conquest of Tunis, 1534Conquest of Tunis, 1535Attack on Sousse, 1537Battle of Antipaxos, 1537Siege of Castelnuovo, 1539Battle of Girolata, 1540Battle of Alborán, 1540Algiers expedition, 1541Capture of Mahdia, 1550Djerba Incident, 1551Capture of Béjaïa, 1555Siege of Oran, 1556Capture of Bizerte, 1557Battle of Djerba, 1560Battle of Saint Monica, 1561Battle of Lipari, 1561Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir, 1563Capture of Tunis, 1569Battle of Béja, 1569Battle of Lepanto, 1571Siege of Navarino, 1572Conquest of Tunis, 1573Conquest of Tunis, 1574Action of 26 September 1575, 1575Battle of Cape Corvo, 161315161613Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir, 1563
31 placed engagements of the Ottoman–Spanish War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date3 April 1563
to 6 June 1563
PlaceOran, Spain
35.697N, 0.633W
KindSiege, early modern
Strength1,500 men; 90 guns; Naval reinforcements: 34 galley and 4000 men15.000 men; 10 000 horsemen<ref name="Abadie">Abadie
Casualties and lossesUnknownHeavy human losses; 5 galliots captured; 4 carracks captured
Commanders
  • Alonso de Córdoba, Count of Alcaudete
  • Martín Alonso Fernández de Córdoba Montemayor y Velasco
  • Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz
  • Hasan Pasha (son of Barbarossa)
  • Dragut
Sieges of Oran and Mers El KébirSieges of Oran and Mers El KébirSiege of OranSiege of Oran 1790–1792Siege of OranSiege of Oran and Mers El KébirCapture of OranOujdaChlefTlimcenSidi bel AbbesMostaganemTiaratAlmeríaSaïda100 km35.697N, 0.633W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between 1505 and 1940.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1563

Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir is one of 1,390 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 1,070 in present-day Spain.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q7510593, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir, revision 1382491161, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.