Some of the demobilized soldiers and officers of the New Model Army were sent to Portugal, to support the Portuguese Restoration War and help Portugal regain its independence after many decades of Spanish rule. The British brigade, which numbered 3,000, arrived in Portugal in August 1662 and proved a decisive factor in winning back Portugal's independence, defeating the Spanish in a major engagement at Ameixial on 8 June 1663, and this forced John of Austria to abandon Évora and retreat across the border with heavy losses. For King Charles II, this was a neat way of both rendering much needed help to the Portuguese House of Braganza, his new in-laws, and at the same time getting rid of demobilized soldiers of the New Model Army and removing them from English territory.