[17] On 7 June, Don José Carrillo de Albornoz, Duke of Montemar, who Philip V had chosen as leader of the expedition, attended the Convent of Santísima Faz, to pray for protection and the success of his plan.

[17] The port began filling up with masts, and every type of sail, conceivable, and by the end of May, Campo Florido informed the Spanish General, Don Alejandro de la Motte, that he had solved the embargo of all the transport ships nearby.

The Spanish soldier and poet, Eugenio Gerardo Lobo, who took part in the expedition, dedicated his poetry to the Spanish expedition:[19] Ve, lucido escuadrón, ve, fuerte armada,Del monarca de España empeño augusto,Y el pendón infeliz del moro adusto,Su luna llore en ti siempre eclipsada.

[19]A few days after, the fleet was obliged, due to contrary winds, to take cover near the Cape Palos, but on the 24 June, after overcoming its difficulties, it continued its journey towards Oran.

[19] On 27 June, the fleet arrived at the coasts of Oran, and the Duke of Montemar, ordered the troops to disembark on the Aguadas beach, near Mers el-Kebir, but this could not take place till the next day.

[3] After midday, the grenadiers together with the cavalry, gradually began to gather on a small hill, where the only fountain to be seen, around lay, and from where the Spanish troops had formed and taken control, and which the Moors wanted to take hold.

[3] A company of fusiliers was set up to protect the workers on the Fort, but they were under continual attack from the large number of Algerian troops, and finally, due to lack of ammunition, they began to retreat.

[3] Montemar, noticing this, sent 16 companies of infantry under the command of Don Alejandro de la Motte, and 4 squadrons of Spanish Dragoons to attack the front line of Muslim troops.

[3] The onslaught by the cavalry and infantry was so energetic, that they caused many casualties in the enemy, and forced the Moorish troops to retreat to another distant mountain amid the great confusion.

[3] Terrified by the intense firepower of the grenadiers, the captain of the fort of Mers el-Kebir (Ben Dabiza)[21] capitulated, on the condition that they would be allowed to retreat to Algiers.

[3] Montemar, seeing how successful this had been, then sent his army to the nearby mountains where the majority of the enemy lay, but these, terrified and demoralised, retreated that very night to Oran,[2][3] which was also abandoned along with all its forts and castles used for defence.

[1] A month after the recovery of Oran, on 1 August, having secured the city, Montemar made back to Spain with the majority of his troops, leaving behind a garrison of 6,000 men.