Ximiri Khan made an assault by night with 600 men upon the bastion of the holy cross, in which Ferdinand Pereyra was posted with 30 men, who was reinforced by Henry de Betancourt with a few more.  The assailants were beaten off and five of their colours taken which they had planted on the work.  In this action Betancourt fought with his left hand, having previously lost the right; and Dominic del Alama, being lame, caused himself to be brought out in a chair.  April 1571 was now begun, and the enemy were employed in constructing new works as if determined to continue the siege all winter.  Alexander de Sousa and Gonzalo de Menezes were appointed to head a sally upon these new works, but their men ran out without orders to the number of 200, and made a furious assault upon the enemy, whom they drove from the works after killing fifty of them and losing a few of their own number.  The two commanders hastened to join their men, and then directed them to destroy the works they had so gallantly won.  Perplexed with so many losses, the Nizam made a general assault under night with his whole army, attacking all the posts at one time, every one of which almost they penetrated; but the garrison exerted themselves with so much vigour that they drove the Moors from every point of attack, and in the morning above 500 of the enemy were found slain in and about the ruined defences, while the Portuguese had only lost four or five men.  About this time the defenders received a reinforcement of above 200 men from Goa, Diu, and Basseen, with a large supply of ammunition and provisions; but at this time they were much afflicted by a troublesome though not mortal disease, by which they became swelled all over so as to lose the use of their limbs.

Having ineffectually endeavoured to stir up enemies against the Portuguese in Cambaya on purpose to prevent relief being sent to the brave defenders of Chaul, the Nizam used every effort to bring his arduous enterprize to a favourable conclusion.  The house of Nuno Alvarez Pereyra being used as a strong-hold by the Portuguese, was battered during forty-two days by the enemy, who then assaulted it with 5000 men.  At first the defenders of this post were only forty in number, but twenty more came to their assistance immediately, and several others afterwards.  The Moors were repulsed with the loss of 50 men, while the Portuguese only lost one.  The house of Nuno Vello was battered for thirty days and assaulted with the same success, only the Portuguese lest ten men in its defence.  Judging it no longer expedient to defend this house, it was undermined and evacuated, on which the enemy hastened to take possession and it was blown up, doing considerable execution among the enemy, but not so much as was expected.  The summer was now almost spent; above 6000 cannon-balls had been thrown into the town, some of which were of prodigious size, and the Nizam seemed determined to continue the siege during the winter.  About 200 Portuguese, appalled by the dangers of the siege, had already, deserted; but instead of them 300 men had come from Goa, so that the garrison was even stronger than before.  On the 11th of April, Gonzalez de Camara made a sortie upon 500 Moors in an orchard, only fifty of whom escaped.