Battle during the Eighty Years' War
The
Battle of Gembloux
took place at
Gembloux
, near
Namur
,
Low Countries
, between the Spanish forces led by Don
John of Austria
(
Spanish
: Don Juan de Austria
),
[4]
Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands
, and a rebel army composed of
Dutch
,
Flemish
,
English
,
Scottish
,
German
,
French
, and
Walloon
soldiers under
Antoine de Goignies
,
[5]
during the
Eighty Years' War
.
[1]
[2]
On 31 January 1578 the Spanish cavalry commanded by John's nephew, Don
Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma
(
Italian
: Alessandro Farnese
,
Spanish
: Alejandro Farnesio
), after pushing back the Netherlandish cavalry, attacked the
Netherlandish
army, causing an enormous panic amongst the rebel troops.
[3]
The result was a crushing victory for the Spanish forces.
[1]
[2]
The battle hastened the disintegration of the unity of the rebel provinces, and meant the end of the
Union of Brussels
.
[6]
[7]
Prelude
[
edit
]
After the
Sack of Antwerp
[8]
by Spanish mutineers on 4 November 1576,
Catholics
and
Protestants
of the
Low Countries
concluded the
Pacification of Ghent
, to remove all Spanish troops.
[9]
The Spanish
tercios
were in fact withdrawn to
Italy
in April 1577, after the new
Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands
, the famous
Christian
knight
, and half-brother of
Philip II of Spain
, Don
John of Austria
(victor of
Lepanto
), had signed the
Perpetual Edict
.
[10]
However, in the summer of 1577, Don John (brandishing the motto
In hoc signo vici Turcos, in hoc vincam haereticos
?"in this sign I conquered the Turks, in this I shall conquer the heretics")
[11]
began planning for a new campaign against the Netherlandish rebels, and in July 1577 he took the
Citadel of Namur
by surprise without a fight. This action further destabilized the uneasy alliance between Catholics and Protestants. From December 1577, John of Austria, still based in
Luxembourg
, received reinforcements from
Spanish Lombardy
: some 9,000 battle-hardened Spanish troops under Don
Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma
(
Duke
after the death of his father,
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma
, in September 1586), complemented by 4,000 troops from
Lorraine
under
Peter Ernst, Count of Mansfeld
, and local Walloon troops from Luxembourg and
Namur
.
[12]
By January 1578, he had between 17,000 and 20,000 men at his disposal.
[12]
[13]
The
Union of Brussels
had 25,000 fighting men, but these troops were badly equipped and led, and above all very diverse: Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, Walloon, German, and French, and religiously ranging from staunch Catholics to zealous
Calvinists
.
[3]
Battle of Gembloux
[
edit
]
In the last days of January 1578, the
Dutch
army was camped between
Gembloux
and
Namur
, with around 20,000 soldiers. The army was in bad shape, with many sick. Its leaders,
George de Lalaing, Count of Rennenberg
,
Philip de Lalaing
,
Robert de Melun
, and Valentin de Pardieu, were absent because they attended the wedding of the Baron of Beersel and Marguerite de Merode in
Brussels
.
The command of the army was in the hands of Antoine de Goignies, Seigneur de Vendege.
[3]
Other notable commanders of the Netherlandish army were the
Count of Boussu
,
Martin Schenck
(who after the defeat at Gembloux, enlisted in the
Army of Flanders
),
Emanuel Philibert de Lalaing
,
Philip, Count of Egmont
,
William II de La Marck, Lord of Lumey
, and
Charles Philippe de Croy, Marquis d’Havre
.
[15]
When De Goignies learned that the Spanish army was approaching Namur, he decided to withdraw to Gembloux.
[16]
Parma's action
[
edit
]
At dawn on 31 January, the Spanish army marched towards the rebel army, with the cavalry under
Ottavio Gonzaga
[
it
]
in the
vanguard
, followed by
musketeers
and
infantry
commanded by Don
Cristobal de Mondragon
, and then the bulk of the army led by Don John of Austria and Don Alexander Farnese.
[11]
The
rearguard
was commanded by the Count of Mansfeld.
[11]
The Spanish
cavalry
crossed the
Meuse River
and made contact with the rear of the withdrawing rebel army. With the bulk of the Spanish army still south of the Meuse, John sent messages to his cavalry, now commanded by Alexander, not to approach the enemy too closely until the arrival of rest of the Spanish force.
[3]
However, the cavalry advanced so fast and so far that they would not be able to safely withdraw.
Alexander saw an opportunity to surprise the enemy and launched a cavalry charge after seeing the poor state of the enemy forces. After several clashes with the Netherlandish rearguard cavalry, the Spanish routed them, and they fled towards the main body of the Netherlandish army, causing an enormous panic amongst those troops.
[3]
Most of the rebel army disintegrated, with Parma's cavalry cutting down many soldiers as they fled.
[16]
[11]
Destruction of the states-general's army
[
edit
]
The Netherlandish army tried to regroup, but a cannon and its ammunition blew up, causing many deaths and renewed panic. Meanwhile, part of the rebel troops, mostly Dutch and Scots led by Colonel
Henry Balfour
, tried to take defensive positions, but could not withstand the musketeers and
pikemen
led by John, Mondragon, and Gonzaga.
[11]
The Spanish victory was complete,
[21]
De Goignies and a large number of his officers were captured,
[3]
along with thirty-four flags and banners
[11]
and all the artillery and baggage of the Netherlandish army. 6000 rebel soldiers where killed, with hundreds of prisoners.
[3]
[16]
The Spanish casualties, however, were minimal, with a claim of only 12 dead and a few wounded.
[13]
Around 3,000 rebels reached Gembloux and closed the gates, but after negotiations they surrendered to the Spanish on 5 February, sparing the city from a sack.
[6]
Aftermath
[
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]
The defeat at Gembloux led to military pressure on Brussels, causing the
States General of the Netherlands
to leave and move to Antwerp.
[22]
Prince William of Orange
, the leader of the revolt, also left, along with its nominal governor,
Matthias of Austria
(the future
Holy Roman Emperor
), who had accepted the position of governor-general by the states-general, although he was not recognized by his uncle, Philip II of Spain.
[11]
The victory of John also meant the end of the
Union of Brussels
, and hastened the disintegration of the unity of the rebel provinces.
[6]
[
failed verification
]
John died nine months after the battle (probably from
typhus
), on 1 October 1578, and was succeeded by Farnese as governor-general (last desire of John that Philip II confirmed), who at the head of the Spanish army reconquered large parts of the
Low Countries
in the following years.
[4]
On 6 January 1579 the provinces loyal to the
Spanish Monarchy
signed the defensive
Union of Arras
, expressed their loyalty to
Philip II
and recognized Farnese as Governor-General of the Netherlands.
[23]
In contrast, the provinces loyal to the Protestant cause signed the defensive
Union of Utrecht
.
[23]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Abernethy, Jack (2020). "Balfour of Mackerston, Henry [SSNE 5011]." on the
Scotland, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe Database.
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/ssne/item.php?id=5011
- Cadenas y Vicent, Vicente.
Carlos V: Miscelanea de articulos publicados en la revista "Hidalguia"
. Madrid 2001.
ISBN
84-89851-34-4
(in Spanish)
- Colley Grattan, Thomas.
History of the Netherlands
. London. 1830.
- Colley Grattan, Thomas.
Holland
. Published by The Echo Library 2007.
ISBN
978-1-40686-248-5
- Elliott, John Huxtable (2000).
Europe Divided, 1559?1598
. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
ISBN
0-631-21780-0
- Garcia Hernan, Enrique./Maffi, Davide.
Guerra y Sociedad en la Monarquia Hispanica.
Volume 1. Published 2007.
ISBN
978-84-8483-224-9
- Israel, Jonathan (1995).
The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477?1806
. Clarendon Press. Oxford.
ISBN
0-19-873072-1
- Jaques, Tony (2007).
Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century.
Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN
978-0-313-33537-2
- Marek y Villarino de Brugge, Andre (2020a).
Alessandro Farnese: Prince of Parma: Governor-General of the Netherlands (1545?1592): v. I
. Los Angeles: MJV Enterprises ltd. inc.
ISBN
979-8687255998
.
- Marek y Villarino de Brugge, Andre (2020b).
Alessandro Farnese: Prince of Parma: Governor-General of the Netherlands (1545-1592): v. II
. Los Angeles: MJV Enterprises, ltd., inc.
ISBN
979-8687563130
.
- T.A. Morris.
Europe and England in the Sixteenth Century
. First published 1998. USA.
ISBN
0-203-20579-0
- Parker, Geoffrey.
The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567?1659
. Cambridge. 1972.
ISBN
0-521-83600-X
- Tracy, J.D. (2008).
The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572?1588.
Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-920911-8
External links
[
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]