Siege during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War
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The
siege of Mons of 1572
took place at
Mons
, capital of the
County of Hainaut
,
Spanish Netherlands
(present-day
Belgium
), between 23 June and 19 September 1572, as part of the
Eighty Years' War
, the
Anglo-Spanish War (1585?1604)
, and the
French Wars of Religion
.
[1]
[6]
In the spring of 1572, after the capture of
Valenciennes
by a
Protestant
force under
Louis of Nassau
, the Dutch commander continued with his offensive and took Mons by surprise on 24 May.
[6]
[12]
After three months of siege, and the defeats of the armies of
Jean de Hangest, seigneur d'Yvoy and Genlis
, and
William the Silent, Prince of Orange
(
Dutch
: Willem van Oranje)
, by the Spanish army led by Don
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba
(
"The Iron Duke"
),
Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands
,
[5]
and his son, Don
Fadrique de Toledo
,
[6]
Louis of Nassau's forces, isolated and without any hope of help, surrendered Mons to the Duke of Alba on 19 September.
[6]
[13]
[14]
Background
[
edit
]
In early May 1572
Louis of Nassau
, one of the major commanders of the Dutch rebel forces, encouraged by the
victory at Brielle
by the
Sea Beggars
(1 April),
[15]
and supported by the
Huguenot
leader
Gaspard de Coligny
, invaded the
Spanish Netherlands
with an army composed by
German
,
English
,
Scottish
, and
French
soldiers, and took
Valenciennes
on 21 May.
[12]
[16]
On 23 May Louis of Nassau arrived at
Mons
with 1,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, who encamped in the environs of the city.
[17]
At the next day, after finding out the schedules of opening of the doors of Mons, Nassau entered the city by surprise with the cavalry, and then the rest of his forces, defeating the small Spanish garrison.
[18]
Louis took control of the city, and a few days later, was reinforced by about 4,500 infantry and cavalry under the command of the
Count of Montgomery
.
[5]
When the news reached the Spanish headquarters, Don
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba
,
Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands
, and
commander-in-chief
of the Spanish forces in the
Low Countries
, sent his son Don
Fadrique
with 4,000 soldiers
[9]
(another 16,000 soldiers were coming from the north), along with the
Maestre de Campo
Chiappino Vitelli
, to defeat Louis of Nassau and retrieve Mons.
[3]
On 23 June Fadrique's forces arrived at Mons and laid siege to the city.
[3]
Furthermore, in early June, the Duke of Alba, at the head of the bulk of the Spanish army, recaptured Valenciennes after a feeble defence of the Protestant garrison, depriving the rebels, and their
French allies
, of one of their main bases.
[3]
Meanwhile,
William of Orange, Prince of Orange
, had recruited in
Germany
an army of 14,000 soldiers of infantry and 3,000 of cavalry (11,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry according to other sources),
[4]
and on 7 July William crossed the
Rhine
, entering the Netherlands.
[10]
Siege
[
edit
]
Louis of Nassau, aware of the progress of his brother, sent
Jean de Hangest, seigneur d'Yvoy and Genlis
, to
France
for more reinforcements, and in mid-July,
Genlis
, with an army of 10,000 men, crossed the border again, and marched towards Mons.
[9]
Louis sent a message to
Genlis
, urging that he should join with the army of his brother, William of Orange, but
Genlis
ignored the message, and advanced against the Spaniards.
[19]
Battle of Saint-Ghislain
[
edit
]
On 19 July
Genlis
and his forces encamped near Mons, in a circular plane. Don Fadrique, aware of his arrival, advanced towards him with 4,000 infantry, 1,500 cavalry, and 3,000 armed villagers for the occasion.
[19]
Genlis
sent a detachment to reconnoitre, but after seeing the advance of the Spanish forces, these troops retreated to the French camp at full speed.
[19]
"Don Frederic de Toledo is coming upon us", they cried.
[19]
The Spanish cavalry of
Philip of Noircarmes
, without delay, charged against the French army, followed by infantry, while the rear was protected by the cavalry of Don
Bernardino de Mendoza
.
[4]
The attack caused panic among the French
Huguenots
, and then, the Spanish infantry shattered the French army.
[4]
The Spanish victory was complete, and the army of
Genlis
was entirely routed.
[20]
About 2,000 French soldiers were killed or wounded, and 700 captured, including 70 nobles and officers (in the following days, more than 4,000 were captured).
[4]
[19]
The leader of the French army,
Jean de Hangest
, was also captured, and taken prisoner to
Antwerp
.
[21]
The Captain
Francisco Arias de Bobadilla
[
es
]
was honored with carrying the news of the victory to King
Philip II
, for the proven value during the battle.
[4]
Meantime, the
Prince of Orange
with his new army continued to advance towards Mons. On 23 July, after the capture of
Roermond
, his troops mutinied. On 27 August, with guarantees of payment of some cities in
Holland
, crossed the
Meuse
, advancing over
Diest
,
Termonde
,
Oudenaarde
, and
Nivelles
.
[4]
[22]
St. Bartholomew's Day
[
edit
]
On 11 August
Gaspard de Coligny
, with the approval of King
Charles IX
, had written to the Prince, that he expected soon to begin his march towards the Netherlands.
[22]
However, in
France
, Charles IX lost his nerve, fearing a Spanish invasion and a
Catholic
rebellion if he persisted in the planned invasion of the Netherlands to support the Huguenots and the Dutch
Protestants
.
[21]
The result was
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
on 23 August.
[21]
[23]
When the news reached the Netherlands, it affected the morale of the Protestant troops (especially in the army of Louis of Nassau at Mons, because a great part of his troops were Huguenots), while in the Spanish camp it was celebrated by bonfires and illuminations, even in the
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral
, the Catholic population sang anthems in honor of
"the most Christian King of France"
.
[24]
In early September, Don Fernando, Duke of Alba (who despite being a strong defender of Catholicism, described the massacre as an
atrocity
), arrived at Mons with reinforcements and took command of the operations.
[24]
The Prince of Orange continued to advance through the Netherlands, and some cities and villages were forced to open the doors to its passage for fear (Alba was specially angry for this), although some, such as
Leuven
, prevented the Orange's troops entering the city, in exchange for supplies.
[22]
On 10 September the army arrived near Mons, and Alba, knowing the Orange's arrival, positioned his troops for a possible attack.
[24]
William of Orange's army
[
edit
]
On the same day, as expected, the Orange's cavalry attacked the flank of the Spanish army, but was repulsed by the Spanish
arquebusiers
, led in the first line by the Duke of Alba, his son Don Fadrique, and the
Duke of Medinaceli
, causing multiple casualties in the Orange's cavalry.
[25]
[26]
After the failed attack, the Prince retreated to the village of
Harmignies
, about a league from Mons.
[24]
On the night of 11 September the Spanish commander,
Maestre de Campo
Julian Romero
, entered the camp of William of Orange commanding 600 arquebusiers, remaining as a reserve, in rear, the same number, supported by units of
infantry
and
light cavalry
, whose purpose was to protect the withdrawal.
[27]
In this raid 600 rebels were killed, for only 60 Spaniards.
[27]
Hundred of horses were captured, and a great part of the tents and the supplies were destroyed and burned. During the action, William of Orange himself was in profound slumber, and was saved by the barking of his
Spaniel
dog, who slept beside him.
[27]
With a heavy heart, William wrote to his brother Louis of his forlorn condition and inability to relieve Mons.
[28]
The Prince retreated with his army to
Nivelles
and
Mechelen
, marching to the Rhine, and finally the bulk of his troops, mutinous for lack of pay, dispersed towards Germany. Thereafter he made his way almost alone to
Holland
, the only province which still remained true to him.
[28]
Surrender
[
edit
]
After the defeat of the army of French
Huguenots
under
Jean de Hangest
, and the withdrawal of the army of William of Orange, Louis of Nassau found himself isolated in Mons.
[21]
Even the French Huguenots under his command mutinied as a consequence for the support of the King of France to the
massacre of St. Bartholomew
.
[29]
On 19 September Louis of Nassau surrendered Mons to the Duke of Alba and the terms of the capitulation were agreed between the Dutch and the Spaniards.
[29]
Immediate consequences
[
edit
]
Louis of Nassau would be received by the Duke of Alba, the Duke of Medinaceli, and Don Fadrique. The city would be evacuated on 21 September, and on 24 September the Duke of Alba entered Mons.
[29]
Philip of Noircames, by his position as
Governor of Hainaut
, took command of the city.
[29]
All towns that had accepted the authority of Prince William of Orange, many for fear of reprisals, returned to the allegiance to the Duke of Alba.
[30]
However, Alba advanced over
Mechelen
, one of the cities that lent support to the Orange's army, and where the Prince had left a small garrison.
[30]
In retaliation for the assistance provided by the city to the rebel army of William of Orange, and to satisfy the arrears of pay of the soldiers of the Spanish regiments, the Duke of Alba ordered the troops under the command of his son Don Fadrique to sack the city.
[30]
[31]
After dealing with Orange's threat in the south, Alba sent his son Don Fadrique to the two rebellious provinces
Gelderland
and
Holland
. Fadrique started his campaign by the capture of the fortress-city of
Zutphen
in Gelderland.
[30]
On his way to
Amsterdam
, Don Fadrique came across
Naarden
, which surrendered on 22 November 1572.
[30]
Long-term consequences
[
edit
]
The loss of Mons proved irreversible. The
Dutch Revolt
never got another chance to rally the Walloon Protestants to its cause, which remained confined to the North. Nine years later Mons became part of the staunchly Catholic
Union of Arras
which accepted the Spanish rule, and Protestantism there was stamped out. Thus, the Dutch rebels losing the chance to gain Mons was an important step towards the division of what had been the single
Habsburg Netherlands
into two distinct entities - ultimately the present
Netherlands
and
Belgium
.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
David J.B. Trim p.162
- ^
Macgregor pp.211?212
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Duffy. Siege Warfare: Fortress in the Early Modern World
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Los Tercios de Flandes
. Gimenez Martin
- ^
a
b
c
Tracy pp.78?79
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Jaques p.676
- ^
With hope of French aid end at the St. Bartholomew's Eve massacre and the repulse of a relief army at Havre, the city surrendered.
Jaques p. 676
- ^
Macgregor p.205
- ^
a
b
c
Macgregor p.207
- ^
a
b
Macgregor pp.205?206
- ^
Macgregor pp.207?214
- ^
a
b
The Eighty Years War (1568-1648)
- ^
Hernan/Maffi p.24
- ^
Without French assistance, William of Orange, leading a German mercenary army to aid his brother, was driven back into Germany; the garrison of Mons was thus cut off and ?eventually? forced to accept the terms.
Trim p.162
- ^
Elliott p.140
- ^
Tracy p.82
- ^
Macgregor p.204
- ^
Mons was the capital of Hainaut, and an important town, protected by lofty walls, a triple moat, and a strong citadel.
Macgregor p.203
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Macgregor p.208
- ^
The panic this caused among the French Huguenots was not easily allayed, and before they were aware, Noircarmes was charging upon them at the head of his cavalry, and the infantry arriving directly after, the army of
Genlis
was entirely routed.
Macgregor p. 208
- ^
a
b
c
d
Trim p.162
- ^
a
b
c
Macgregor p.209
- ^
Calvin's book was "Praelectiones in librum prophetiarum Danielis". Geneva and Laon, 1561. Holt (2005) p.81
- ^
a
b
c
d
Macgregor p.210
- ^
Jaques (2007) p.676
- ^
Viendolos en lugar tan peligroso, hiciera con mas razon juicio del ser soldados muy arriesgados que no generales.
Gimenez Martin.
- ^
a
b
c
Macgregor p. 210?211
- ^
a
b
Macgregor p.211
- ^
a
b
c
d
Macgregor pp.212?213
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Israel p.178
- ^
Macgregor p.214
References
[
edit
]
- MacGregor, Mary.
The Netherlands (Yesterday's Classics)
. First published in 2007.
ISBN
1-59915-184-7
- Parker, Geoffrey.
The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659
. Cambridge. 1972.
ISBN
0-521-83600-X
- 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
- Duffy, Christopher (1996).
Siege Warfare: Fortress in the Early Modern World, 1494?1660.
Routledge and Kegan Paul.
- David J.B. Trim.
The Huguenots: History and Memory in Transnational Context.
2011.
ISBN
978-90-04-20775-2
- Israel, Jonathan (1995).
The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477?1806
. Clarendon Press. Oxford.
ISBN
0-19-873072-1
- 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
- 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
External links
[
edit
]
50°27′N
3°57′E
/
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