Siege of Eindhoven (1583)

1583 siege

Siege of Eindhoven (1583)

Part of the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)

The Capture of Eindhoven of 1583 by Frans Hogenberg.
| Date| 7 February – 23 April 1583

|

Location|

Eindhoven, Duchy of Brabant
(present-day the Netherlands)

Result|  Spanish victory[1][2]
Belligerents
Dutch Rebels

* * *

France
Scotland|  Spain
Commanders and leaders
Hendrik van Bonnivet
Supported by:
Philip of Hohenlohe
Duke of Anjou
William of Orange|  Alexander Farnese
Karl von Mansfeld
Claude de Berlaymont
Strength
800 to 1,200 men[3][4]
Reinforced by:
4 cavalry squadrons[2]
5 infantry companies[2]|  Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown|  Unknown

* v
* t
* e

Eighty Years' War

Origins – List of battles

* * *

1566–1572

Western Europe

* Beeldenstorm
* Valenciennes
* Wattrelos
* Lannoy
* Oosterweel
* Dahlen
* Heiligerlee
* Jemmingen
* Jodoigne
* Le Quesnoy

* * *

1572–1576

Western Europe

* Brielle
* Mons
* 1st Mechelen
* Goes
* Naarden
* Middelburg
* Haarlem
* IJsselmeer
* Alkmaar
* 1st Geertruidenberg
* Leiden
* Delft
* Valkenburg
* Mookerheyde
* Oudewater
* Schoonhoven
* Zierikzee

European waters

* Flushing
* Borsele
* Haarlemmermeer
* Zuiderzee
* Reimerswaal
* Lillo

* * *

1576–1579

Western Europe

* 1st Antwerp
* Gembloux
* Rijmenam
* 1st Deventer
* Borgerhout

* * *

1579–1588

Western Europe

* 1st Maastricht
* 2nd Mechelen
* Diest
* 1st Steenwijk
* Kollum
* 1st Breda
* Noordhorn
* Niezijl
* Lochem
* 1st Lier
* 2nd Antwerp
* Eindhoven
* Steenbergen
* Ghent
* Aalst
* 3rd Antwerp
* Arnhem
* Empel
* Boksum
* 1st Grave
* 1st Venlo
* Axel
* Neuss
* 1st Rheinberg
* 1st Zutphen
* 1st Sluis

European waters

* Ponta Delgada

* * *

Ten Years, 1588–1598

Western Europe

* 1st Bergen op Zoom
* 2nd Geertruidenberg
* 2nd Breda
* 2nd Zutphen
* 2nd Deventer
* Delfzijl
* Knodsenburg
* 1st Hulst
* Nijmegen
* Rouen
* Caudebec
* 2nd Steenwijk
* 1st Coevorden
* 1st Luxemburg
* 3rd Geertruidenberg
* 2nd Coevorden
* Groningen
* 2nd Luxemburg
* Huy
* 1st Groenlo
* Lippe
* 2nd Lier
* Calais
* 2nd Hulst
* Turnhout
* 2nd Rheinberg
* 1st Meurs
* 2nd Groenlo
* Bredevoort
* Enschede
* Ootmarsum
* 1st Oldenzaal
* 1st Lingen

European waters

* 1st English Channel · Flanders
* Bayona Islands
* Gulf of Almería
* 1st Cádiz
* Azores

* * *

1599–1609

Western Europe

* 1st Schenckenschans
* Zaltbommel
* Rees
* San Andreas
* Lekkerbeetje
* Nieuwpoort
* 3rd Rheinberg
* Ostend
* 1st 's-Hertogenbosch
* 2nd Grave
* Hoogstraaten
* 3rd Sluis
* Spinola's campaign
* (Oldenzaal, 2nd Lingen, Bergen op Zoom, Mülheim, Wachtendonk, Krakau Castle, Berkumerbridge, Lochem, 4th Rheinberg, 3rd Groenlo)

European waters

* Dover Strait
* 2nd Sluis
* 2nd English Channel
* 1st Cape St. Vincent
* 1st Gibraltar

* * *

Twelve Years' Truce, 1609–1621

Western Europe

* Aachen

East Indies

* Ternate
* Playa Honda

* * *

1621–1648

Western Europe

* Jülich
* 2nd Bergen op Zoom
* Fleurus
* 1st Veluwe
* 3rd Breda
* 2nd Oldenzaal
* 4th Groenlo
* 2nd 's-Hertogenbosch
* 2nd Veluwe
* Meuse (2nd Maastricht, 2nd Venlo, 1st Roermond)
* 5th Rheinberg
* Leuven
* 2nd Schenkenschans
* 4th Breda
* 3rd Venlo
* 2nd Roermond
* Kallo
* 3rd Hulst
* 4th Hulst
* Mardyck
* Dunkirk

European waters

* 2nd Gibraltar
* 2nd Cádiz
* Slaak
* Lizard Point
* Dunkirk
* 3rd English Channel
* The Downs
* 2nd Cape St. Vincent

Americas

* 1st Salvador
* Puerto Rico
* Bay of Matanzas
* Abrolhos
* Trujillo · Campeche
* 1st Saint Martin
* 1st Unare
* 2nd Salvador
* Cabañas
* Itamaracá
* Southern Chile
* 2nd Saint Martin

East Indies

* Mormugão
* Galle
* Malacca
* 1st San Salvador
* 2nd San Salvador
* Manila
* Cavite

* * *

Peace – Aftermath – Historiography

* v
* t
* e

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)

Caribbean and South America

* San Juan de Ulúa
* Drake's 1572-73 expedition
* Drake's circumnavigation
* São Vicente
* Santo Domingo
* Cartagena
* St. Augustine
* Cavendish's circumnavigation
* Spanish West Indies
* Havana
* Hispaniola · Bay of Honduras
* 1st Puerto Caballos
* San Mateo
* Recife
* Trinidad · Orinoco
* La Guaira · Caracas · Coro
* Guadalupe
* 1st San Juan
* Panama
* Pinos
* 2nd San Juan
* Tabasco
* Portobello
* 2nd Puerto Caballos
* Santiago de Cuba

Atlantic

* Vila Franca do Campo
* Terceira
* Newfoundland
* Bermuda
* Santiago
* 1st Azores
* 1st Flores
* 2nd Flores
* Faial
* Las Palmas
* 2nd Azores

European waters

* Scheldt
* Pantelleria
* 1st Cádiz ·Algarve
* Spanish Armada (1st Calais · Gravelines)
* English Armada (Corunna · Lisbon)
* Bayona
* 1st Gibraltar Strait
* 2nd Gibraltar Strait
* Berlengas
* Gulf of Almería
* Barbary Coast
* Bay of Biscay
* Mount's Bay
* Cawsand
* 2nd Cádiz
* Cape Finisterre
* Cornwall · West Wales
* Sesimbra
* Dover Strait
* Gulf of Cádiz

Low Countries and Germany

* Mons
* Goes
* Middelburg
* Haarlem
* 1st Geertruidenberg
* Leiden
* Delft
* Valkenburg
* Schoonhoven
* Gembloux
* Rijmenam
* Borgerhout
* Mechelen
* 1st Steenwijk
* Kollum
* Noordhorn
* Niezijl
* Lochem
* Lier
* Eindhoven
* Steenbergen
* Aalst
* Antwerp
* Arnhem
* 1st Grave
* Venlo
* Axel
* 1st Rheinberg
* 1st Zutphen
* 1st Sluis
* Bergen op Zoom
* 2nd Geertruidenberg
* Breda
* 2nd Zutphen
* Deventer
* Delfzijl
* Knodsenburg
* 1st Hulst
* Nijmegen
* 2nd Steenwijk
* 1st Coevorden
* 3rd Geertruidenberg
* 2nd Coevorden
* Groningen
* Huy
* 1st Groenlo
* Lippe
* 2nd Hulst
* Turnhout
* 2nd Rheinberg
* Meurs
* 2nd Groenlo
* Bredevoort
* Enschede
* Ootmarsum
* Oldenzaal
* Lingen
* Schenckenschans
* Zaltbommel
* Rees
* San Andreas
* Nieuwpoort
* 3rd Rheinberg · 2nd Meurs
* Ostend
* 's-Hertogenbosch
* 2nd Grave
* Hoogstraten
* Ardenburg · Oostberg · 2nd Sluis

France

* Arques
* Ivry
* Paris
* Château-Laudran
* Rouen
* Caudebec
* Craon
* Blaye
* Morlaix
* Crozon
* 2nd Calais
* Amiens

Ireland

* Carrigafoyle
* Smerwick
* Irish West Coast
* Southern Ireland
* Kinsale
* Castlehaven

The siege of Eindhoven, also known as the capture of Eindhoven of 1583, took place between 7 February and 23 April 1583 at Eindhoven, Duchy of Brabant, Spanish Netherlands (present-day North Brabant, the Netherlands) during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).[1][5] On 7 February 1583 a Spanish force sent by Don Alexander Farnese (Spanish: Alejandro Farnesio), Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, commanded by Karl von Mansfeld and Claude de Berlaymont, laid siege to Eindhoven, an important and strategic city of Brabant held by Dutch, Scottish, and French soldiers under the States' commander Hendrik van Bonnivet.[3] After three months of siege, and the failed attempts by the States-General to assist Bonnivet's forces, the defenders surrendered to the Spaniards on 23 April.[2][6]

With the capture of Eindhoven, the Spanish forces made great advances in the region, and gained the allegiance of the majority of the towns of northern Brabant.[7] The Spanish victory too, increased the crisis between Francis, Duke of Anjou and the States-General, despite the efforts of Prince William of Orange in preserving the fragile alliance between Anjou and the States-General by the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours.[8][9]

## Prelude

[edit]

On 29 September 1580 Francis, Duke of Anjou (younger brother of King Henry III of France), supported by William of Orange, signed the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours with the States-General of the Netherlands. Based on the terms of the treaty, Anjou assumed the title of Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands and became sovereign of the United Provinces.[10] On 10 February 1582, after a vain courtship of Queen Elizabeth I in England, Anjou arrived to the Netherlands, when he was officially welcomed by William of Orange in Flushing.[2] In spite of his ceremonious installation as Duke of Brabant and Count of Flanders, Anjou was not popular with the Flemish and Dutch Protestants, who continued to see the Catholic French as enemies; the provinces of Zeeland and Holland refused to recognise him as their sovereign, and William of Orange, the central figure of the Politiques who worked to defuse religious hostilities, was widely criticized for his "French politics".[2][10]

The joyous entry of the Duke of Anjou into Antwerp, 19 February 1582, a year before his attempt to take the city by force. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

When Anjou's army of 12,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry arrived in late 1582, William's plan seemed to pay off, as even Don Alexander Farnese feared that a strong alliance between the Dutch and French could pose a serious threat, but in fact, Anjou had very little influence in the Netherlands, and he himself was not satisfied with the restrictions of the treaty and wanted more power.[2] On 17 January 1583 the French forces led by Francis of Anjou tried to conquer the city of Antwerp by surprise, but unfortunately for Anjou his plan was discovered.[11] The inhabitants, still traumatised by the Spanish plunder seven years earlier,[12] were determined to prevent another occupation by foreign troops by all means possible.[13] Anjou was decisively defeated by the people of Antwerp, losing as many as 2,000 men.[2][13] However, at the same time, the rest of the French forces gained control of a great number of towns, including Dunkirk and Dendermonde, and despite an explosion of anti-French feeling in rebel towns, the Prince of Orange managed to prevent an open breach with the French.[2][11]

Meanwhile, the Prince of Parma, Governor-General of the Low Countries in the name of Philip II of Spain, in command of an army of 60,000 soldiers, divided in various fronts, after the Spanish conquests of Maastricht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Courtrai, Breda, Tournai, Oudenaarde, among others, between 1579 and 1582, slowed his successful campaign for the moment, waiting to see what the French would do.[5][14]

## Siege of Eindhoven

[edit]

Battles and operations of the Eighty Years' War in 1583.

In late January, Don Alexander, stationed in the loyalist 's-Hertogenbosch, and after the show of the Duke of Anjou at Antwerp, decided to send a substantial force led by the Spanish commanders Karl von Mansfeld and Claude de Berlaymont to begin siege works at nearby Eindhoven, an important and strategic town of northern Brabant held by about 800 to 1,200 Scottish, French, and Dutch soldiers under the States' commander Hendrik van Bonnivet.[3][13][15]

On 7 February the Spanish forces reached the gates of Eindhoven and laid siege to the fortress city. The States-General urged the Duke of Anjou to assemble his army and march towards Eindhoven, to relieve the city.[16] Meanwhile, Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein from his base at Geertruidenberg (in 1589 the city was betrayed to Parma by its English garrison),[17] sent 4 squadrons of cavalry and 5 companies of infantry to reinforce Bonnivet's forces.[15] On 18 March Francis of Anjou accepted the terms of the States-General, and the Prince of Orange, ultimately, asked French commander Armand de Gontaut, Baron de Biron, to lead an army composed of Anjou's troops and those levied by the States to relieve Eindhoven.[16] Although Biron was not very keen to accept, the French statesman Pomponne de Bellièvre persuaded him to accept the charge.[16] Thus, Prince William outlined a broad plan for the campaign and put Biron in charge of the joint force, consisting by 2,500 Swiss guards, 2,000 French arquebusiers, 3,500 Dutch, Scottish, French, and English infantry, 1,200 cavalry, and 3 cannons.[6] At the same time, Dutch troops stationed in Gelderland were ordered to advance through Utrecht towards Eindhoven, but were repeatedly turned back to Utrecht's border by the Spanish forces.[15] English and Scottish companies based in northern Flanders also had orders to advance on Eindhoven, but these troops refused to move without their pay.[15]

Portrait of Karl von Mansfeld by Abraham Hogenberg.

On 17 April, with all preparations completed by the States-General and the Duke of Anjou's forces, the relief army commanded by Biron marched towards Eindhoven, but Bonnivet's forces, after nearly three months of siege, exhausted and decimated, could not resist more against the intense Spanish siege.[6][15] Finally, on 23 April, the States' garrison was forced to surrender, and the Spanish army entered victorious into Eindhoven, before Biron's joint forces could even cross the Scheldt.[6]

## Consequences

[edit]

Governor-General Don Alexander Farnese by Otto van Veen.

With the conquest of Eindhoven, Parma's forces made great advances in the region, and gained the allegiance of the majority of the towns of northern Brabant.[15] The Spanish victory also increased the crisis between the Duke of Anjou and the States-General.[6] Anjou laid the blame for the fall of Eindhoven on the States, while the States were fed up with his ambitions, and the inefficiency and slowness of his troops.[6] However, the Prince of Orange, a strong supporter of the alliance, reiterated that they could not hope to defeat Parma without French aid.[6]

Biron moved his army to the north of Roosendaal, between Breda and Bergen op Zoom, where he intended lay siege to Wouw.[15][18] On 17 June, and after the capture of Diest by the Spaniards on 27 May,[19] his forces were seriously defeated by the Spanish army led by Parma at Steenbergen.[20] The clear superiority of the Spanish Army of Flanders, the lack of pay, and the differences between the French troops (mostly Catholics), and the Dutch and English troops (mostly Protestants), ended with hundreds of desertions among Biron's troops.[18][21] Meanwhile, the position of Anjou became impossible to hold with the States, and he eventually left the Netherlands in late June.[18][22] His departure also discredited William of Orange, his main supporter, who nevertheless maintained his support for Anjou.[22]

The pace of the Spanish advance continued, and Dunkirk was the new target of the Prince of Parma. On 16 July the bombardment began, and by late summer the city was captured by the Spanish forces, along with Nieuwpoort, despite the efforts, once more, of the Prince of Orange to relieve the besieged forces.[5][15]

## See also

[edit]

* French Fury
* French Wars of Religion
* Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours
* List of stadtholders in the Low Countries
* List of governors of the Spanish Netherlands

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Mack P. Holt p.190
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i James Tracy. The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588
3. ^ a b c Bachiene p.592
4. ^ Van Meteren/Ruitink p.109
5. ^ a b c Jeremy Black p.110
6. ^ a b c d e f g Holt p.190
7. ^ In the aftermath, Parma's commanders gained the allegiance of more towns of northern Brabant. Tracy. The Founding of the Dutch Republic
8. ^ Holt pp.190–191
9. ^ Israel pp.211–212
10. ^ a b Holt pp.173–179
11. ^ a b Holt p.181
12. ^ Kamen, Henry (2005) p.326
13. ^ a b c Israel p.213
14. ^ Hernán/Maffi p.24
15. ^ a b c d e f g h Tracy. The Founding of the Dutch Republic
16. ^ a b c Mack P. Holt p.189
17. ^ Israel p.234
18. ^ a b c Holt p.191
19. ^ Graham Darby p.20
20. ^ D. J. B. Trim p.253
21. ^ Kamen, Henry (2005) p.140
22. ^ a b Mack P. Holt p.192

## References

[edit]

* Black, Jeremy. European Warfare 1494–1660. Routledge Publishing 2002. ISBN 978-0-415-27531-6
* Kamen, Henry. Spain, 1469–1714: A Society Of Conflict. Pearson Education Limited. United Kingdom (2005). ISBN 0-582-78464-6
* Darby, Graham. The Origins and Development of the Dutch Revolt. First published 2001. London. ISBN 0-203-42397-6
* 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
* García Hernán, Enrique./Maffi, Davide. Guerra y Sociedad en la Monarquía Hispánica. Volume 1. Published 2007. ISBN 978-84-8483-224-9
* Van Gelderen, Martin. The Ducht Revolt. Cambridge University Press 1933. United Kingdom. ISBN 0-521-39122-9
* Israel, Jonathan (1995). The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806. Clarendon Press. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-873072-1
* Mack P. Holt. The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle During the Wars of Religion. First published 1986. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-32232-4
* D. J. B. Trim. The chivalric ethos and the development of military professionalism. Brill 2003. The Netherlands. ISBN 90-04-12095-5
* Bachiene, Willem Albert. Vaderlandsche geographie, of Nieuwe tegenwoordige staat en hedendaagsche historie der Nederlanden. Amsterdam 1791. (in Dutch)
* Van Heurn, Johan Hendrik. Historie der stad en meyerye van 'sHertogenbosch. Alsmede van de voornaamste daaden der hertogen van Brabant. Utrecht. (in Dutch)

## External links

[edit]

* The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle During the Wars of Religion by Mack P. Holt

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