Siege of Deventer (1591)

Last updated

Siege of Deventer (1591)
Part of the Eighty Years' War
Het beleg van Deventer (1591) door Prins Maurits - The siege of Deventer in 1591 by Prince Maurice (Bartholomeus Willemsz. Dolendo).jpg
The siege of Deventer in 1591 - print by Bartholomeus Dolendo
Date1–10 June 1591
Location
Deventer, Overijssel
(present-day the Netherlands)
Result Dutch-English victory [1]
Belligerents
Prinsenvlag.svg  United Provinces
Flag of England.svg  England
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Spanish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Prinsenvlag.svg Maurice of Nassau
Flag of England.svg Francis Vere
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Herman van den Bergh
Strength
9,000 infantry
1,600 cavalry
28 guns
1,200
Casualties and losses
200 [1] All surrendered

The siege of Deventer was a siege of the city of Deventer from 1 to 10 June 1591 during the Eighty Years' War by Dutch and English troops under Maurice of Nassau in an attempt to retake it from its Spanish garrison, commanded by Herman van den Bergh on behalf of the Spanish. [2]

Contents

Background

The city had first been captured by the States in 1579 but regained by the Spanish in the meantime after its betrayal by English turncoat governor William Stanley.

After the capture of Zutphen which surrendered on 30 May 1591 Maurice of Orange with his Anglo-Dutch army marched towards Deventer on the right bank of the river IJssel. Maurice's force numbered 9,000 infantry and 1,200 cavalry, half of the force came from the British Isles - fourteen English companies under Sir Francis Vere and the ten Scots companies under Colonel William Balfour. [3]

Siege

Duel between Rijhove and an Albanian warrior in Spanish service outside the walls of Deventer. Karel Frederik Bombled - Anno 1591. Tweestrijd tussen Rijhove en een Spaanse krijgsman - SA 5122 - Amsterdam Museum.jpg
Duel between Rijhove and an Albanian warrior in Spanish service outside the walls of Deventer.

On 1 June the Anglo-Dutch force surrounded the town and began entrenching. Eight days later a breach was made and Maurice allowed the honour of the assault to be made by the English. As they attacked they came across a bridge of boats but found it was too short and were unable to advance any further and withdrew after some loss. [1]

Maurice was desirous of giving up the siege for fears of a Spanish relief army. Vere induced him to persist and the same evening the Spanish garrison sallied to destroy the bridge but they were repulsed by the English pikemen. [3]

On June 10 Van den Burgh having been wounded realised that no help was forthcoming, so he and the town capitulated - the garrison marched out on the following day. [2]

Aftermath

For the English the capture of both Zutphen and Deventer were important in recovering the losses caused by the mistaken confidence which the Earl of Leicester had placed in traitors William Stanley and Rowland York. [1]

Maurice decided to strike at Groningen held by Francisco Verdugo, but reports reached him that the Duke of Parma was preparing to move to reinforce that place with 20,000 men. Maurice realising he would be outnumbered withdrew to the north and marched to Delfzijl and took the place July 2. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Vere</span> English soldier

Sir Francis Vere was a prominent English soldier serving under Queen Elizabeth I fighting mainly in the Low Countries during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Zutphen</span> 16th-century European battle

The Battle of Zutphen was fought on 22 September 1586, near the village of Warnsveld and the town of Zutphen, the Netherlands, during the Eighty Years' War. It was fought between the forces of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, aided by the English, against the Spanish. In 1585, England signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the States-General of the Netherlands and formally entered the war against Spain. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was appointed as the Governor-General of the Netherlands and sent there in command of an English army to support the Dutch rebels. When Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and commander of the Spanish Army of Flanders, besieged the town of Rheinberg during the Cologne War, Leicester, in turn, besieged the town of Zutphen, in the province of Gelderland and on the eastern bank of the river IJssel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1588)</span> 1588 siege

The siege of Bergen op Zoom was a siege that took place between September 23 - November 13, 1588, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. The siege took place in the aftermath of the Spanish Armada when famed commander Alexander Farnese, the Duke of Parma attempted to use his forces to besiege Bergen op Zoom, which was held by an Anglo-Dutch force under Thomas Morgan and Peregrine Bertie. An English officer named Grimstone, claiming to be a disaffected Catholic, had set up a trap during which a large Spanish assault was bloodily repulsed. An Anglo-Dutch relief column under the command Maurice of Orange arrived soon after and forced the Duke of Parma to retreat, thus ending the siege.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Zutphen (1591)</span> 1591 siege

The siege of Zutphen was an eleven-day siege of the city of Zutphen by Dutch and English troops led by Maurice of Nassau, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. The siege began on 19 May 1591 after a clever ruse by the besiegers. The city was then besieged for eleven days, after which the Spanish garrison surrendered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Enschede (1597)</span>

The capture of Enschede took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War on 18 and 19 October 1597. A Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange took the city after a very short siege and threatening that they would destroy the city. The siege was part of Maurice's campaign of 1597, a successful offensive against the Spaniards during what the Dutch call the Ten Glory Years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Meurs (1597)</span>

The siege of Meurs took place between 29 August to 3 September 1597 during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. The Spanish occupied city of Moers under Governor Andrés de Miranda was besieged by Dutch and English troops under the command of Prince Maurice of Orange. The siege ended with the capitulation and the withdrawal of the Spanish garrison. The siege was part of Maurice's campaign of 1597 known as the Ten Glory Years, his highly successful offensive against the Spaniards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Rheinberg (1597)</span>

The siege of Rheinberg took place from the 9 to 19 August 1597 during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War by a Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange. The siege ended with the capitulation and the withdrawal of the Spanish after much unrest in the garrison. The liberation of the city of Rheinberg was the commencement of Maurice's campaign of 1597, a successful offensive against the Spaniards during the period known as the Ten Glory Years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Ootmarsum</span>

The Capture of Ootmarsum in 1597 was a short siege, that took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War by a Dutch and English army led by Count Van Duivenvoorde while Maurice of Nassau was besieging Oldenzaal. The siege lasted from 19 to 21 October, where the Spanish garrison of Ootmarsum under the governor, Otto Van Den Sande, surrendered and was then occupied by the besiegers. The siege was part of Maurice's successful offensive against the Spaniards during the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Sluis (1604)</span>

The siege of Sluis (1604), also known as the Sluis campaign or the Battle of the Oostburg Line, was a series of military actions that took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War from 19 May to 19 August 1604. A States and English army under Prince Maurice of Orange and Horace Vere respectively crossed the Scheldt estuary and advanced on land taking Cadzand, Aardenburg, and IJzendijke in the Spanish Netherlands. This soon led to the culmination of the siege of the Spanish-held inland port of Sluis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Hulst (1596)</span>

The siege of Hulst of 1596 took place between mid-July and August 18, 1596, at the city of Hulst, Province of Zeeland, Low Countries, during the Eighty Years' War, the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The siege was won by the Spanish forces of the Archduke of Austria. After a short siege, during which Maurice of Orange launched a failed attempt to relieve the city, the garrison of Dutch and English troops fell into Spanish hands on August 18, 1596.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Steenwijk (1592)</span> 1592 siege

The siege of Steenwijk was a siege that took place between 30 May and 5 July 1592 as part of the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War by a Dutch and English force under Maurice of Orange. By taking Steenwijk the Republic's army would take out one of the two main transport routes overland to the Drenthe capital of Groningen, the other lay at Coevorden. After a failed bombardment, an assault was made in conjunction with the detonation of mines under important bastions, and with two out of three successfully assaulted, the Spanish troops surrendered on 5 July 1592 and handed over the city to the Dutch and English army. This siege was one of the first in history to make use of pioneers as a separate military unit although they were still at the time regarded as soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Knodsenburg</span> 1591 siege of the Eighty Years War

The siege of Knodsenburg, Relief of Knodzenburg or also known as Battle of the Betuwe was a military action that took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War at a sconce known as Knodsenburg in the district of Nijmegen. A siege by a Spanish army under the command of the Duke of Parma took place from 15 to 25 July 1591. The fort was defended by the Dutch Republic's commander Gerrit de Jong and his company which was then subsequently relieved through the intervention of a Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange and Francis Vere, respectively, on 25 July. As a result, the Spanish army was defeated and Parma managed to retreat by getting his army across the River Waal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Hulst (1591)</span> 1591 siege

The siege of Hulst was a siege of the city of Hulst that took place between 20 and 24 September 1591 by a Dutch and English army under the leadership of Maurice of Orange during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. The siege was part of Maurice's famous campaign of 1591.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Coevorden (1592)</span> 1592 siege

The siege of Coevorden was a siege that took place between 26 July and 2 September 1592 during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War at the city of Coevorden by a Dutch and English force under overall command of Maurice of Nassau. The city was defended by Frederik van den Bergh who had been commissioned for the defence by King Philip II of Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Delfzijl</span>

The Capture of Delfzijl took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War by a Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange. The siege commenced on 26 June and lasted until the Spanish troops surrendered the city of Delfzijl on 2 July 1591.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Geertruidenberg (1593)</span> Part of the Eighty Years and Anglo-Spanish Wars

The siege of Geertruidenberg was a siege of the city of Geertruidenberg that took place between 27 March and 24 June 1593 during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. Anglo-Dutch troops under the commands of Maurice of Nassau and Francis Vere laid siege to the Spanish garrisoned city. The siege was unique in that the besiegers used a hundred ships, forming a semicircle in a chain on the Mass river to form a blockade. A Spanish force under the command of the Count of Mansfeld attempted to relieve the city in May, but they were defeated and later forced to withdraw. Three Governors of the city were killed – after the last fatality and as a result of the failed relief, the Spanish surrendered the city on 24 June 1593. The victory earned Maurice much fame and had thus become a steadfast strategist in the art of war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Nijmegen (1591)</span> Siege that was part of the Eighty Years War

The siege of Nijmegen was a military engagement during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War which took place from 17 to 21 October 1591. The Spanish garrison in Nijmegen was besieged by a Dutch and English force under Maurice of Nassau and Francis Vere respectively and surrendered soon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Coevorden (1593)</span> Part of the Eighty Years War and the Anglo–Spanish War

The siege of Coevorden was a thirty-one-week siege of the city of Coevorden in the province of Drenthe by the Spanish general Francisco Verdugo during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. The siege first commenced in October 1593, but winter and shortages of food and supplies forced the Spanish into winter quarters. The siege however recommenced in March 1594, but on May 6 Maurice of Orange arrived with an Anglo-Dutch army to relieve Coevorden, forcing the Spanish army under Francisco Verdugo to retreat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Groningen (1594)</span> Siege during the Eighty Years War

The siege of Groningen was a two-month siege which commenced on 19 May 1594, and which took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War. The Spanish-held city of Groningen was besieged by a Dutch and English army led by Prince Maurice of Orange. The Spanish surrendered the city on 22 July, after a failed relief attempt by the Count of Fuentes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of San Andreas (1600)</span> 1600 action during the Eighty Years and Anglo–Spanish wars

The siege of San Andreas also known as the siege of Sint-Andries was a military event that took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War from 28 January to 6 March 1600. The Spanish garrison of San Andreas was besieged by an Anglo-Dutch force led by Maurice of Nassau. A Spanish relief force under the command of Luis de Velasco failed to relieve the fort after having been turned back by the besiegers. The fort surrendered after the garrison mutinied and accepted payment from Maurice.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Markham pp 174-75
  2. 1 2 Watson, Robert (1839). The History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain. Lyon Public Library: Tegg. pp. 473–74.
  3. 1 2 Knight, Charles Raleigh: Historical records of The Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) formerly designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment. Vol I. London, Gale & Polden, 1905, p. 39
  4. Wernham, Richard Bruce (1980). List and Analysis of State Papers, Foreign Series: June 1591-April 1592, Volume 1; Volumes 3-4. H.M. Stationery Office. ISBN   9783601002314.

Bibliography

52°15′N6°9′E / 52.250°N 6.150°E / 52.250; 6.150