Battle of Zutphen
Battle of Zutphen | |
---|---|
Part of the Guelders 52°8′51″N 6°12′18″E / 52.14750°N 6.20500°E(present-day the Netherlands) | |
Result | Spanish victory |
United Provinces
Philip Sidney †
Francisco Verdugo
The Battle of Zutphen was fought on 22 September 1586, near the village of
Zutphen was strategically important to Farnese, as it allowed his troops to levy war contributions in the rich Veluwe region. Therefore, he left some troops blockading Rheinberg and marched to relieve the town. He personally supplied Zutphen at first, but as the Anglo-Dutch siege continued, he assembled a large convoy whose delivery to the town he entrusted to Alfonso Félix de Ávalos Aquino y Gonzaga, Marquis del Vasto/Guasto.[2] Leicester learned of this when a courier dispatched by Farnese to Francisco Verdugo, the man in charge of Zutphen, was intercepted. The English and Dutch prepared an ambush, in which many English knights and noblemen were involved. In the end, the Spanish succeeded in delivering the convoy safely to Zutphen after a hard-fought battle. The Spanish cavalry, composed mainly of Italians and Albanians, was defeated by the English cavalry under the Earl of Essex. The Spanish infantry, however, held its ground and delivered the convoy to Zutphen. From there, reinforced by Verdugo, the Spanish troops forced the English to retreat.
Zutphen was secured for the Spanish, though in the following weeks the English managed to capture a major Spanish fort, Zutphen's sconce, on the bank of the IJssel river opposite the town. Most of the English gains were negated when, months later, the English governors of Deventer and Zutphen's sconce defected to the Spanish ranks and handed over their places to Farnese.
Background
In 1585, Queen
When Farnese besieged
On receiving news of the siege, Farnese dispatched the governor of
Led by Farnese himself and Francisco Verdugo, the Spanish troops left Borculo at night, passed next to the Dutch town of
Battle
Preparations
To preserve Zutphen's garrison, Farnese gathered enough food to feed 4,000 men for three months in the towns of
Leicester waited for the Spanish convoy near the small village of
Leicester formed his army over a deep, narrow way, with the elevation where the Dutch were entrenched behind. He deployed his cavalry in two squadrons, formed a large infantry battalion, put 300 or 350 advanced
Ambush
The Spanish vanguard was driven off by the English at the first charge,[21] but the Spanish pikemen under captains Pedro Manrique and Manuel de Vega, from Francisco Arias de Bobadilla's and Juan del Águila's tercios, formed the defenders into squadron formation and kept the way open for the wagons. As the carters fled at the beginning of the fight, the Spanish arquebusiers had to take their places and brought the wagons towards Zutphen.[22] Stanley's pikemen charged upon the Spanish squadron, but they were repelled at the push of pike. As the fight approached Zutphen and Francisco Verdugo noticed the musketry fire, he ordered a wagon to be loaded with powder and bullets and sent it to the Spanish arquebusiers.[23] The English cavalry, in the meantime, charged over the Spanish pikes on one of its flanks. Though they succeeded in breaking the two or three foremost ranks, Essex's men could not penetrate further.[23] Twice more the English charged upon the squadron, but they were as well repelled.[23]
To reduce the pressure on the Spanish infantry, the Marquis del Vasto collected his cavalry and charged over Stanley's infantry, being in turn repelled. He was nearly killed when an English soldier attacked him with a
During the confusion, the cavalry left behind by Del Vasto, which included the Italian and Epirote companies under Appio Conti, Hannibal Gonzaga, George Crescia, the Marquis of Bentivoglio and Nicolo Cefis,[27] reached Zutphen. Count Hannibal Gonzaga and the Albanian captain George Crescia attacked the English on their own, without Del Vasto's orders. Crescia was dismounted and taken prisoner by Lord Willoughby,[21] while Gonzaga, not wearing his close helmet, received a serious slash in the neck and fell from his horse.[26] On the English side, Philip Sidney, governor of Vlissingen, was fatally wounded in the leg in the final charge.[24] The Spanish cavalry then sought protection behind the infantry, which kept the English cavalry at bay. Verdugo, supported by the Albanian captain Nicolao Basta and the Spanish Evangelista de las Cuevas, Commissar General of the cavalry, managed to restore order in the Spanish ranks. Seeing the good order of Verdugo and Del Vasto's men, the English and Dutch commanders did not renew the action and began to retire back to their camp.[28] A handful of Spanish pikemen, including some low ranking officers, disobeyed their orders and began to pursue the English.[28]
Aftermath
The Spanish soldier Alonso Vázquez labelled the Battle of Zutphen as "one of the best factions that until that time was ever seen in Flanders".[29] For many years it was common among Spaniards and Netherlanders to call a hard-fought action "as warm as the fight of Zutphen".[30] According to John Lothrop Motley, "it is probable that the encounter would have been forgotten by posterity but by the melancholy close up upon that field to Sidney's bright career".[30] Sidney allegedly had removed his cuisses when he saw that William Pelham was not wearing any.[31] However, by the 1590s cavalry soldiers wore less armour than in the past, and this, instead of Sidney's solidarity toward his companion, cost his life.[31] Sidney was carried to the town of Arnhem to recover, but he died three weeks later of gangrene, as surgeons were unable to extract the bullet.[32] Historians are uncertain about the number of casualties both sides suffered during the battle. Motley claims 13 horse and 22 foot killed on the English side, against 'perhaps' 200 men on the Spanish side.[1] On the other hand, Vázquez claimed that the Spanish "were winners with very little loss, having wounded and slaughtered many people to the rebels".[33]
On 12 October, for the third time, Farnese supplied the garrison of Zutphen, personally, as he had done the first time. Later on, he sent Verdugo back to Friesland and left Johann Baptista von Taxis in charge of Zutphen. After that, the Spanish army took its
Stanley and York's acts not only negated the gains of the 1586 campaign, but also undermined Leicester's reputation and the Dutch States confidence in the English troops.
Notes
- ^ a b c Motley, p. 54
- ^ Lewes Lewkenor. The Estate of English Fugitives under the King of Spain and his ministers. 1595
- ^ a b c Randall, pp. 790–791
- ^ a b c d Grimeston, p. 926
- ^ a b Strada, p. 406
- ^ Strada, p. 407
- ^ Strada, p. 408
- ^ a b c d e f Le Clerc, p. 128
- ^ Vázquez, pp. 210–211
- ^ Vázquez, p. 211
- ^ a b c d Strada, p. 409
- ^ Vázquez, p. 215
- ^ a b c Vázquez, p. 217
- ^ a b c Strada, p. 410
- ^ Motley, p. 49
- ^ Baudart, p. 100
- ^ Motely, p. 48
- ^ a b Wright, p. 316
- ^ Vázquez, p. 218
- ^ Motley, p. 50
- ^ a b Motley, p. 51
- ^ Vázquez, p. 219
- ^ a b c d Vázquez, p. 220
- ^ a b Motley, p. 52
- ^ Vázquez, p. 221
- ^ a b c Vázquez, p. 222
- ^ Bentivoglio, p. 284
- ^ a b Vázquez, p. 223
- ^ "Una de las mejores facciones que hasta aquellos tiempos jamás se vio en Flandes". Vázquez, p. 218
- ^ a b Motley, p.55
- ^ a b Stewart, p. 312
- ^ Stewart, p. 316
- ^ "Quedando vencedores con muy poca pérdida, habiéndole herido y degollado á los rebeldes muy mucha gente". Vázquez, p. 224
- ^ a b Motley, p. 60
- ^ Motley, p. 61
- ^ Motley, pp. 155–156
- ^ Motley, p. 178
- ^ Motley, p. 188
- ^ Motley, p. 238
- ^ Van Nimwegen, p. 155
References
- Baudart, cfm l (1616). Les guerres de Nassau. Amsterdam: M. Colin. OCLC 433174028.
- Bentivoglio, Guido (1687). Las Guerras de Flandes, desde la muerte del emperador Carlos V hasta la Tregua de los Doce Años. Antwerp: Geronymo Verdussen.
- OCLC 560893546.
- Le Clerc, Jean (1737). Histoire des Provinces Unies des Pays-Bas. Vol. I. Amsterdam: Z. Chatelain.
- OCLC 8903843.
- Randall, David (2011). "Netherlands Expedition". Encyclopaedia of Tudor England. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 790–791. ISBN 9781598842982.
- Stewart, Alan (2001). Philip Sidney: A Double Life. London: Pimlico. ISBN 9781448104567.
- Strada, Famiano (1681). Segunda decada de las Guerras de Flandes: desde el principio del govierno de Alexandro Farnese. Cologne. OCLC 25496894.
- Van Nimwegen, Olaf (2010). The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588–1688. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843835752.
- Vázquez, Alonso (1879). Guerras de Flandes y Francia en tiempo de Alejandro Farnese. Madrid: Ginesta. OCLC 42661016.
- Wright, Thomas (1838). Queen Elizabeth and Her Times: A Series of Original Letters. Vol. II. London: Henry Colburn.