Siege of Nijmegen (1591)
| Siege of Nijmegen (1591) | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Guelderland Present day the Netherlands | |
| Result | Dutch and English victory |
Dutch Republic
England
Scotland
Spanish Empire Derrick VlemminckThe siege of Nijmegen was a military engagement during the
Background
Nijmegen located at the confluence of the
A year after Schenk’s failure the States army under Maurice of Nassau, reinforced with English troops under Francis Vere, achieved many victories. Starting off with the capture of Breda in 1590 this was followed by the capture of Zutphen, Deventer, Delfzijl and Hulst the next year.[5]
On the north bank of Nijmegen was the outlying fortification of Knodsenburg, a highly strategic position overlooking the city which was built by the Dutch and was then garrisoned. On July 15 Alexander Farnese, the Duke of Parma reinforced Nijmegen and besieged the fort in order to thwart an Anglo-Dutch attempt to besiege the city. Under the direction of Maurice however they defeated Parma and forced his retreat ten days later.[3] Parma was then sent by Philip II of Spain to France to fight the Huguenot war against Henry IV of France. As a result, Nijmegen was greatly weakened, and Maurice with the Anglo-Dutch decided to strike there in the autumn.[6]
Siege
On October 16 Maurice and his force bridged the deep, wide, and rapid river Waal and had transported 8,500 infantry and sixteen companies of cavalry to the southern side and surrounded the city the next day.
Maurice in the meantime had built up the fort at Knodsenburg, allowing him to bombard the city from there but was unable to convince a surrender; so a closer siege was needed.[1]
The English and Scots under Francis Vere were employed in several attacks on the outskirts which resulted in the capture of all the outlying sconces.[8] There the Anglo-Dutch force had entrenched their camp and made approaches towards the city. This was made easier for the besiegers in that the water level of the Waal was low.[2] They had got 68 pieces of artillery into three positions commanding the weakest part of the defences of the city between two positions known as the Falcon Tower and the Hoender gate. At Knodsenburg the batteries being on a high position were pounding the city from across the river. The spire of St. Stephen's Church was destroyed by the shelling and also a large number of buildings in the city were destroyed.[2]
On October 20 Maurice sent a demand to the besieged to surrender the city but his reply was rebuffed. The besiegers then opened all of their batteries without further delay in a heavy bombardment.[7]
Within a few days however the city decided to negotiate with Maurice about a possible surrender. The result of this came from a disagreement between the cities
Aftermath
The city had set a number of conditions but Maurice did not accept these except for an absolute pardon. This was eventually agreed and thus 300 men surrendered and were given the honours of war. The terms of the surrender were similar to those accorded to Zutphen and Deventer.[7] He also replaced the Catholic councillors with Protestant ones and the practice of the Catholic faith was no longer allowed in Nijmegen. To make his intentions sincere, the Grote Markt was burned on May 21, 1592 since it contained many Catholic images.[2]
Another important city had been added to the domains of the republic and as part of the
References
- Citations
- ^ a b c van Nimwegen pp 156-57
- ^ a b c d Kolman, Rudolf Jan (1952). De reductie van Nijmegen (1591): voor en naspel (Dutch). J. B. Wolters.
- ^ a b Markham 178-79
- ^ Steggle p.63
- ^ Donaldson p.95
- ^ Watson (1839). The history of the reign of Philip the Second, king of Spain. Tegg. pp. 474–75.
- ^ a b c d e Motley, John Lothrop (1869). History of the United Netherlands from the death of William the silent to the Synod of Dort, with a full view of the English-Dutch struggle against Spain, and of the origin and destruction of the Spanish armada, Volume 3. pp. 116–17.
- ^ a b 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 38
- ^ t' Hart p 21-22
- ^ Markham pp. 194-95
- Bibliography
- Borman, Tracy (1997). Sir Francis Vere in the Netherlands, 1589-1603: A Re-evaluation of His Career as Sergeant Major General of Elizabeth I's Troops. University of Hull.
- Donaldson, Ian (2012). Ben Jonson: A Life. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191636790.
- Markham, C. R. (2007). The Fighting Veres: Lives Of Sir Francis Vere And Sir Horace Vere. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1432549053.
- Steggle, Matthew (2004). Richard Brome: Place and Politics on the Caroline Stage. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719063589.
- Tex, Jan Den (1973). Oldenbarnevelt: 1606-1619, Volume 2. CUP Archive. ISBN 9780521084291.
- 't Hart, Marjolein (2014). The Dutch Wars of Independence: Warfare and Commerce in the Netherlands 1570-1680. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-73422-6.
- van Nimwegen, Olaf (2010). The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688 Volume 31 of Warfare in History Series. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9781843835752.