| Siege of Breda | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theEighty Years' War,Anglo-Spanish War and theThirty Years' War | |||||||
 The Surrender of Breda byDiego Velázquez. Oil on canvas, 1635. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United Provinces | Spanish Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Maurice of Nassau Justin of Nassau | Ambrogio Spinola Carlos Coloma | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 7,000 (Dutch garrison) 7,000 (Dutch relief force) 7,000 (English relief force) | 18,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 10,000 dead, wounded or captured[1][2] | 3,000 dead, wounded or captured | ||||||
  Siege of Breda (1624) (North Sea) Show map of North Sea | |||||||
Thesiege of Breda of 1624–1625 occurred during theEighty Years' War and was carried out by theArmy of Flanders. The siege resulted in thefortified city ofBreda passing from the control of theDutch Republic to that of theHabsburg Netherlands.
Breda was one of the most strongly fortified towns in the borderlands between the territory of the States of Holland and royal Brabant. The city was strategically located on a navigable river, theMark, and near several roads.[3][4]
Henry III of Nassau, Lord of Breda from 1509 to 1538 had travelled widely on behalf ofCharles V. In Italy, he came into contact with the modern defences of thebastion fort. In 1531 he commissioned the construction of the walls of Breda in the latest style. These were later modernised and expanded further.[5] In 1587 and 1622, the defences were further extended and updated.
The Breda fortress consisted of a very high earthen bulwark with 15 bastions. Its 55-to-117-metre-wide (180 to 384 ft) moat was five feet deep and was provided with water fromMark.[6][7] Access to the town was made possible by four brick gates.Crescentravelins were applied in the ditches. Hornwork was placed beyond the gates and at themonastery. Rows of stakes impeded assault by horsemen and foot soldiers and simultaneously prevented desertion.[8] The fortifications were in excellent condition and served as a state of the art example of fortification.[6]
There were several motives for Spinola's siege of Breda. Because the Dutch regularly used the town as a base for raiding Spanish Brabant, the parts of Brabant under royal rule would be better protected if the city were conquered. In addition, neighbouring towns occupied by the States, such as Bergen op Zoom, would be easier to conquer with a foothold in Breda.[9]
In 1590, Breda was captured from the Spanish using thestratagem with the peat boat.[10] The conquest of a well-defended city like Breda would erase this disgrace. More importantly, Spinola personally felt that the failure of thesiege of Bergen-op-Zoom (1622) was a blot on his reputation.[citation needed]
Furthermore, Spain wanted to have a strong position in potential peace negotiations. The conquest of Breda would enable Spain to put forward stronger demands concerning religious freedom for Catholics in the Republic and lifting the blockade of theScheldt.[citation needed]
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Around Breda, woods and marshes formed an obstacle for the cavalry and artillery of any besieging army and the high water table around the town posed challenges to attacking infantry. The rivers Mark andAa and other streams also hampered besiegers. By opening aninundation sluice near the Ginnekense gate, the area south of Breda could be put underwater. The north side had a functioning lock nearTerheijden.[11]
Because theStates of Holland and West Friesland knew that the Spanish army might attempt to conquer Breda, they provided the city with enough food, supplies, and weapons for an eight-month siege. The city council refused to store more food than was necessary for a nine-month siege. Nobody knew what tactics the Spanish army would apply. Therefore, the possibility of adirect assault was also considered. To prevent this, a Dutch army was stationed near Breda with the aim of disrupting any direct assault on the city.[12]
The garrison in Breda consisted of 17 companies in peacetime, each of which consisted of 65 men and 5 cavalry squadrons of 70 riders each. When it was probable that the city would become besieged, the squadrons were supplemented by another 30 riders each; the infantry was supplemented with 28 companies of 135 men. To save food, three squadrons were sent toGeertruidenberg shortly before a siege. The castle held approximately 100 civilians out of the 5,200 soldiers. The male inhabitants of Breda between 20 and 70 years, about 1,800 men, were armed to support the soldiers.[13]
The governor of the city wasJustin of Nassau, an illegitimate son ofWilliam I, Prince of Orange. His deputy was Dyrcx Cornelis van Oosterhout, but his role was insignificant during the siege.[14]
In addition to the soldiers, others stayed in the city.Ordinary citizens,farmers, spouses and children of soldiers, came to the town to seek protection against theSpanish army. The soldiers' wives were responsible for cooking and washing for the soldiers and caring for the sick and wounded. The total number of inhabitants in the city is estimated at 13,111. They are believed to have been housed in about 1,200 homes.[15]
Conflicting and incomplete data does not allow for an accurate calculation of the size of the Spanish army. On 30 September the number was probably around 40,000 soldiers and on about 2 May 1625, approximately 80,000 soldiers. 25,000 were encamped along the supply corridor, another 25,000 men were used for the containment of the city, and 30,000 served as general reserves.[16]
According to the text on the map by Blaeu, "[This was] so large an army, as had not been seen in the Netherlands in living memory."
| Percent | Nationality | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 38% | South Dutch | Infantry |
| 24% | German | Infantry |
| 10% | Italian | Infantry |
| 9% | Spanish | Riders |
| 9% | Spanish | Infantry |
| 5% | French | Infantry |
| 5% | English and Irish | Infantry |
The composition of the Spanish army was diverse, as shown in the table above. The army consisted primarily of infantry, with a small number of riders. Members of the infantry were equipped with either arapier and a five-metre-long (16 ft)pike, or a rapier with amusket; members of thecavalry were equipped with either alances and twopistols, or amusket and twopistols.[17][18]
The infantry was mainly used for the lines to guard against a relief army and against sorties from the city. In the supply corridor, the foot soldiers deployed to protect the convoys. The cavalry was more mobile than the infantry and was therefore mainly used to inspect the area and to protect convoys.[18]
Thecannons could fire 10 shots per hour and were operated bygunners. The exact number of the Spanish guns is not precisely known, but there were certainly more than 30.[19]Sappers engaged in building bridges, maintaining roads, and other activities.
The commander of the Spanish army wasAmbrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases, a renowned military strategist from Italy. His deputies were the regimental commandersHendrik, count van den Bergh, who was also commander of the supply corridor, andJohn VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen. Spinola was the commander of the reserve forces until 31 October when he transferred them to the command ofCarlos Coloma.
Because of the vastness of Breda, Spinola had his troops divided into four compartments. The four subjects with commanders were:
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Following the orders ofAmbrogio Spinola,Philip IV's army laid siege to Breda in August 1624. The siege was contrary to the wishes of Philip IV's government because of the already excessive burdens of the concurrent Eighty and Thirty Years' wars. The strategically located city was heavily fortified and strongly defended by a large and well prepared garrison of 7,000 men, that the Dutch were confident would hold out long enough to wear down besiegers while awaiting a relief force to disrupt the siege. Yet despite the Spanish government's opposition to major sieges in the Low Countries and the obstacles confronting any attack on such a strongly fortified and defended city, Spinola launched his Breda campaign, rapidly blocking the city's defences and driving off a Dutch relief army under the leadership ofMaurice of Nassau that had attempted to cut off the Spanish army's access to supplies.
In February 1625, a second relief force, consisting of 7,000 English troops under the leadership ofHorace Vere andErnst von Mansfeld, was also driven off by Spinola. After a costly nine-month siege,Justin of Nassau surrendered Breda on 2 June 1625. Only 3,500 Dutchmen[1] and fewer than 600 Englishmen had survived the siege.[2]
The siege of Breda is considered Spinola's greatest success and one of Spain's last major victories in theEighty Years' War. The siege was part of a plan to isolate the Republic from itshinterland, and co-ordinated withOlivare's naval war spearheaded by theDunkirkers, to economically choke the Dutch Republic. Although political infighting hindered Spinola's freedom of movement, Spain's efforts in the Netherlands continued thereafter. The siege of 1624 captured the attention ofEuropean princes and, along with other battles, played a part in the Spanish army regaining the formidable reputation it had held throughout the previous century.
In the latter stages of the combined Eighty and Thirty Years' wars that had greatly strained Spanish resources,Breda was lost to the Dutch under Frederick Henry after a four-month siege. In the 1648Treaty of Westphalia that ended the Thirty and Eighty Years' wars, it was ceded to theDutch Republic.
The siege of 1624–1625 is the subject of the 1998 novelThe Sun over Breda (El sol de Breda) by the Spanish authorArturo Pérez-Reverte, as part of theCaptain Alatriste series. The events of the siege – including both the gruelling fighting with the Dutch and the infighting among the Spanish, including a majormutiny by unpaid Spanish troops – are depicted from the point of view of a boy serving with the Spanish forces. The realistic depiction of war and soldiers' daily life seems influenced by the writer's own long experience as awar correspondent.
The siege appears in the filmAlatriste adapted from the novel series.
