View source for Siege of Zutphen (1591)

{{Short description|1591 siege}}
{{about|the 1591 Anglo-Dutch victory|the 1586 Spanish victory|Battle of Zutphen}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Siege of Zutphen (1591)
|partof=the [[Eighty Years' War]] & the [[Anglo–Spanish War (1585)|Anglo–Spanish War]] & [[Maurice's campaign of 1591]]
|date=19 to 30 May 1591
|image=Capture of Zutphen by Maurice of Orange in 1591 - Verovering van Zutphen door Prins Maurits in 1591 (Johannes Janssonius, 1663).jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=The Capture of Zutphen in 1591 - print by [[Jan Janssonius]]
|place=[[Zutphen]], [[Guelders]]<br>(present-day the [[Netherlands]])
| coordinates = {{WikidataCoord|display=it}}
| map_type    = Netherlands#North Sea
| map_relief  = yes
| map_size    =
| map_marksize =
| map_caption =
| map_label   =
| map_mark =
| casus       =
| territory   =
|result=Dutch and English victory<ref name=autogenerated>{{cite book|last=Watson|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Watson (historian)|title=The History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain|year=1839|publisher=Tegg|location=Lyon Public Library|pages=473–74|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rU71KMHN4V8C&pg=PA473}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>MacCaffrey pg 259</ref>
|combatant1={{flag|Dutch Republic|1581}}<br>{{flagicon|England|23px}} [[England]]
|combatant2={{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Spanish Empire]]
|commander1= {{flagicon|Dutch Republic|1581}} [[Maurice of Orange]]<br>{{flagicon|England|23px}} [[Francis Vere]]
|commander2={{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Jarich van Liauckema]]<ref>Cañete, p.125</ref>
|strength1=9,000 soldiers<br>1,600 cavalry
|strength2= 1,000 (Spanish and Walloons)<ref name=autogenerated0>Motley pg 104-06</ref>
|casualties1=Light
|casualties2=Most captured
|campaignbox =
{{Campaignbox Dutch Revolt}}
{{Campaignbox Anglo-Spanish War}}
}}
The '''siege of Zutphen''' was an eleven-day siege of the city of Zutphen by Dutch and English troops led by [[Maurice of Orange|Maurice of Nassau]], during the [[Eighty Years' War]] and the [[Anglo–Spanish War (1585)|Anglo–Spanish War]]. The siege began on 19 May 1591 after a clever [[Ruse of war|ruse]] by the besiegers. The city was then besieged for eleven days, after which the Spanish garrison surrendered.<ref name=autogenerated /><ref name=autogenerated3>van Nimwegen pg. 155</ref>
==Background==
Zutphen was a [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic]] city on the east bank of the River [[IJssel]]. In 1572, with the resurgence of the Dutch rebellion against [[Philip II of Spain]], Zutphen was first conquered by State troops led by [[Willem IV van den Bergh]]. The city was later recaptured by the Spaniards led by [[Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Duke of Alba|Don Frederick]], and the population was punished and then slaughtered for the surrender earlier that year.<ref name="MotleyP60">Motley, p. 60</ref>
In 1586, the English under the [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester|Earl of Leicester]] took Zutphen's important outlying [[sconce (fortification)|sconce]], but soon English [[turncoat]] [[Rowland York]] handed the sconce over to the Spaniards, leaving Zutphen in their complete control.<ref name="MotleyP60" /> York died there of [[smallpox]] a year later, although he may have been poisoned by the Spanish to keep him from betraying again.<ref>Bertie, ''Five Generations of a Loyal House'', p. 120; but cf. ''Cal. State Papers'', Dom. 1581–90, p. 466, where he is said to have died of the smallpox.</ref> As a consequence, [[William Stanley (Elizabethan)|William Stanley]] handed over the nearby town of [[Deventer]] to the Spaniards.<ref name="Randall">Randall, pp. 790–791</ref>
In 1590, Maurice had [[Capture of Breda (1590)|taken Breda]] by hiding soldiers within a peat barge and was thus able to use Breda as a base for further operations. The Dutch army could then launch an offensive at three points: to the South, to the East, and to the North. Maurice headed towards [[Nijmegen]] to the East along the River IJssel.<ref name=autogenerated3 />
By the beginning of 1591, Maurice's first goal was to take back Zutphen. With the parallel waterways, he could then move the troops and artillery as quickly as possible and also keep the Spanish from reinforcing the besieged towns.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The garrison of Zutphen itself consisted of nearly 1,000 Spaniards and [[Walloons]], and on the west bank of the river lay the important sconce.<ref name=autogenerated0 />
==Siege==
Maurice's army consisted of 9000 soldiers and 1600 horsemen which marched to Zutphen, along with 100 ships.<ref>{{Aut|J Buisman, A.F.V. van Engelen}} (1998): [https://books.google.com/books?id=P7LKv2fv1EMC ''Duizend jaar weer, wind en water in de Lage Landen. Deel 4: 1575-1675''] Franeker: Van Wijnen {{ISBN|9051941439}} (Dutch)</ref> The rapid march in five days meant that Maurice could then prepare his artillery, which was stored on the ships; a far easier method of transportation than trying to haul them overland over boggy ground.<ref>{{aut|J. Hoffenaar, Joep van Hoof, Jaap de Moor}} (2002): [https://books.google.com/books?id=qFb9M24Bg0kC Vuur in beweging: 325 jaar veldartillerie, 1677-2002] Uitgeverij Boom. {{ISBN|9053527354}} (Dutch)</ref>
In order to take Zutphen, the sconce on the west bank had to be taken, as it controlled the main bridge to the town. Once this had been taken, the town could be besieged proper once all the heavy guns from the [[barges]] had disembarked.<ref name=autogenerated0 />
Maurice hoped to use another ruse similar to the one he had used at Breda with the peat barge. [[Francis Vere]], in charge of the English troops, wanted the 'dirt' removed from the 1587 treachery and thus wanted to lead the assault.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite book|last=Tupper|first=Arthur|title=Historical Records of the British Army (Infantry), Issue 3|year=1837|publisher=University of Michigan|location=Great Britain. Adjutant-General's Office|pages=48–49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0dWvTtckaMC&pg=PA49 }}</ref> Vere got his wish and Maurice ordered him to take the sconce on the [[Veluwe]] opposite Zutphen by sending no more than a dozen men and disguise them as farmers, some even dressed as women.<ref name=autogenerated0 /> It was hoped that the Spanish would think they were refugees escaping the Dutch army and would let them in. Once the sconce was captured Zutphen would have no hope of holding out.<ref name=autogenerated2>Robinson pg. 97</ref>
Vere led the English troops to [[Doesburg]] and set the plan in motion. The disguised soldiers ran towards the fort, "pursued" by a fake cavalry charge. The garrison opened the gates and let the disguised soldiers in; the English then went as far as selling the guards butter, cheese, and eggs.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davies|first=C.M.|title=History of Holland, from the Beginning of the Tenth to the End of the Eighteenth Century, Volume 2|year=1842|publisher=Parker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=muZRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA250 }}</ref> When the order was given the English cut down the guard quickly enough to allow the Dutch cavalry to rush in, followed by the rest of the troops as they had been hidden by a large [[mound]] nearby.<ref name=autogenerated4 /> Soon the Anglo–Dutch force overpowered the Spanish and turned the guns on Zutphen.<ref name=autogenerated0 />
After this successful strategy, having secured the bridge and further reinforced by Count William Louis' Frisian companies, Maurice began the actual assault. The Dutch gunners then brought thirty artillery pieces up to three points, in case the garrison tried to retake the town, and then opened fire.<ref name=autogenerated0 /> The Spanish garrison soon saw that any further resistance was now futile and surrendered to the besiegers.<ref name=autogenerated4 /><ref name=autogenerated2 />
<gallery class="center" widths="300px" heights="250px">
File:Het beleg van Zutphen (1591) door Prins Maurits - The siege of Zutphen in 1591 by Prince Maurice (Bartholomeus Willemsz. Dolendo).jpg|Siege of Zutphen in 1591 by [[Bartholomeus Dolendo]] - The English are attacking the sconce at top of picture
File:The taking of Zutphen.jpg|The disguised English soldiers take the sconce, from a Victorian book
</gallery>
==Aftermath==
[[File:Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt - Maurits van Nassau, prins van Oranje en Stadhouder.jpg|thumb|225px|upright|Maurice of Nassau]]
The town which had so eluded the Dutch was now firmly in their hands, while the Spanish had lost an important town.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The terms of surrender were light: the garrison was allowed to retreat, the citizens were allowed three days to either depart or swear allegiance to the Dutch Republic.<ref name=autogenerated0 /> After setting up a strong garrison in Zutphen, Maurice marched north with his army, his artillery and munitions being sent down the IJssel in barges.<ref name=autogenerated0 /> His next target would be [[Siege of Deventer (1591)|Deventer]].<ref name=autogenerated />
Vere was nicknamed 'the fox' after his successful ruse employed during the siege; he dug up the body of Rowland York and hanged and [[Gibbeting|gibbeted]] it as a reminder of York's treachery.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Zutphen would remain in Dutch hands for the rest of the war.
==See also==
* [[Battle of Zutphen]]
* [[List of stadtholders in the Low Countries]]
* [[List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands|List of governors of the Spanish Netherlands]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Henty, G. A.|author-link=G. A. Henty|title=By England's Aid: Or the Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-1604)|year=2004|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=9781419111372}}
*{{cite book|last=Honan, Park|author-link=Park Honan|title=Christopher Marlowe:Poet & Spy|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198186953|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191622793}}
*{{cite book|last=MacCaffrey, Wallace T|author-link=Wallace T. MacCaffrey|title=Elizabeth I: War and Politics, 1588-1603|year=1994|publisher=Princeton Paperbacks|location=Princeton University|isbn=9780691036519}}
*{{cite book|last=Markham, Clement|author-link=Clements Markham|title=The Fighting Veres: Lives Of Sir Francis Vere And Sir Horace Vere|year=2007|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1432549053}}
*{{cite book|last=Lothrop Motley, John|author-link=John Lothrop Motley|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic, Entire 1566–74|year=2006|location=Hard Press|isbn=978-1406952162|url=https://archive.org/details/jm23v}}
*{{cite book|last=van Nimwegen|first=Olaf|title=The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688 Volume 31 of Warfare in History Series|year=2010|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=9781843835752}}
* {{cite book|last=Randall|first=David|chapter=Netherlands Expedition|title=Encyclopaedia of Tudor England|location=Santa Barbara, California|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2011|isbn=9781598842982|pages=790–791}}
*{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Paul|title=Military Honour and the Conduct of War: From Ancient Greece to Iraq|year=2006|publisher=Cass Military Studies, Routledge|isbn=9780203969632}}
*{{cite book|last=Rowse A. L.|author-link=A. L. Rowse|title=Expansion of Elizabethan England|year=2006|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0299188245}}
*{{cite book|last= Cañete|first= Hugo A|title=''La Guerra de Frisia''|year=2015|location=Malaga|publisher=Ediciones Platea|isbn=9788494288432|url=http://www.gehm.es/edad-moderna/la-guerra-de-frisia-las-campanas-del-coronel-verdugo-en-el-norte-de-flandes-1579-1594/}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1591|Zutphen]]
[[Category:1591 in the Dutch Republic]]
[[Category:1591 in the Habsburg Netherlands]]
[[Category:16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England]]
[[Category:16th-century military history of Spain]]
[[Category:Battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|Zutphen (1591)]]
[[Category:Eighty Years' War (1566–1609)]]
[[Category:Sieges of the Eighty Years' War|Zutphen (1591)]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Dutch Republic|Zutphen (1591)]]
[[Category:Sieges involving England|Zutphen (1591)]]
[[Category:Sieges involving Spain|Zutphen (1591)]]
[[Category:Duchy of Guelders|Zutphen]]
[[Category:Zutphen]]