Siege of Groenlo (1597)

Siege of Groenlo

Part of: Eighty Years War

Map of the Siege by Joan Blaeu

date	September 11-28, 1597
place	Groenlo
output	Dutch victory

Parties to the conflict
United Netherlands	Spain
Commander
Moritz of Orange	Jan from Styrum
Troop strength
6000 infantry 1400 cavalry 14 cannons	800 infantry 300 cavalry

The situation around 1597

The siege of Groenlo by Dutch troops under the command of Prince Moritz of Orange took place from September 11th to 28th, 1597 during the Eighty Years War and ended with the surrender and the withdrawal of the Spanish garrison. The liberation of the city of Groenlo was part of Moritz's campaign of 1597 .

prehistory

After the governor Georg von Lalaing defected into the Catholic camp in 1580, Groenlo fell into Spanish hands and has been a garrison town ever since.

Moritz of Orange besieged the heavily fortified town of Groenlo in 1595 and tried to take it. Then the Spanish general Cristóbal de Mondragón set out with his army from Antwerp . To avoid a bloody battle, Moritz withdrew his troops from Groenlo.

On August 1, 1597 Moritz left The Hague with 7,000 infantrymen and 1,200 cavalrymen in order to tackle his offensive against the Spaniards. After the successful sieges of Rheinberg on August 20 and Moers on September 3, Moritz moved further north. On September 8th he crossed the Rhine at Orsoy and on the evening of September 11th 1597 he reached Groenlo.

course

Moritz of Orange had the city attacked from the south and east on September 13th. When the fortified positions were advanced to the city to about 335 m in the south and about 175 m in the east, both were secured by entrenchments and connected to one another. Jumps were also built in the north and west. The positions of the besiegers were connected by trenches. On the 17th the besiegers reached the edge of the moat in the east. In the south, this happened a day later. Guns were brought into position to cover the trench crossing. Artillery was also brought up in other parts. Only when the besiegers had already started building galleries to cross the moat did the besieged begin to defend themselves. The attacking troops were soon able to take out the crew's guns with their artillery. The city was shot at with mortars. Glowing balls were used and around 60 houses were set on fire. On September 25th, a trench crossing was ready and miners started their work. On September 27, the crew surrendered. The troops then moved to Bredevoort .

consequences

Groenlo was by the Dutch until the siege of 1606 by Ambrosius Spinola held.

literature

• Isaak Tirion : Vaderlandsche Historie, Vervattende Geschiedenislessen of the Vereenigde Nederlanden, in Zonderheid the van Holland, van de Vroegste Tyden af . Volume 8, Amsterdam 1753. (nl.)
• Jan Wagenaar : General history of the United Netherlands, from the oldest to the present time, composed of the most credible writers and proven documents. Volume 4, Leipzig 1760.
• Georg von Alten (Hrsg.): Handbook for Army and Fleet. Encyclopedia of Martial Sciences and Allied Fields. , Vol. 4, Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., Berlin 1912, p. 339.
• Athonie Duyck: Journaal van Anthonis Duyck, Advokaat-Fiscaal van den Raad van State (1591-1602) . , Arnheim / The Hague 1864 (nl.)

Web links

• Illustration by Frans Hogenberg from 1595: Graff Mauritz has considered, Before the Stat Groll brought his camp, ... ( digitized version )