Siege of Rheinberg (1598)
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| date | October 9-14, 1598 |
|---|---|
| place | Rheinberg |
| output | Surrender of the city |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Schaeff † |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 1800 men | 20,000 infantry 2,000 cavalry |
The siege of Rheinberg in 1598 by Spanish troops under the command of Admiral Francisco de Mendoza took place from October 9 to 14, 1598 during the Eighty Years War and ended with the surrender of the city.
prehistory
On August 20, 1597, after the siege of Rheinberg, Moritz von Orange managed to recapture and occupy the city from the Spaniards after seven years.
Due to the Treaty of Vervins on May 2, 1598, Archduke Albrecht VII of Austria , governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, was able to use all his power against the Dutch. He appointed Admiral Francisco de Mendoza commander in chief over 22,000 men and Frederick IV von dem Bergh as marshal . At the beginning of September they began their campaign, crossed the Meuse eastwards and traversed the neutral duchies of Jülich and Kleve and the Archdiocese of Cologne . Finally, on September 4th, they conquered the town of Orsoy and erected entrenchments here and on the opposite side of the Rhine in Walsum to secure the river. Since a storm had torn away the bridge between the two towns, Mendoza caused Rheinberg to be conquered in order to regain a safe connection with the right bank of the Rhine.
siege
On October 9, 1598, the Spaniards began to siege Rheinberg and demanded surrender, which the city commandant Schaeff refused. The Spaniards then began firing. A renewed call to surrender followed on October 14th and was again rejected by the new city commandant Lukas Hedding, Schaeff had previously died of the plague. On the same day the bombardment continued and an enemy bullet struck the tower and ignited the stored powder, the tower exploded and the Electorate of Cologne, several houses and parts of the city wall was destroyed and Hedding was killed. Thereupon the crew surrendered on condition of free withdrawal.
consequences
Rheinberg was held by the Spanish until the siege of 1601 by Moritz von Orange.
literature
- Friedrich von Schiller : History of the fall of the United Netherlands from the Spanish government . Leipzig 1810, volume 4
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friedrich von Schiller "History of the Fall of the United Netherlands from the Spanish Government", Part 4, p. 208; Aloys Wittrup "From Rheinberg's Past Days" p. 52; Franz Fidelis von Zeil-Wurzach "Dictionary of noble sieges and battles, (...) - Second part", 1789, keyword "Rheinberg", p. 289