The siege of Oldenzaal was a short siege that took place during the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
and the
Anglo–Spanish War by a Dutch and English army led by
Maurice of Orange
Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...
of the city of Oldenzaal from 20 to 23 October 1597. The city surrendered to the overwhelming Dutch and English force. The siege was part of Maurice's campaign of 1597 known as the ''Ten Glory Years'', his highly successful offensive against the Spaniards.
[Israel pg 29-30]
Background
In the year 1597 Maurice had launched an offensive and so far had had a very successful campaign in the east of the Netherlands. Earlier that year he had captured all the cities in the area
Rheinberg
Rheinberg () is a town in the Wesel (district), district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Moers and south of Wesel.
It comprises the municipal districts of Rheinberg, B ...
,
Meurs
Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; archaic Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel.
History
Known earliest from 1186, the county of Moe ...
,
Grol and
Bredevoort
Bredevoort ( Low Saxon: ) is a small city with city privileges of about 1600 inhabitants in the municipality of Aalten, Netherlands. It is between the towns of Aalten and Winterswijk.
Bredevoort has presented itself as ''Bredevoort boekenstad'' ...
. The last two sieges were fierce and the
capture of Bredevoort even led to a sacking of the city. Maurice then moved on the city of
Enschede
Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
where the place
surrendered soon afterward.
[
Maurice then split his force in order to complete the simultaneous capture of the towns of Oldenzaal and Ootmasrum - Captain Van Duivenvoorde was sent with part of the army which included English and Scots under Nicholas Parker from Enschede to ]Ootmarsum
Ootmarsum is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is a part of the municipality of Dinkelland, and lies about 10 km north of Oldenzaal.
In 2001, the city of Ootmarsum had 4227 inhabitants. The built-up area of the city was 1.5 ...
which also surrendered. Maurice along with his cousin (and brother-in-law) William Louis meanwhile drew his portion of the army some 4,000 strong to Oldenzaal with the rest of the English troops under Horace Vere
Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury (1565 – 2 May 1635) (also ''Horatio Vere'' or ''Horatio de Vere'') was an English military leader during the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War, a brother of Francis Vere. He was sent to the Pa ...
.[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. 45
/ref>
Since 1572 Oldenzaal had been in the hands of the Spaniards with the Catholic Church deeply rooted and every year a procession celebrated the Beggars
Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public plac ...
being expelled from Oldenzaal. Oldenzaal's defenses consisted of a main wall surrounding the city, six bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
s, a moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, and an earthen rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
, however some of the work on rebuilding the defenses was left unfinished.
Siege and aftermath
The city was defended by six companies of approximately 400 men under Governor Frederick Boymer. They only had one large gun at their disposal and could hardly do anything against the number of Maurice, who with his Dutch and English troops had encamped north of Oldenzaal.[
The siege commenced soon after but the town replied with cannon and ]matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...
causing some of the besiegers to run away from their incomplete siege works leaving the gabion
A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, ...
s unfilled. The setback was only temporary and the Spanish garrison, realizing they were outnumbered, began to negotiate terms with an honorable surrender. Terms were signed with the governor and the clergy and the Spanish garrison were thus allowed to leave for Lingen
Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...
with full honors and the following day Maurice marched his triumphant troops into the city.[
After having seized Oldenzaal and Ootmarusm the forces rejoined and Maurice then marched to Lingen and captured that city as well, ending the highly successful campaign for the year. The conquests of Oldenzaal and Lingen were a great achievement for Maurice during this successful period, known as the ''Ten Glory years'' and strengthened the eastern boundaries of the Republic.][
In 1605 ]Ambrogio Spinola
Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569-25 September 1630) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He i ...
captured the city for Spain but it was regained again in 1626 by Frederick Henry and stayed permanently in Dutch hands.[van Nimwegen pg 214]
See also
* List of Stadtholders of the Low Countries
* List of Governors of the Spanish Netherlands
* Capture of Enschede (1597)
The Capture of Enschede took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War (1585), Anglo–Spanish War on 18 and 19 October 1597. A Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange took the city after a very short siege and threate ...
* Siege of Groenlo (1597)
The siege of Groenlo was a siege of Groenlo during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War by a Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Nassau after it had followed an unsuccessful siege by Maurice in 1595.van Nimwegen pp 165-66
...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
* {{aut, J.Wagenaar et al. (1753):
Vaderlandsche Historie, Vervattende Geschiedenislessen der Vereenigde Nederlanden, in Zonderheid die van Holland, van de Vroegste Tyden af - Achtste Deel
' Amsterdam: Isaak Tirion
Isaak Tirion (1705 in Utrecht – 1765 in Amsterdam) was an 18th-century publisher from the Northern Netherlands.
Biography
According to the RKD, he is most remembered for his ''Hedendaagsche historie'' (''Modern History'') and his ''Vaderlandse ...
(Dutch)
Oldenzaal
Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border.
It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the city ...
1597 in the Dutch Republic
1597 in the Habsburg Netherlands
16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England
16th-century military history of Spain
Oldenzaal (1597)
Eighty Years' War (1566–1609)
Oldenzaal (1597)
Oldenzaal (1597)
Oldenzaal (1597)
Oldenzaal (1597)
Oldenzaal
Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border.
It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the city ...
Oldenzaal