The Capture of Axel was a military event during the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 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 Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

and the Anglo–Spanish War in which the town of Axel, defended by the Spanish, was captured by an Anglo-Dutch force led by Sir

Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, ' ...

, with the garrison being put to the sword. It was also the first feat of

Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange (; 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 on 23 April 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upo ...

. Maurice of Nassau was appointed

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

of Holland and Zeeland on his eighteenth birthday in 1585 and in the following year he began leading the fight. Axel, a town in the

County of Zeeland The County of Zeeland () was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries and it later became one of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic. It covered an area in the Scheldt and Meuse (river), Meuse delta roughly corresponding to t ...

, was an important fortified city on the southwestern edge of the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

estuary and had been in the hands of the Spaniards since 1583 when Alexander Farnese, the later Duke of Parma, had captured the place. The acquisition would make the Dutch and English holdings in the area such as

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

and Sluys more secure and a reasonable base from which to launch attacks.

Assault and capture

On June 17, 1586, with the assistance of the newly arrived English forces under the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...

and Sir Philip Sydney, the stage was set for the capture of the town.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. 22
/ref> Here they joined with Maurice's men of Zeelanders and marched towards Axel and on arrival began to besiege it. Maurice had opened the dykes which then flooded the towns around

Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...

to cut off Axel from the mainland. This was also used to discourage any assistance in terms of relief and supply. Almost immediately an assault was launched but the leading assault troops of forty men under Colonel Jan Pyrom found the surrounding

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

very deep. Undeterred they swam across it and with the ladders brought up, scaled the ramparts killing the guard. Once inside they opened the gates for the rest of the besiegers to assault the place. The Dutch companies were first to rush in then followed by the English under Sydney and then Willoughby with the final wave. The Spanish garrison recovered from their surprise but numbers were against them and soon the whole garrison, despite gallant resistance, was slaughtered, with very few being taken prisoner. After the siege Maurice had several redoubts built to protect Axel and the surrounding area. Axel itself was then garrisoned by over 800 soldiers under Colonel Pyron who was rewarded for his services in the action. He then set about dismantling the Catholic magistrates and clearing the city of its inhabitants. Maurice as commander was to make great achievements later on in the States' campaigns. Sydney would later be mortally wounded in the siege of Zutphen a year later and Leicester would leave soon after, following poor relations with the Dutch and fellow English officers.

References

;Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Axel 1586 Sieges involving Spain Sieges involving England Sieges involving the Dutch Republic 1586 in Europe Conflicts in 1586 History of Zeeland Capture of Axel