The siege of Rees of 1599, also known as the relief of Rees (''Socorro de Rees in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''), was an unsuccessful attempt by Protestant-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

forces led by Count Simon VI of Lippe, and Anglo-Dutch forces sent by Prince Maurice of Nassau ( nl, Maurits van Oranje), commanded by Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein and the Count Ernst of Solms, to capture the strategic stronghold of Rees,

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); ...

Duchy of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (german: Herzogtum Kleve; nl, Hertogdom Kleef) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves ...

(present-day

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

) from the Spanish forces of Don

Francisco de Mendoza Francisco López de Mendoza y Mendoza (Granada, 1547 – Madrid, 1 March 1623), in the literature often simply referred to as Francisco de Mendoza, was a Spanish nobleman, diplomat, general, and eventually bishop, who briefly played an important r ...

, Admiral of Aragon, second-in-command of the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the Habsburg Spain, kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for ...

, and Governor Don Ramiro de Guzmán, between 10–12 September 1599, 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 Ref ...

and the

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England. It was never formally declared. The war included much English privateering against Spanish ships, and several wid ...

. This Spanish victory was part of the campaign of Francisco de Mendoza and Cardinal Andrew of Austria of 1598-1599, also called the ''Spanish Winter of 1598-99''.W. Crecelius pp.175–185

Background

In 1598, under the mediation of the papal legate Cardinal Alessandro de'Medici (the future Pope Leo XI),

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

concluded the

Peace of Vervins The Peace of Vervins or Treaty of Vervins was signed between the representatives of Henry IV of France and Philip II of Spain under the auspices of the papal legates of Clement VIII, on 2 May 1598 at the small town of Vervins in Picardy, northern ...

on 2 May.Van Nimwegen p.163 Spain gave up its conquests, except the occupation of the Prince-Archbishopric of Cambray, thereby restoring the situation of Cateau-Cambrésis. On 5 September, following the orders of the Archduke Albert of Austria, Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, Francisco de Mendoza at the head of the army, captured

Orsoy Orsoy, till 1974 an independent town in the district of Moers, is today a municipal district of the Lower Rhine town of Rheinberg on the Rhine. The word Orsoy, pronounced ''Oschau'' means "horse pasture" (Rossaue). Orsoy itself was in the Middle A ...

from the Dutch defenders, a passage-town on the banks of the

.Juan Valera. ''Homenaje a Menéndez Pelayo. Estudios de Erudición Española''
p.520Luc Duerloo p.105 After the construction of a fort to defend the passage, the Spanish forces crossed over the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

and captured Alpen on 24 September, and the castle of Broich two days later. In mid-October, after the capture of

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 ...

on 12 October, the Spanish forces defeated the Dutch forces at

Rheinberg Rheinberg () is a town in the 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, Borth, Budberg, an ...

, and re-captured the fortress.Juan Valera p.521 Then Mendoza divided his forces, invaded the province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

, and seized the town of Doetinchem on 8 November.Marjolein 't Hart p.23Van Nimwegen p.166 Meanwhile, the rest of the Spanish army marched over the

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

, and on 30 October captured Rees, forcing the garrison to surrender. The Spanish army established its winter quarters in these environs, and in the

Bishopric of Münster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. In the spring of 1599, the Spanish army renewed the advance, and on May 15 the Spaniards besieged Zaltbommel, on the

Waal river The Waal (Dutch name, ) is the main distributary branch of the river Rhine flowing approximately through the Netherlands. It is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. Before it reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afg ...

, but

Maurice of Nassau 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 ...

, was able to keep a supply line open by means of a ship-bridge. On 13 June Mendoza retreated to the Fort San Andrés, a strategic place built by the Spaniards to control the rivers

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

and Waal west of

Heerewaarden Heerewaarden is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Maasdriel, and lies about 8 km south of Tiel. Heerewaarden was a separate municipality until 1999, except for a short period between 1818 and 1 ...

Siege of Rees

In early September 1599, the Protestant-Dutch forces, supported by a

-mercenary army of 25,000 men led by Count Simon of Lippe advanced over Rees and laid siege to the town.Robert Watson / William Thomson p.41 On September 10, after a series of skirmishes near the town, the Spanish forces of Don Ramiro de Guzmán, Governor of Rees, supported by reinforcements sent by Don Francisco de Mendoza, lifted the enemy lines around Rees, causing a decisive defeat to the Protestant forces.De Soto & Clonard p.364 The Spanish troops were outnumbered eight-to-one, but after two decisive assaults over the Protestant positions led by the two veteran captains Andrés de Ontoria and Andrés Ortiz, was sufficient to destroy the formations and defenses of the undisciplined and inexperienced German soldiers of the Protestant army.Juan Valera p.525 Count of Lippe's forces suffered about 2,000 to 2,500 casualties, hundreds of prisones (about 400 prisoners), and a great part of the artillery and supplies were destroyed or captured. On the other hand, the casualties of the Spaniards were minimum. The offensive of the coalition forces of the Count of Lippe, Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, and the Count Ernst of Solms, despite the initial success in taking by surprise the

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

on August 30, turned into a humiliation. Thereafter, the German army evaporated, and the siege ended with the withdrawal of the rest of the Protestant forces.De Soto / Clonard p.291

Aftermath

A few days after, the Spanish forces re-established control over the

. By now, it had become clear that Spanish control of the Southern Netherlands was strong, and the threat of an invasion of the northern provinces was evident. In 1600, with the

now temporarily in disarray,

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (), Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) (14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for indepen ...

spied a strategic opportunity to deal with the Archduke Albert. Prince Maurice advanced in direction of the port of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

that had grown into a hotbed of privateers (the "

Dunkirkers During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish monarchy. They were also part of the ''Dunkirk fleet'', which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's ''Fl ...

") that did much damage to Dutch and English shipping, and with the support of a large amphibious operation from

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

, started his advance to the coast. The Spaniards, with the Army of Flanders ready, strengthened their positions along the coast, leading to the

Battle of Nieuwpoort The Battle of Nieuwpoort, was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. The Anglo-Dutch companies met the Spanish veterans head on which, although their left flank nearly broke, w ...

.De Soto / Clonard p.292 Although the Dutch army led by Maurice of Nassau had driven a Spanish army from the field, a rare feat in the 16th century, the casualties on both sides were practically equal, and the battle achieved nothing.Luc Duerloo pp. 121–122 The Dutch lines of communication had already been stretched to the limit, and Maurice was forced to withdraw as well.Luc Duerloo p.122 Moreover, the great port of Dunkirk, which had been the principal objective of Maurice's campaign, lay out of reach and in Spanish hands. The siege of Rees of 1599 was the last action of the campaign of Don Francisco de Mendoza, Admiral of Aragon, of 1598–99, also called the ''Spanish Winter of 1598–99'' (''Invierno Español de 1598-99 in

'').''Nachrichten über den Einfall der Spanier in den niederrheinisch westfälischen Kreis 1598 und 1599.''
/ref>

Notes

References

* Israel, Jonathan. ''Conflicts of Empires: Spain, the Low Countries and the Struggle for World Supremacy, 1585-1713''. London, 1997. * Van Nimwegen, Olaf. ''The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions 1588–1688''. First published 2010. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge. * Robert Watson / William Thomson
History of the Reign of Philip the Third, King of Spain.''
A new edition Vol I. * Tracy, James. ''The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588.'' Oxford University Press. First published 2008. * Serafín María De Soto / Abbach Clonard
orgánica de las armas de infantería y caballería españolas''.
Tomo VIII. Biblioteca U.C.M. * John Lothrop Motley. ''History of the Netherlands, 1595''. Chapter XXXI. HardPress Publishing. * Luc Duerloo. ''Dynasty and Piety: Archduke Albert (1598-1621) and Habsburg Political Culture in an Age of Religious Wars.'' MPG Books Group. UK. * Juan Valera
a Menéndez Pelayo. Estudios de Erudición Española''.
Madrid, 1899. * Giménez Martín, Juan. ''Tercios de Flandes''. Ediciones Falcata Ibérica. First edition 1999, Madrid. * W. Crecelius. ''Nachrichten über den Einfall der Spanier in den niederrheinisch-westfälischen Kreis 1598 und 1599.'' Bonn, 1887.
Link
. * Marjolein 't Hart. ''The Dutch Wars of Independence: Warfare and Commerce in the Netherlands 1570-1680''. First published 2014. Abingdon.

External links