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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

''), was an unsuccessful attempt by Protestant-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

Duchy of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (; ) 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 and the towns of Wesel, Kalkar, Xanten, Emme ...

(present-day

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) from the Spanish forces of Don Francisco de Mendoza, Admiral of Aragon, second-in-command of the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...

, and Governor Don Ramiro de Guzmán, between 10–12 September 1599, during the

Eighty Years' War 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 Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

and the

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Spain, Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military expedition in 1585 to what was ...

. 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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

concluded the Peace of Vervins 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 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 The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and captured Alpen on 24 September, and the castle of Broich two days later. In mid-October, after the capture of Meurs on 12 October, the Spanish forces defeated the Dutch forces at Rheinberg, 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 Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

, and seized the town of

Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Dutch Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ) is a city and Municipalities in the Netherlands, municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the IJssel, Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the Provinces of the Netherland ...

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 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 language, 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 join ...

, but

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 ...

, 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 or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

and

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM; "The Whale") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station continuou ...

west of Heerewaarden.

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 prisoners (about 400 prisoners), and a great part of the artillery and supplies were destroyed or captured. On the other hand, the casualties of the Spanish were minimal. Despite the initial success in taking by surprise the

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

of Rheinberg on August 30, the offensive of the coalition forces of the Count of Lippe, Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, and the Count Ernst of Solms, 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

of Rheinberg. 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 (; 14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619), Lord of the manor, Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613), was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch rev ...

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

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

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 and later the Kingdom of France. They operated from the ports of the Flemish coast: Nieuwpoort, Ostend, a ...

") that did much damage to Dutch and English shipping, and with the support of a large amphibious operation from Flushing, 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 (also known as the Battle of the Dunes) was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. A Dutch army met a Spanish force head-on which, although their left f ...

.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