Battle of Dahlen: Difference between revisions
m moved Battle of Rheindalen to Battle of Dahlen: Correct name of the city of dahlen. The Name Rheindahlen was created in 1878. |
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{{unreferenced|date=October 2008}} |
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{{Infobox Military Conflict |
{{Infobox Military Conflict |
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|conflict=Battle of |
|conflict=Battle of Dahlen |
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|partof=[[Eighty Years' War]] |
|partof=[[Eighty Years' War]] |
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|image=[[File:The siege of Dalen on july 22, 1568 (Frans Hogenberg).jpg|300px]] |
|image=[[File:The siege of Dalen on july 22, 1568 (Frans Hogenberg).jpg|300px]] |
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|caption= |
|caption= |
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|date=25 April 1568 |
|date=25 April, 1568 |
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|place=[[ |
|place=[[Dalheim]], [[Bishopric of Liège]]<br> (present-day [[Germany]]) |
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|casus= |
|casus= |
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|territory= |
|territory= |
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|combatant2={{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] |
|combatant2={{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] |
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|commander1=[[Joost de Soete]] |
|commander1=[[Joost de Soete]] |
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|commander2= |
|commander2=[[Sancho d'Avila]] |
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|strength1=3,000<ref name=Motley>{{cite book|last=Lothrop Motley|first=John|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic|year=1856|publisher=New York and London, Harper & brothers|location=London|pages=160|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/risedutchrepubl04motlgoog#page/n176/mode/2up}}</ref> |
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|strength1=2,000 |
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|strength2= |
|strength2=1,600<ref name=Motley/> |
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|casualties1= |
|casualties1=~2,000 killed |
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|casualties2=Very few{{#tag:ref| Luis Cabrera de Córdoba mentioned 12 Spaniards killed and nearly 50 wounded;<ref name=Cabrera>{{cite book|last=Cabrera de Córdoba|first=Luis|title=Filipe Segundo, Rey de España|year=1619|publisher=Luis Sanchez|pages=484|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=9uABH7lcvXoC&dq}}</ref> Antonio Carnero put the Spanish loss as 20 killed and 50 wounded. John Lothrop Motley credited the total Spanish loss as 20 men.<ref name=Motley2>{{cite book|last=Lothrop Motley|first=John|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic|year=1856|publisher=New York and London, Harper & brothers|location=London|pages=161|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/risedutchrepubl04motlgoog#page/n176/mode/2up}}</ref> |group=N}} |
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|casualties2=635 dead or wounded |
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|strength2=1,600<ref name=Motley/> |
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|notes= |
|notes= |
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}} |
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{{Campaignbox Eighty Years' War}} |
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The '''Battle of Rheindalen''' was fought on April 23, 1568. |
The '''Battle of Rheindalen''' was fought on April 23, 1568. |
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[[Joost de Soete]], lord of [[Villers]], marched into the region with a haphazard army of Dutch rebels. They tried to conquer Roermond, but when they failed, they retreated to [[Dalheim, Rhineland-Palatinate|Dalheim]], where they were surprised by a Spanish army. The battle was won by the [[Spain|Spanish]]. This battle is sometimes considered the official start of the [[Eighty Years' War]]. |
[[Joost de Soete]], lord of [[Villers]], marched into the region with a haphazard army of Dutch rebels. They tried to conquer Roermond, but when they failed, they retreated to [[Dalheim, Rhineland-Palatinate|Dalheim]], where they were surprised by a Spanish army. The battle was won by the [[Spain|Spanish]]. This battle is sometimes considered the official start of the [[Eighty Years' War]]. |
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==Background== |
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==Prelude== |
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==Battle== |
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[[File:Erkelant.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Excerpt of the manuscript atlas by [[Christian Sgrothen]] showing the area in where the battle was fought.]] |
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Sancho Dávila go ahead with his cavalry and was informed by his scouts that the rebels were close to the village of [[Erkelenz]]. There Villers found his path cut off because a nearby bridge over the [[Rur|Rur river]] had been demolished. He decided to take the road to Dahlen, a small walled town in the neutral [[Bishopric of Liège]], while Dávila followed him and soon discovered the rebel army on the road between the two towns. Villers deployed his troops for the battle on a plain with some groves behind and a hollow way covering one of his flanks, and dispatched his baggage towards Dahlen as soon learned of Dávila's nearby presence. |
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To distract the Spanish general, Villers sent against him some of his cavalry, but Dávila dispersed it and made his way throughout the hollow way. After a brief reconnaissance, Dávila, together with the Count of Eberstein and the companies under don Alonso de Vargas and Nicolò Basta, charged across the plain and frontally lunged over the rebel squadrons, which they broke. Villers lost most of his cavalry and two flags. He and some 1,300 men retreated in some order with part of the baggage and managed to reach Dahlen, under whose walls they entrenched in order to withstand a second attack. |
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Villers covered his men behind a ravelin of the wall, which had also a moat, and reinforced his weak flank with some baggage wagons. Sancho Dávila was unable to reach such positions with his cavalry due to the rough groves, so he called Sancho de Londoño to come rapidly with the infantry. 300 Germans were detached behind the ravelin to prevent any attempt of flight, while 600 Spaniards, organized in 5 flags, were ordered to make a frontal attack over the fort, which they did. The fight lasted half a hour, after which the Spaniards took the ravelin. Just a few rebels succeded in escaping and sought refuge in Dahlen; the others being butchered. |
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==Aftermath== |
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Joost de Soete was amongst those who escaped inside Dahlen, but was afterwards handed to the Spanish. The count of Hoogstraten and the Lord of Lumey, on the other hand, evaded capture. All their baggage, seven flags, a large number [[corslet]]s, pikes, harquebuses, other weapons and munitions were seized by the victors. Some 2,000 rebels, most of whom were French, were killed, as opposed to light Spanish casualties. |
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Once vanquished the Dutch force, the Spanish army was split up. Dávila went to Brussels with the foremost captives to execute them, Eberstein returned to Maastricht with his German pikemen, and Sancho de Londoño lodged his men at Roermond, where he ordered several prisioners natives of the place to be hanged. |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist|group=N}} |
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==References== |
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<references /> |
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{{Netherlands-hist-stub}} |
{{Netherlands-hist-stub}} |
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Revision as of 06:20, 3 October 2011
 |
| Battle of Dahlen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Eighty Years' War | |||||||
.jpg) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Dutch Rebels |
 Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Joost de Soete | Sancho d'Avila | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000[1] | 1,600[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~2,000 killed | Very few[N 1] | ||||||
The Battle of Rheindalen was fought on April 23, 1568.
Joost de Soete, lord of Villers, marched into the region with a haphazard army of Dutch rebels. They tried to conquer Roermond, but when they failed, they retreated to Dalheim, where they were surprised by a Spanish army. The battle was won by the Spanish. This battle is sometimes considered the official start of the Eighty Years' War.
Background
Prelude
Battle
Sancho Dávila go ahead with his cavalry and was informed by his scouts that the rebels were close to the village of Erkelenz. There Villers found his path cut off because a nearby bridge over the Rur river had been demolished. He decided to take the road to Dahlen, a small walled town in the neutral Bishopric of Liège, while Dávila followed him and soon discovered the rebel army on the road between the two towns. Villers deployed his troops for the battle on a plain with some groves behind and a hollow way covering one of his flanks, and dispatched his baggage towards Dahlen as soon learned of Dávila's nearby presence.
To distract the Spanish general, Villers sent against him some of his cavalry, but Dávila dispersed it and made his way throughout the hollow way. After a brief reconnaissance, Dávila, together with the Count of Eberstein and the companies under don Alonso de Vargas and Nicolò Basta, charged across the plain and frontally lunged over the rebel squadrons, which they broke. Villers lost most of his cavalry and two flags. He and some 1,300 men retreated in some order with part of the baggage and managed to reach Dahlen, under whose walls they entrenched in order to withstand a second attack.
Villers covered his men behind a ravelin of the wall, which had also a moat, and reinforced his weak flank with some baggage wagons. Sancho Dávila was unable to reach such positions with his cavalry due to the rough groves, so he called Sancho de Londoño to come rapidly with the infantry. 300 Germans were detached behind the ravelin to prevent any attempt of flight, while 600 Spaniards, organized in 5 flags, were ordered to make a frontal attack over the fort, which they did. The fight lasted half a hour, after which the Spaniards took the ravelin. Just a few rebels succeded in escaping and sought refuge in Dahlen; the others being butchered.
Aftermath
Joost de Soete was amongst those who escaped inside Dahlen, but was afterwards handed to the Spanish. The count of Hoogstraten and the Lord of Lumey, on the other hand, evaded capture. All their baggage, seven flags, a large number corslets, pikes, harquebuses, other weapons and munitions were seized by the victors. Some 2,000 rebels, most of whom were French, were killed, as opposed to light Spanish casualties.
Once vanquished the Dutch force, the Spanish army was split up. Dávila went to Brussels with the foremost captives to execute them, Eberstein returned to Maastricht with his German pikemen, and Sancho de Londoño lodged his men at Roermond, where he ordered several prisioners natives of the place to be hanged.
Notes
References
- ^ a b Lothrop Motley, John (1856). The Rise of the Dutch Republic. London: New York and London, Harper & brothers. p. 160.
- ^ Cabrera de Córdoba, Luis (1619). Filipe Segundo, Rey de España. Luis Sanchez. p. 484.
- ^ Lothrop Motley, John (1856). The Rise of the Dutch Republic. London: New York and London, Harper & brothers. p. 161.
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