Battle of Turnhout (1597)

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Eighty Years' War

Oosterweel – Rheindalen – Heiligerlee – Jemmingen – Jodoigne – Brielle – Haarlem – Flushing – Borsele – Zuiderzee – Alkmaar – Leiden – Reimerswaal – Mookerheyde – Gembloux – Maastricht – 1st Breda – Punta Delgada – Antwerp – Boksum – Zutphen – 1st Bergen op Zoom – Gravelines – 2nd Breda – Turnhout – Nieuwpoort – Ostend – Sluys – Gibraltar – 2nd Bergen op Zoom –3rd Breda – Bay of Matanzas – 's-Hertogenbosch – Maastricht – 4th Breda – Kallo – The Downs – Hulst – Puerto de Cavite

Battle of Turnhout, 1597 occurred during the Eighty Years' War where Turnhout was in the border area between the Northern and Southern Netherlands. Though the town had not been walled, Turnhout was an important strategic town. On January 24, 1597 on the 'Tielenheide' (this battle is also called 'The battle on Tielenheide') in a neighbouring village (Tielen), Dutch cavalry under command of Prince Maurice met and defeated a greater sized Spanish cavalry army under Varax. The Spanish cavalry was driven off, after which the Dutch troops burnt part of the local castle. The ever prudent Maurice failed to follow up and turn the tactical victory into a strategic one.

[edit] Trivia

The defeat of Varax inspired the writing of the hymn We Gather Together.