Siege of Maastricht (1579)

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Siege of Maastricht

Spanish troops storming the city of Maastricht.

Date	March 12 - July 1, 1579
Location	Maastricht
Result	Spanish victory

Combatants

Dutch rebels

Spain

Commanders

Burghers of Maastricht

Alexander Farnese

Strength

2,000 soldiers and some militia.

20,000 soldiers.

Casualties

960 soldiers, 8,000 citizens (among whom some 1,700 women)

4,000 soldiers

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

The Siege of Maastricht was a battle of the Eighty Years' War it lasted from March 12 - July 1, 1579. The Spanish were victorious.

[edit] Prelude

In 1579 the city of Maastricht was in the hands of the Dutch rebels. On March 12th 1579 the Spanish General Alexander Farnese started to lay siege to the city with his army consisting of 20,000 men. The Dutch garrison consisted of 2000 soldiers and some city militia.

[edit] Siege

The Spanish commander ordered his troops to sap the walls. The inhabitants of Maastricht too were digging to reach the Spanish tunnels. Deep under ground the fighting continued, hundreds of Spanish soldiers died as boiling water was poured into their tunnels. Others died because of a lack of oxygen when the Dutch defenders ignited fires within them. Another 500 Spanish soldiers died when a mine, which they planned to use to blow up the wall, blew up prematurely.

In the night of the 29th of July Farnese managed to get into the city while the exhausted defenders where fast asleep. The Spanish looted the city for 3 days.