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Siege of Maastricht
Part of the Eighty Years' War
Maastricht 1579
Spanish troops storming the city of Maastricht.
DateMarch 12 - July 1, 1579
LocationMaastricht (present-day the Netherlands)
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic Dutch Rebels Spain Spain
Commanders and leaders
Dutch Republic Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Spain Alexander Farnese
Strength
2,000 soldiers and militia 20,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
9,000 dead or wounded 4,000 dead or wounded


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

Prelude[]

In 1579 the city of Maastricht was in the hands of the Dutch rebels. On March 12, 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 2,000 soldiers and some city militia.

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, exploded prematurely.

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

De stadt Maastricht, door den prins van Parma (Alexander Farnese) met storm verovert, den 29 july des jaars 1579 (Jan Luyken, 1679)

The fall of Maastricht by Jan Luyken (1679).

Coordinates: 50°51′N 5°41′E / 50.85°N 5.683°E / 50.85; 5.683

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Siege of Maastricht (1579) and the edit history here.
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