Battle of Nieuwpoort
The
Battle of Nieuwpoort, between a
Dutch army under
Maurits of Nassau and a
Spanish army under
Albrecht of Austria, took place on
July 2,
1600 near the present day
Belgian city
Nieuwpoort.
Against Maurits' better judgement, the Staten Generaal had ordered Maurits to take the army, march south along the coast, and burn the pirate nest of
Dunkirk.
The Spanish intercepted Maurits' army, and cut off their retreat.
North flank: :Dutch : 14 guns, 650 English musketeers.:Spanish : 9 guns, 600 cavalry, 1400 infantry.
South flank::Dutch: 1,200 riders:Spanish: 1,000 riders
Center: :Dutch: 9,300 infantry:Spanish: 7,300 infantry
Two days before a Dutch army had run before the same Spanish
tercios almost without a fight. Maurits sent his ships to prevent a flight of the soldiers into the ships, and put his army in a defensive position where the sun would shine in the eyes of the Spanish towards the end of the day, while the beach sand would blow into their eyes.
All afternoon the battle raged, until both sides were exhausted. Maurits held 3 vendels of cavalry in reserve, which he committed and cleared the beach. The Spanish army was defeated. Maurits' fame spread throughout Europe.
Although Maurice had driven a Spanish army from the field, a rare feat in the late
16th century, the battle achieved nothing. The Dutch lines of communication had already been stretched to the limit and Maurice was soon forced to withdraw as well. The
Flemish, which Maurice had hoped to rally to his revolt, remained loyal to Spain. Moreover, the great port of
Dunkirk, which had been the principal objective of Maurice's campaign, lay out of reach and in Spanish hands. Spanish privateers from Dunkirk would continue to prey on burgeoning Dutch trade in coming years, although the Dutch would retaliate in kind and thereafter begin to dismantle Spain's vaunted navy, ultimately supplanting Spain as the world's first naval power.
The strategic lesson was that it was more advantageous to besiege and capture towns than to win battles. This fact would continue to characterize operations in the Eighty Years' War.
