Battle of Nieuwpoort

Prince Maurice at the Battle of Nieuwpoort
by Pauwels van Hillegaert. Oil on canvas

Date	2 July 1600
Location	Nieuwpoort (present-day Belgium) Coordinates: 51°9′21″N 2°44′18″E / 51.15583°N 2.73833°E / 51.15583; 2.73833
Result	Tactical Anglo-Dutch victory; Dutch strategic aims not achieved.

Belligerents

United Provinces

England

Spain

Commanders and leaders

Maurice of Nassau

Francis Vere

Archduke Albrecht

Strength

10,000 infantry
1,400 cavalry
14 guns

7,700 infantry
1,200 cavalry
9 guns

Casualties and losses

2,000 dead or wounded

2,500 dead or wounded
600 captured

The Battle of Nieuwpoort, between a Dutch army under Maurice of Nassau and Francis Vere and a Spanish army under Albert of Austria, took place on 2 July 1600 near the present-day Belgian city Nieuwpoort.

Against Maurice's complaints, the States General under Johan van Oldenbarneveldt had ordered Maurice to take the army, march south along the coast and take the pirate nest of Dunkirk. The divergence of opinion on this matter between Maurice and Van Oldenbarneveldt was an early sign that the two de facto leaders of the Dutch Republic were beginning to drift apart. This rivalry would eventually lead to the arrest and execution of Van Oldenbarneveldt in 1619.

It was thought that the vicious and long-continued mutiny of a great part of the Spanish troops would make it impossible for the Archduke to collect an army for the relief of Nieuwpoort.

By 21 June Maurice had collected an army for the operation of 12 infantry regiments and 25 cavalry cornets: some 12,000 Foot and 2,000 Horse. On the 22nd, he crossed the Scheldt Estuary in a multitude of small vessels and moved to Ostend; his base of operations. He left there half a regiment and four cornets to reinforce the garrison and on the 30th started for Nieuwpoort.

When Maurice arrived in front of the place on 1 July, he sent 2/3 of his force across the Yser River to blockade it from the West. That night, while he was making preparations for a regular siege, he received news that the Archduke was close at hand with a field army. He knew he was cut off from his base; so he ordered his cousin Ernst Casimir (Ernst Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz) with a force to delay the advancing Spanish while he was bringing the best part of the army to cross again the Yser and rejoin the rest of the army to face the Archduke. He had no option left but to present battle or risk a potentially disastrous retreat by sea.

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Wikipedia