Capture of Breda (1590)

Siege of Breda (1590)
Part of the Eighty Years' War
The Peat boat at Breda by Charles Rochussen
Date 4 March 1590 Location Breda, Netherlands Result Decisive Dutch-English victory
Belligerents
United Provinces  England	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Maurice of Nassau Francis Vere Charles de Heraugiere (assault)	Paolo Lanzavecchia
Strength
1,700 (70 in assault)	600
Casualties and losses
Light	40 killed or wounded

The Capture of Breda or the Siege of Breda was a short battle during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War during which a Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Nassau captured the heavily protected city of Breda. Using a clever tactic reminiscent of the Trojan horse a small assault force hid in a peat barge entered the city of Breda and proceeded to take it over resulting in a minimum number of casualties. It was the turning point of the war as the forces under Maurice were able to take the offensive.

The city of Breda was located in the confluence of the rivers Aa and Mark, in the province of Brabant and the main city of the zone. It was well fortified, and was surrounded by a defensive moat fed by waters of the Mark river. Breda had been under Spanish control from 1581 with the garrison of the city being formed by 500 men of infantry and a hundred of cavalry, which consisted of Italian and Spanish troops the majority being from Sicily in the service of Spanish Empire. Eduardo Lanzavecchia, the governor of Breda and Geertruidenberg was supervising the construction of fortifications of both cities as he knew that soon they would be under attack. He was in Geertruidenberg in early 1590 supervising the construction of the defenses there but in his absence, his nephew Paolo Lanzavecchia was acting governor of Breda.

In February 1590, a nobleman from Cambrai, Charles de Heraugiere under orders from Maurice of Nassau was to make a covert reconnoiter of Breda. Disguised as a fisherman he was hoping to enter Breda and to study its weaknesses, garrison strength and general conditions. Heraugiere contacted Adrian van den Berg, loyal to the Dutch by trade who was used to entering and leaving Breda with a barge loaded of winter fuel, in this case peat. Heraugiere went into the city, hidden between the peat of the barge along with a small group of soldiers, but they discovered how incredibly easy it was as none of the garrison checked the barge. When they were in the heart of Breda they made a hasty exit with enough peat to keep them covered. Heraugiere soon realized a Trojan Horse style attack was too good an opportunity to miss and thus reported it to Maurice as soon as they returned.

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Wikipedia