Siege of Calais (1596)

Siege of Calais (1596)
Part of the Franco-Spanish War (1595-1598) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
Engraving of the Siege of Calais of 1596. Collection Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Date April 8–24, 1596 Location Calais, Nord-Pas de Calais, France Result Decisive Spanish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France Supported by:  England United Provinces	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Henry IV of France Sir of Widessan  † François d'Orléans Supported by: Maurice of Nassau Robert Devereux	Archduke Albert Luis de Velasco Carlos Coloma
Strength
Calais: About 7,000 men Relief forces: Unknown	12,000–15,000
Casualties and losses
Thousands of dead or prisoners 5,000 dead	Low

The Siege of Calais of 1596, also known as the Spanish conquest of Calais, took place at the strategic port-city of Calais (present-day Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France), between April 8–24, 1596, as part of the Franco-Spanish War (1595-1598), in the context of the French Wars of Religion, the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), and the Eighty Years' War. The siege ended when the city fell into Spanish hands after a short and intense siege by the Spanish Army of Flanders commanded by Archduke Albert of Austria, Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Alberto de Austria). The French troops in the citadel of Calais resisted for a few days more, but finally on April 24, the Spanish troops led by Don Luis de Velasco y Velasco, Count of Salazar, assaulted and captured the fortress, achieving a complete victory. The Spanish success was the first action of the campaign of Archduke Albert of 1596.

Since 1562, France was in the grip of the French Wars of Religion in which Spain had regularly intervened in favour of the Catholic League of France, most notably in the siege of Paris (in 1590) or the Rouen (in 1591), and other battles as Craon in 1592, or the Relief of Blaye in 1593. But only, in 1595, the war was officially declared between the two countries by the new King Henry IV of France (French: Henri de Bourbon), who had the year before converted to Catholicism and been received into Paris to be crowned.

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