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Siege of Maastricht (1579)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Maastricht
was a battle of the Eighty Years' War it lasted from March 12 - July 1, 1579. The Spanish were victorious.
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.
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.
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
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 FarneseAlexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
started to lay siege to the city with his army consisting of 20,000 men. The Dutch garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
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 waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
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
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
the city for 3 days.