Battle of Turnhout (1597)

After the successful attack on Cadiz in 1596, the English forces allied to the Dutch led by Sir Francis Vere were urgently required back in the Netherlands and went there directly. The severe damage from the raid contributed to the bankruptcy of Spain for the third time, which meant that payments to their armies dried up, leading to frequent mutinies. In addition, many Spanish troops had been sent from the Spanish Netherlands to France by Philip II of Spain to assist the Catholic League in the French Wars of Religion. During the winter of 1596/1597 Archduke Albert's Spanish army of 4,500 under the command of the Burgundian Philibert de Rye, Count Varax, had advanced to the town of Turnhout, about south of the Dutch city of Breda; their design was to surprise the town of Tholen in a rare winter offensive. Varax had under his command four infantry units: the Tercio of Naples led by the Marquis of Treviso, the Germans under the Count of Sulz, and two Walloon and Burgundian regiments under the Comtes de Hachicourt and de Barlaymont. The Dutch Stadtholder, Maurice of Nassau, had received orders from the States General to collect a force at Geertruidenberg to counter this Spanish threat. Though the town was not walled, Turnhout was strategically important - it held a small castle surrounded by a moat and contained a garrison of forty men. A force of nearly 6,800 infantry with two demi-cannons and two field pieces was assembled at Geertruidenberg. Six companies of Dutch infantry were under Maurice, and the counts of Hohenlohe, Brederode, and Solms arrived with contingents gathered from their various garrisons. On the morning of 23 January 1597 the allied army departed Geertruidenberg in four divisions, with the cavalry on the flanks. In a one-day forced march of in poor road conditions they managed to reach the village of Ravels that evening ( northeast of Turnhout), and made camp. ==Battle==

Varax heard exaggerated reports of the size of Maurice's approaching army; this information and the lack of defensive walls at Turnhout caused him to immediately order a withdrawal south to the fortified town of Herentals. By daybreak of 24 January the whole of the Spanish force was en route to Herentals. Having come across a large wood further on from the river, Vere called up his detached musketeers and placed them along the edges to conceal them. Varax formed his infantry in four solid squares of pikemen in column in the open space of the heath as they marched south, with musketeers on the flanks as was standard practice for the Spanish. His cavalry and wagons had entered an enclosed lane beyond the heath. The first square consisted of Germans led by the Count of Sulz, followed by the Walloons and Burgundians. The Marquis of Treviso brought up the rear with the veteran Spanish and Italian troops. Vere continued to follow them, until all of Maurice's cavalry had joined with him having emerged from the wood. The Anglo-Dutch then formed on the heath in front of the Spanish. The Spanish steadily continued their march but as they became aware of the allied movements on their left, their cavalry changed position and transferred from the right to the left of the line and rode between the infantry and the belt of woods. After the first volley by Vere's musketeers the Spanish harquebusiers on foot broke and fled. Varax ordered his cavalry to cover the retreat but Count Hohenlohe and his Dutch cavalry charged the Spanish right flank, as Vere followed suit upon their rear. Hohenlohe fell upon Sulz's regiment of Germans while Vere's English and Bacx's Dutch cavalry assailed the Spanish rearguard. The surprise was complete; the Spanish cavalry which included the famed squadrons of Guzman, Mondragon, and Mendoza were hit hard at the first onset and within moments retreated for the opening of the enclosed lane. Most of them escaped through this into the boggy ground beyond. Several companies of Parker's cavalry galloped down the Herentals road, in pursuit of the Spanish cavalry and baggage. Top: The advancing army under Maurice in pursuit of Spanish troops from Ravels via Turnhout to the Tielenheide. Bottom: The battle on the Tielenheide and the fleeing Spanish cavalry. ==Aftermath==

Out of 4,000 Spanish soldiers and 500 horsemen nearly half were casualties; 2000 were killed or wounded. In addition thirty-eight ensigns were taken and prisoners numbered around 600. Of the allied force only fifty were casualties including ten killed. The whole action was won by around 800 Dutch and English horsemen and the majority of the Dutch infantry were never brought into action. All of the officers who were present at the battle were impersonated. Queen Elizabeth I of England herself wrote to Vere on February 7, 1597, in the following terms: Analysis At the time the battle was of great importance for the evolution of mounted warfare for two reasons: The first impact was that Maurice's army had demonstrated the superiority of the new type of cavalry, the cuirassiers or reiters, as used by Henry IV of France at the battle of Ivry. The cuirassiers wore half-armour and a light helmet and were armed with several pistols but also carried carbines as well as a sword. No lances were carried, so instead of being arrayed in a thin line (en haye) to maximize the number of lances being deployed they charged in dense formations (eight ranks deep) and fired their pistols only at the moment of contact. This tactic, which had already defeated French gendarmes (lancers in full armour) at Ivry, proved to be effective as well against the lighter Spanish demi-lancers. The second impact was that the Dutch and English cuirassiers, with the support of a few hundred musketeers, had destroyed a Spanish tercio without the help of their own heavy infantry. These lessons on the value of the cuirassiers were quickly learned and most European armies abandoned the use of lancers soon after, with only the Poles retaining them within their famed husaria. The Spaniards finally drew their own conclusions after their defeat at Nieuwpoort three years later. == Cultural ==

Music composer Kevin Houben commemorated the battle in his concert work, Thyellene: The Battle on the Heath. In September 2008, Brassband Kempenzonen Tielen played this work on the site where once the battle took place. The victory at Turnhout inspired the writing of the Dutch hymn We Gather Together. ==References==