Capture of Breda (1590)

The city of Breda is 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 and had a garrison of 500 men of infantry and a hundred of cavalry. The troops were Italian and Spanish, the majority being from Sicily in the service of the 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. The Peat Barge (Turfschip) 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 Adriaen van Bergen, 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. On the 26th, Heraugiere and his men embarked on van Bergen's boat; but he was too ill or overslept, and thus sent his two nephews, who would pilot the barge. Overcoming the Mark in the direction of Breda, they had to overcome the extreme cold of the Dutch winter. Ice made navigation difficult, delaying the voyage by several days. By Saturday evening, however, they had reached Breda and were at the outer gates early in the morning. ==Assault==

Hidden under the piles of peat, they were able to enter the city with none of the soldiers checking, as expected. Having deceived the soldiers of the garrison, Heraugiere gave out the warning signal to Maurice, who then initiated the march of his troops towards the city without hesitation. At dawn Sunday March 4, the attackers left their hiding place in the boat and were divided into two groups: Heraugiere attacked the position of guard, while Fervet tried to seize control of the fort's arsenal. In a fast action, that took by surprise the Italian soldiers garrisoning the city, the attackers killed forty defenders without any loss. So surprised were the Italians and Spanish that they dispersed into a total rout into the streets of the city. Before dawn, Count Hohenlohe arrived at the doors of Breda with the Dutch cavalry and after him Maurice of Nassau with the main body of the army; Count Solms, and Francis Vere being among them. By then the men of Heraugiere had already taken control of most of the city. File:De inname van Breda door Prins Maurits op 4 maart 1590 in vier scènes - The capture of Breda by Prince Maurice in 1590 in 4 scenes-large.jpg|The capture of Breda in 1590 in four scenes. Print by Bartholomeus Dolendo File:De list met het Turfschip van Breda, 1590 Het Kasteel van Breda door Soldaaten, in een Turfschip verborgen, verovert, 1590 (titel op object), RP-P-OB-80.101.jpg|The peat boat, by Hugo Grotius Surrender With the Breda garrison completely surrounded and in total confusion Paolo Lanzavecchia negotiated with the attackers the conditions of the surrender of the city, that was decided according to the following terms: • The city would not be sacked in exchange for the payment of two months to each of the participant soldiers in the attack. (The resulting amount, 100,000 florins would be excessive, since many of the soldiers claiming to have taken part arrived after the surrender). • Citizens who wanted to leave the city would be respected in terms of religion. • Those that wanted to remain would not be harmed, and their properties left alone. ==Consequences==

The taking of Breda on the part of the Dutch and English troops, a city in the eyes of the Spaniards that was assumed to be safe, was a disagreeable surprise for the Spanish authorities. The Duke of Parma - Alexander Farnese was enraged by the cowardice of the Italian troops in charge of the defense of the city. He ordered three captains responsible for the garrison of Breda to be executed and a fourth official was expelled from the army. Finally, the recriminations ended with Eduardo Lanzavecchia being stripped of his position as governor of Geertruidenberg. With the taking of Breda, Maurice of Nassau used the place as an operational base and from here he conquered Elshout, Fort Crèvecoeur near 's-Hertogenbosch, Steenbergen, Roosendaal, Oosterhout, and others. Charles de Heraugiere in light of his daring operation was designated governor of Breda and was also given a gold medal. The bargemen were given a subsidy for life as well as many of the soldiers taking part in the city's capture. Legacy Around 1610 the construction of the Spanish Gate or "Spandjaardsgat" was started as a remembrance to the successful capture of Breda in 1590. Also the gate was to assist in refreshing the stagnant water of the castle's moat. File:1590 Breda.jpg|Coins celebrating the capture File:P1010183Spanjaardsgat.JPG|The Spanish Gate at Breda today ==See also==