of princes of the House of Orange and Nassau, 1. Front Row: Maurice (1567–1625), Philip William (1558–1618), Frederick Henry (1584–1647), 2. Second Row: William Louis (1560–1632), Ernst Casimir (1573–1632) und Johann Ernst. after a print by W. J. Delff (1621) after a painting from A. P. van de Venne Maurice organized the
rebellion against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt. He reorganized the
Dutch States Army together with
Willem Lodewijk, studied
military history, strategy and
tactics, mathematics and
astronomy, and proved himself to be among the best strategists of his age. The
Eighty Years' War was a challenge to his style, so he could prove himself a good leader by taking several Spanish outposts. Paying special attention to the
siege theories of
Simon Stevin, he took valuable key fortresses and towns during a period known as the
Ten Glory Years:
Breda in 1590,
Zutphen,
Knodsenburg in 1591,
Steenwijk and
Coevorden in 1592,
Geertruidenberg in 1593, and
Groningen in 1594. In 1597 he went on a further offensive and took
Rheinberg,
Meurs,
Groenlo,
Bredevoort,
Enschede,
Ootmarsum, and
Oldenzaal and closed off the year with the
capture of Lingen. These victories rounded out the borders to the Dutch Republic, solidifying the revolt and allowing a national state to develop behind secure borders. They also established Maurice as the foremost general of his time. Many of the great generals of the succeeding generation, including his brother
Frederick Henry and many of the commanders of the
English Civil War, learned their trade under his command. His victories in the pitched battles at
Turnhout (1597) and at
Nieuwpoort (1600) were dependent on his innovation of cooperation between arms, with his cavalry playing a major role. The victories earned him military fame and acknowledgement throughout Europe. Despite these successes, the
House of Orange did not attain great respect among European royalty, as the Stadtholdership was not inheritable. The training of his army was especially important to
early modern warfare and the
Military Revolution of 1560–1650. Previous generals had made use of drill and exercise in order to instill discipline or to keep the men physically fit, but for Maurice, they "were the fundamental postulates of tactics." This change affected the entire conduct of warfare, since it required the officers to train men in addition to leading them, decreased the size of the basic infantry unit for functional purposes since more specific orders had to be given in battle, and the decrease in
herd behavior required more initiative and intelligence from the average soldier. One major contribution was the introduction of
volley fire, which enabled soldiers to compensate for the inaccuracy of their weapons by firing in a large group. It was first used in European combat at the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600. embankment) in The Hague.
Adam van Breen, 1618. As part of his efforts to find allies against Spain, Maurice received Moroccan envoys such as
Al-Hajari. They discussed the possibility of an alliance between
Holland, the
Ottoman Empire, Morocco and the Moriscos, against the common enemy Spain. Al-Hajari's journey chronicles, authored in 1637, mentions in detail the discussion for a combined offensive against Spain. Maurice was known in his time and by historians as the first general of his age. His reputation rests not as much on his ability to win and exploit field battles as it does on his expertise as a siege commander, military organizer, and innovator. Of his two great adversaries,
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and
Ambrogio Spinola, he cautiously never allowed himself to be brought to battle with Parma and did not follow up chances to offer Spinola battle with forces in his favour on the Yssel in 1606. He was, however, dealt a defeat by the Spanish general at the battle of Mülheim in October 1605. Based on his preference for sieges and small-scale actions, historian
David Trim states that it is difficult to reach a verdict on his ability as a tactician.
Jonathan Israel notes that on one of the rare occasions when he did have to fight a major battle in the open – the 1600
Battle of Nieuwpoort – it did end with a Dutch victory, but this outcome was highly risky, and Maurice took care to extricate his army and avoid a second such battle. Maurice founded a whole new school of military professional practice. These pointed the way to the professional armies of the future by reapplying Roman tactics and innovating in the fields of logistics, training, and economics (e.g. paying troops regularly and on time). Many graduates of service under Maurice, such as his nephew, the
Marshal Turenne, or his disciples such as
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, applied the Mauritian reforms to great effect in the remainder of the 17th century. ==Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt==