Siege of Maastricht (1579)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Siege of Maastricht
partof=the Eighty Years' War


caption=Spanish troops storming the city of Maastricht.
date=March 12 - July 1 1579
place= Maastricht
result= Spanish victory
combatant1=Dutch rebels
combatant2=
commander1=Burghers of Maastricht
commander2=Alexander Farnese
strength1= 2,000 soldiers and some militia.
strength2= 20,000 soldiers.
casualties1=960 soldiers, 8,000 citizens (among whom some 1,700 women)
casualties2=4,000 soldiers

The Siege of Maastricht 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 Farnese started to lay siege to the city with his army consisting of 20,000 men. The Dutch garrison consisted of 2000 soldiers and some city militia.

iege

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 water 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, blew up prematurely.

In the night of 29 July Farnese managed to get into the city while the exhausted defenders were fast asleep. The Spanish looted the city for 3 days.