Siege of Mons (1572)

Background

In early May 1572 Louis of Nassau, one of the major commanders of the Dutch rebel forces, encouraged by the victory at Brielle by the Sea Beggars (1 April), and supported by the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny, invaded the Spanish Netherlands with an army composed by German, English, Scottish and French soldiers, and took Valenciennes on 21 May. On 23 May Louis of Nassau arrived at Mons with 1,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, who encamped in the environs of the city. At the next day, after finding out the schedules of opening of the doors of Mons, Nassau entered the city by surprise with the cavalry, and then, the rest of his forces, defeating the small Spanish garrison. Louis took control of the city, and a few days later, was reinforced by about 4,500 infantry and cavalry under the command of the Count of Montgomery.

When the news reached the Spanish headquarters, Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, and commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces in the Low Countries, sent his son Don Fadrique with 4,000 soldiers (other 16,000 soldiers were coming from the north), along with the Maestre de Campo Chiappino Vitelli, to defeat Louis of Nassau and retrieve Mons. On 23 June Fadrique's forces arrived at Mons and laid siege to the city. Furthermore, in early June, the Duke of Alba, at the head of the bulk of the Spanish army, recaptured Valenciennes after a feeble defence of the Protestant garrison, depriving the rebels, and their French allies, of one of their main bases.

Meanwhile, William of Orange, Prince of Orange, had recruited in Germany an army of 14,000 soldiers of infantry and 3,000 of cavalry (11,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry according to other sources), and on 7 July William crossed the Rhine, entering the Netherlands.

Siege of Mons

Louis of Nassau, aware of the progress of his brother, sent Adrien de Hangest, Seigneur de Genlis, to France for more reinforcements, and in mid-July, Genlis, with an army of 10,000 men, crossed the border again, and marched towards Mons. Louis sent a message to Genlis, urging that he should join to the army of his brother, William of Orange, but Genlis ignored the message, and advanced against the Spaniards.

Battle of Saint-Ghislain

On 19 July Genlis and his forces encamped near Mons, in a circular plane. Don Fadrique, aware his arrival, advanced towards him with 4,000 infantry, 1,500 cavalry, and 3,000 armed villagers for the occasion. Genlis sent a detachment to reconnoitre, but after seeing the advance of the Spanish forces, these troops retreated to the French camp at full speed. "Don Frederic de Toledo is coming upon us", they cried. The Spanish cavalry of Philip of Noircarmes, without delay, charged against the French army, followed by infantry, while the rear was protected by the cavalry of Don Bernardino de Mendoza. The attack caused panic among the French Huguenots, and then, the Spanish infantry shattered the French army. The Spanish victory was complete, and the army of Genlis was entirely routed. About 2,000 French soldiers were killed or wounded, and 700 captured, including 70 nobles and officers (in the following days, more than 4,000 were captured). The leader of the French army, Adrien de Hangest, was also captured, and taken prisoner to Antwerp. The Captain Francisco de Bobadilla was honored with carrying the news of the victory to the King Philip II, for the proven value during the battle.

Meantime, the Prince of Orange with his new army continued to advance towards Mons. On 23 July, after the capture of Roermond, his troops mutinied. On 27 August, with guarantees of payment of some cities in Holland, crossed the Meuse, advancing over Diest, Termonde, Oudenaarde and Nivelles.

St. Bartholomew's Day

On 11 August Gaspard de Coligny, with the approval of the King Charles IX, had written to the Prince, that he expected soon to begin his march towards the Netherlands. However, in France, Charles IX lost his nerve, fearing a Spanish invasion and a Catholic rebellion if he persisted in the planned invasion of the Netherlands to support the Huguenots and the Dutch Protestants. The result was St. Bartholomew's Day massacre on 23 August. When the news reached to the Netherlands, affected the morale of the Protestant troops (especially in the army of Louis of Nassau at Mons, because great part of his troops were Huguenots), while in the Spanish camp was celebrated by bonfires and illuminations, even in the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, the Catholic population sang anthems in honor of "the most Christian King of France".

In early September, Don Fernando, Duke of Alba (who despite being a strong defender of Catholicism, described the massacre as a atrocity), arrived at Mons with reinforcements and took command of the operations. The Prince of Orange continued to advance through the Netherlands, and some cities and villages were forced to open the doors to its passage for fear (Alba was specially angry for this), although some, such as Leuven, prevented the Orange's troops entered the city, in exchange for supplies. On 10 September arrived near Mons, and Alba, knowing the Orange's arrival, positioned his troops for a possible attack.

William of Orange's army

At the same day, as expected, the Orange's cavalry attacked the flank of the Spanish army, but was repulsed by the Spanish arquebusiers, led in first line by the Duke of Alba, his son Don Fadrique, and the Duke of Medinaceli, causing multiple casualties in the Orange's cavalry. After the failed attack, the Prince retreated to the village of Harmignies, about a league of Mons.

On the night of 11 September the Spanish commander, Maestre de Campo Julián Romero, entered the camp of William of Orange commanding 600 arquebusiers, remaining as a reserve, in rear, the same number, supported by units of infantry and light cavalry, whose purpose was to protect the withdrawal. In this raid 600 rebels were killed, for only 60 Spaniards. Hundred of horses were captured, and a great part of the tents and the supplies were destroyed and burned. During the action, William of Orange himself was in profound slumber, and was saved by the barking of his Spaniel dog, who slept beside him.

With a heavy heart, William wrote to his brother Louis of his forlorn condition and inability to relieve Mons. The Prince retreated with his army to Nivelles and Mechelen, marching to the Rhine, and finally the bulk of his troops, mutinous for lack of pay, dispersed towards Germany. Thereafter he made his way almost alone to Holland, the only province which still remained true to him.

Surrender

After the defeat of the army of French Huguenots under Adrien de Hangest, and the withdrawal of the army of William of Orange, Louis of Nassau found himself isolated in Mons. Even the French Huguenots under his command mutinied as a consequence for the support of the King of France to the massacre of St. Bartholomew. On 19 September Louis of Nassau surrendered Mons to the Duke of Alba and the terms of the capitulation were agreed between the Dutch and the Spaniards.

Immediate Consequences

Louis of Nassau would be received by the Duke of Alba, the Duke of Medinaceli and Don Fadrique. The city would be evacuated on 21 September, and on 24 September the Duke of Alba entered Mons. Philip of Noircames, by his position as Governor of Hainaut, took command of the city.

All towns that had accepted the authority of Prince William of Orange, many for fear of reprisals, returned to the allegiance to the Duke of Alba. However, Alba advanced over Mechelen, one of the cities that lent support to the Orange's army, and where the Prince had left a small garrison. In retaliation for the assistance provided by the city to the rebel army of William of Orange, and to satisfy the arrears of pay of the soldiers of the Spanish regiments, the Duke of Alba ordered to the troops under the command of his son Don Fadrique sack the city.

After dealing with Orange's threat in the south, Alba sent his son Don Fadrique to the two rebellious provinces Gelderland and Holland. Fadrique started his campaign by the capture of the fortress-city of Zutphen in Gelderland. On his way to Amsterdam, Don Fadrique came across Naarden, which surrendered on 22 November 1572.

Long-Term Consequences

The loss of Mons proved irreversible. The Dutch Revolt never got another chance to rally the Walloon Protestants to the its cause, which remained confined to the North. Nine years later Mons became part of the staunchly Catholic Union of Arras which accepted the Spanish rule, and Protestantism there was stamped out. Thus, the Dutch rebels losing the chance to gain Mons was an important step towards the division of what had been the single Habsburg Netherlands into two distinct entities - ultimately the present Netherlands and Belgium.