Siege of Ostend
The siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish force under Archduke Albrecht besieged the fortress being held initially by a Dutch force which was reinforced by English troops under Francis Vere, who became the town's governor. It was said "the Spanish assailed the unassailable; the Dutch defended the indefensible." The commitment of both sides in the dispute over the only Dutch-ruled area in the province of Flanders, made the campaign continue for more than any other during the war. This resulted in one of the longest and bloodiest sieges in world history: more than 100,000 people were killed, wounded, or succumbed to disease during the siege.
| Siege of Ostend | |||||||||
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| Part of the Eighty Years' War & the Anglo–Spanish War | |||||||||
Siege of Ostend by Peter Snayers, oil on canvas. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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United Provinces England Scotland | Spanish Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Charles van der Noot (July 1601) Francis Vere (August 1601) Frederick van Dorp (March 1602) Peter van Gieselles (Dec 1603) † John van Loon (March 1604) † Jacques van der Meer (March 1604) † Coronel Uytenhoove (June 1604) (WIA) Daniel d´Hertaing |
Archduke Albrecht (July 1601) Ambrosio Spinola (October 1603) Luis de Velasco Count of Bucquoy Frederik van den Bergh | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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2,500–8,000 (peak) Total: ~50,000 (by rotation)[Note B] |
9,000–20,000 (peak) Total: ~80,000 (by rotation) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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30,000 – 45,000 killed, wounded or succumbed to disease 3,000 surrendered | 60,000 – 70,000 killed, wounded or succumbed to disease | ||||||||
Ostend was resupplied via the sea and as a result held out for three years. A garrison did a tour of duty before being replaced by fresh troops, normally 3,000 at a time keeping casualties and disease to a minimum. The siege consisted of a number of assaults by the Spanish, including a massive unsuccessful assault by 10,000 Spanish infantry in January 1602 when governed by Vere. After suffering heavy losses, the Spanish replaced the Archduke with Ambrosio Spinola and the siege settled down to one of attrition with the strong points gradually being taken one at a time.
Ostend was eventually captured by the Spanish on 20 September 1604 but the city was completely destroyed and the overall strategy had changed since the siege had started. The loss of Ostend was a severe blow strategically for the Republic but Spanish propaganda and strategic objectives were frustrated by the Dutch and English conquest of Sluis to the northeast a few weeks before the surrender of Ostend. In addition, the economic cost of such a long campaign and the enormous number of casualties sustained turned the result into a Spanish pyrrhic victory and effectively the siege contributed largely to Spanish bankruptcy three years later which was followed by the Twelve Years' Truce.