By England's Aid; Or, the Freeing of the Netherlands, 1585-1604

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XIX.

  STEENWYK.

  Three days passed, and then a slight noise was heard as of thetrap-door being raised. Lionel drew his sword.

  "It is my servant, no doubt," the merchant said, "he promised to comeand tell me how things went as soon as he could get an opportunity tocome down unobserved. We should hear more noise if it were theSpaniards." Taking a light he went along the passage, and returnedimmediately afterwards followed by his man; the latter had his headbound up, and carried his arm in a sling. An exclamation of pity brokefrom the ladies.

  "You are badly hurt, Jacques. What has happened?"

  "It is well it is no worse, mistress," he replied. "The Spaniards arefiends, and behaved as if they were sacking a city of Dutch Huguenotsinstead of entering a town inhabited by friends. For an hour or twothey cut and slashed, pillaged and robbed. They came rushing into theshop, and before I could say a word one run me through the shoulder andanother laid my head open. It was an hour or two before I came to mysenses. I found the house turned topsy-turvy; everything worth takinghad gone, and what was not taken was damaged. I tied up my head and armas best I could, and then sat quiet in a corner till the din outsidebegan to subside. The officers did their best, I hear, and at last gotthe men into order. Numbers of the townsfolk have been killed, andevery one of the garrison was butchered. I tell you, mistress, it isbetter to have ten Huguenot armies in possession one after another thanone Spanish force, though the latter come as friends andco-religionists. Well, as soon as things quieted down the soldiers weredivided among the houses of the townsfolk, and we have a sergeant andten men quartered above; but half an hour ago they were called away onsome duty, and I took the opportunity to steal down here."

  "Have you told them that we were away, Jacques?"

  "No, monsieur; no one has asked me about it. They saw by the picturesand shrines that you were good Catholics, and after the first outburstthey have left things alone. But if it is not too dreary for the ladieshere, I should advise you to wait for a time and see how things gobefore you show yourselves."

  "That is my opinion too, Jacques. We can wait here for another twomonths if need be. Doubtless, unless the Huguenots show signs of anintention to attack the town, only a small garrison will be left here,and it may be that those in our house will be withdrawn."

  "Do you think it will be possible for me to make my escape, Jacques?"Lionel asked.

  "I should think so, sir. Ever since the Spaniards entered the townboats with provisions for Paris have been coming along in greatnumbers. From what I hear the soldiers say there is no chance of abattle at present, for the Huguenot army have drawn off to a distance,seeing that Paris is revictualled and that there is no chance of takingit. They say that numbers of the French lords with the Huguenot armyhave drawn off and are making for their homes. At any rate there is nofear of an attack here, and the gates stand open all day. Numbers ofthe townsfolk have been to Paris to see friends there, and I should saythat if you had a disguise you could pass out easily enough."

  The question was discussed for some time. Lionel was very anxious torejoin the army, and it was finally settled that Jacques should thenext night bring him down a suit of his own clothes, and the first timethe soldiers were all away should fetch him out, accompany him throughthe gates of the town, and act as his guide as far as he could.

  The next night Lionel received the clothes. Two days later Jacques camedown early in the morning to say that the soldiers above had just goneout on duty. Lionel at once assumed his disguise, and with theheartiest thanks for the great service they had rendered him took hisleave of the kind merchant and his family. Jacques was charged toaccompany him as far as possible, and to set him well on his waytowards the Huguenot army, for Lionel's small knowledge of French wouldbe detected by the first person who accosted him. On going out into thestreet Lionel found that there were many peasants who had come in tosell fowls, eggs, and vegetables in the town, and he and Jacques passedwithout a question through the gates.

  Jacques had, the evening before, ascertained from the soldiers theposition of Parma's army. A long detour had to be made, and it was twodays before they came in sight of the tents of Henry's camp. They hadobserved the greatest precautions on their way, and had only oncefallen in with a troop of Parma's cavalry. These had asked noquestions, supposing that Jacques and his companion were making theirway from Paris to visit their friends after the siege, there beingnothing in their attire to attract attention, still less suspicion. Thepeasants they met on their way eagerly demanded news from Paris, butJacques easily satisfied them by saying that they had had a terribletime, and that many had died of hunger, but that now that the river wasopen again better times had come. When within a couple of miles of thearmy Jacques said goodbye to Lionel, who would have rewarded himhandsomely for his guidance, but Jacques would not accept money.

  "You are the master's guest," he said, "and you saved his house fromplunder when your people were in possession. He and my mistress wouldnever forgive me if I took money from you. I am well content in havingbeen able to assist so kind a young gentleman."

  When Lionel arrived at the camp he soon found his way to Sir RalphPimpernel's tent, where he was received as one from the dead. There wasno difficulty in providing himself again with armour and arms, for ofthese there were abundance--the spoils of Ivry--in the camp. When hewas reclothed and rearmed Sir Ralph took him to the king's tent, andfrom him Henry learned for the first time the circumstances that hadattended the capture of Lagny.

  "And so they put the whole garrison to the sword," the king said withindignation. "I will make any Spaniards that fall in my hands paydearly for it!"

  Henry had indeed been completely out-generalled by his opponent. Whilehe had been waiting with his army for a pitched battle Parma hadinvested Lagny, and there were no means of relieving it except bycrossing the river in the face of the whole army of the enemy, anenterprise impossible of execution. As soon as Lagny had fallenprovisions and ammunition were at once poured into Paris, two thousandboat-loads arriving in a single day.

  King Henry's army immediately fell to pieces. The cavalry havingneither food nor forage rode off by hundreds every day, and in a weekbut two thousand out of his six thousand horse remained with him. Theinfantry also, seeing now no hope of receiving their arrears of pay,disbanded in large numbers, and after an unsuccessful attempt to carryParis by a night attack, the king fell back with the remnant of hisforce. Corbeil was assaulted and captured by Parma, and the two greatrivers of Paris were now open.

  If Parma could have remained with his army in France, the cause ofHenry of Navarre would have been lost. But sickness was making ravagesamong his troops. Dissensions broke out between the Spaniards,Italians, and Netherlanders of his army and their French allies, whohated the foreigners, though they had come to their assistance. Lastly,his presence was urgently required in the Netherlands, where his workwas as far from being done as ever. Therefore to the dismay of theLeaguers he started early in November on his march back.

  No sooner did he retire than the king took the field again, recapturedLagny and Corbeil, and recommenced the siege of Paris, while hiscavalry hung upon the rear and flanks of Parma's army and harassed themcontinually, until they crossed the frontier, where the duke found thataffairs had not improved during his absence.

  Lionel had obtained permission to accompany the force which capturedLagny, and as soon as they entered the town hurried to the mercer'shouse. He found Jacques in possession, and learned that the family hadweeks before left the crypt and reoccupied the house, but had againtaken refuge there when the Huguenots attacked the town. Lionel at oncewent below, and was received with delight. He was now able to repay tosome extent the obligations he had received from them, by protectingthem from all interference by the new captors of the town, from whomthe majority of the citizens received harsh treatment for the part theyhad taken in attacking the garrison when the Spaniards first entered.

  Prince Maurice's visit to the camp o
f Henry had been but a short one;and as soon as Parma had effected the relief of Paris, and there was nolonger a chance of a great battle being fought, he returned to Holland,followed after the recapture of Lagny by Sir Ralph Pimpernel and thefew survivors of his party, who were all heartily weary of the longperiod of inaction that had followed the victory at Ivry.

  They found that during their absence there had been little doing in theNetherlands, save that Sir Francis Vere, with a small body of Englishinfantry and cavalry, had stormed some formidable works the Spaniardshad thrown up to prevent relief being given to Recklinghausen, whichthey were besieging. He effected the relief of the town and drove offthe besiegers. He then attacked and captured a fort on the bank of theRhine, opposite the town of Wesel.

  At the end of the year 1590 there were, including the garrisons, someeight thousand English infantry and cavalry in Holland, and the yearthat followed was to see a great change in the nature of the war. Theefforts of Prince Maurice to improve his army were to bear effect, andwith the assistance of his English allies he was to commence an activeoffensive war, to astonish his foes by the rapidity with which hemanoeuvred the new fighting machine he had created, and to commence anew departure in the tactics of war.

  In May he took the field, requesting Vere to co-operate with him in thesiege of Zutphen. But Sir Francis determined in the first place tocapture on his own account the Zutphen forts on the opposite side ofthe river, since these had been lost by the treachery of Roland Yorke.He dressed up a score of soldiers, some as peasants, others ascountrywomen, and provided them with baskets of eggs and otherprovisions. At daybreak these went down by twos and threes to theZutphen ferry, as if waiting to be taken across to the town; and whilewaiting for the boat to come across for them, they sat down near thegate of the fort.

  CROSSING THE BRIDGE OF BOATS OVER THE HAVEN.]

  A few minutes later a party of English cavalry were seen riding rapidlytowards the fort. The pretended country people sprang to their feet,and with cries of alarm ran towards it for shelter. The gates werethrown open to allow them to enter. As they ran in they drew out thearms concealed under their clothes and overpowered the guard. Thecavalry dashed up and entered the gate before the garrison couldassemble, and the fort was captured.

  Vere at once began to throw up his batteries for the attack upon thetown across the river, and the prince invested the city on the otherside. So diligently did the besiegers work that before a week hadpassed after the surprise of the fort the batteries were completed,thirty-two guns placed in position, and the garrison, seeing there wasno hope of relief, surrendered.

  On the very day of taking possession of the town, the allies, leaving agarrison there, marched against Deventer, seven miles down the river,and within five days had invested the place, and opened their batteriesupon the weakest part of the town. A breach was effected, and a stormwas ordered. A dispute arose between the English, Scotch, and Dutchtroops as to who should have the honour of leading the assault. PrinceMaurice decided in favour of the English, in order that they might havean opportunity of wiping out the stigma on the national honour causedby the betrayal of Deventer by the traitor Sir William Stanley.

  To reach the breach it was necessary to cross a piece of water calledthe Haven. Sir Francis Vere led the English across the bridge of boatswhich had been thrown over the water; but the bridge was too short.Some of the troops sprang over and pushed boldly for the breach, otherswere pushed over and drowned. Many of those behind stripped off theirarmour and swam across the Haven, supported by some Dutch troops whohad been told off to follow the assaulting party. But at the breachthey were met by Van der Berg, the governor, with seven companies ofsoldiers, and these fought so courageously that the assailants wereunable to win their way up the breach, and fell back at last with aloss of two hundred and twenty-five men killed and wounded.

  While the assault was going on, the artillery of the besiegerscontinued to play upon other parts of the town, and effected greatdamage. On the following night the garrison endeavoured to capture thebridge across the Haven, but were repulsed with loss, and in themorning the place surrendered. The success of the patriots was due inno slight degree to the fact that Parma with the greatest part of hisarmy was again absent in France, and the besieged towns had thereforeno hope of assistance from without. The States now determined to seizethe opportunity of capturing the towns held by the Spaniards inFriesland.

  The three principal towns in the possession of the Spaniards wereGroningen, Steenwyk, and Coevorden. After capturing several lessimportant places and forts Prince Maurice advanced against Steenwyk.But just as he was about to commence the siege he received pressingletters from the States to hurry south, as Parma was marching with hiswhole army to capture the fort of Knodsenburg, which had been raised inthe previous autumn as a preparation for the siege of the importantcity of Nymegen.

  The Duke of Parma considered that he had ample time to reduceKnodsenburg before Prince Maurice could return to its assistance. Twogreat rivers barred the prince's return, and he would have to traversethe dangerous district called the Foul Meadow, and the great quagmireknown as the Rouvenian Morass. But Prince Maurice had now anopportunity of showing the excellence of the army he had raised andtrained.

  He received the news of Parma's advance on the 15th of July; two dayslater he was on the march south, and in five days had thrown bridges ofboats across the two rivers, had crossed morass and swamp, and appearedin front of the Spanish army.

  One assault had already been delivered by the Spaniards againstKnodsenburg, but this had been repulsed with heavy loss. As soon as thepatriot army approached the neighbourhood, Parma's cavalry went out todrive in its skirmishers. Vere at once proposed to Prince Maurice toinflict a sharp blow upon the enemy, and with the approval of theprince marched with 1200 foot and 500 horse along the dyke which ranacross the low country. Marching to a spot where a bridge crossed anarrow river he placed half his infantry in ambush there; the otherhalf a quarter of a mile further back.

  Two hundred light cavalry were sent forward to beat up the enemy'soutposts, and then retreat; the rest of the cavalry were posted in therear of the infantry. Another dyke ran nearly parallel with the first,falling into it at some distance in the rear of Vere's position, andhere Prince Maurice stationed himself with a body of horse and foot tocover Vere's retreat should he be obliged to fall back. About noon thelight cavalry skirmished with the enemy and fell back, but were notfollowed. About half an hour later the scouts brought word that theSpaniards were at hand.

  Suddenly and without orders 800 of Maurice's cavalry galloped off tomeet the enemy; but they soon came back again at full speed, with astrong force of Spanish cavalry in pursuit. Vere's infantry at oncesallied out from their ambush among the trees, poured their fire intothe enemy, and charged them with their pikes. The Spaniards turned tofly, when Vere's cavalry charged them furiously and drove them back inheadlong rout to their own camp, taking a great number of prisoners,among them many officers of rank, and 500 horses. Parma finding himselfthus suddenly in face of a superior army, with a rapid river in hisrear, fell back across the Waal, and then proceeded to Spa to recruithis shattered health, leaving Verdugo, an experienced officer, incommand.

  Instead of proceeding to besiege Nymegen, Maurice marched away assuddenly and quickly as before, and captured Hulst, on the borders ofZeeland and Brabant, a dozen miles only from Antwerp, and then turningagain was, in three days, back at Nymegen, and had placed sixty-eightpieces of artillery in position. He opened fire on the 20th of October,and the next day the important city of Nymegen surrendered. This seriesof brilliant successes greatly raised the spirits of the Netherlanders,and proportionately depressed those of the Spaniards and theiradherents.

  Parma himself was ill from annoyance and disappointment. The army withwhich he might have completed the conquest of the Netherlands had, inopposition to his entreaties and prayers, been frittered away byPhilip's orders in useless expeditions in France, while the young andactive genera
ls of the Dutch and English armies were snatching townafter town from his grasp, and consolidating the Netherlands, sorecently broken up by Spanish strongholds, into a compact body, whoseincreasing wealth and importance rendered it every day a moreformidable opponent. It is true that Parma had saved first Paris andafterwards Rouen for the League, but it was at the cost of looseningPhilip's hold over the most important outpost of the Spanish dominions.

  In the following spring Parma was again forced to march into Francewith 20,000 men, and Maurice, as soon as the force started, prepared totake advantage of its absence. With 6000 foot and 2000 horse he againappeared at the end of May before Steenwyk. This town was the key tothe province of Drenthe, and one of the safeguards of Friesland; it wasconsidered one of the strongest fortresses of the time. Its garrisonconsisted of sixteen companies of foot and some cavalry, and 1200Walloon infantry, commanded by Lewis, the youngest of the Counts deBerg, a brave lad of eighteen years of age.

  In this siege, for the first time, the spade was used by soldiers inthe field. Hitherto the work had been considered derogatory to troops,and peasants and miners had been engaged for the work; but PrinceMaurice had taught his soldiers that their duty was to work as well asfight, and they now proved the value of his teaching.

  The besieged made several successful sorties, and Sir Francis Vere hadbeen severely wounded in the leg. The cannonade effected but littledamage on the strong walls; but the soldiers, working night and day,drove mines under two of the principal bastions, and constructed twogreat chambers there; these were charged, one with five thousand poundsof powder, the other with half that quantity. On the 3d of July themines were sprung. The bastion of the east gate was blown to pieces andthe other bastion greatly injured, but many of the Dutch troopsstanding ready for the assault were also killed by the explosion.

  The storming parties, however, rushed forward, and the two bastionswere captured. This left the town at the mercy of the besiegers. Thenext day the garrison surrendered, and were permitted to march away.Three hundred and fifty had been killed, among them young Count LewisVan der Berg, and two hundred had been left behind, severely wounded,in the town. Between five and six hundred of the besiegers were killedduring the course of the siege. The very day after the surrender ofSteenwyk Maurice marched away and laid siege to Coevorden. This city,which was most strongly fortified, lay between two great swamps,between which there was a passage of about half a mile in width.

  Another of the Van der Bergs, Count Frederick, commanded the garrisonof a thousand veterans. Verdugo sent to Parma and Mondragon for aid,but none could be sent to him, and the prince worked at hisfortifications undisturbed. His force was weakened by the withdrawal ofSir Francis Vere with three of the English regiments, Elizabeth havingsent peremptory orders that this force should follow those alreadywithdrawn to aid Henry of Navarre in Brittany. Very unwillingly Vereobeyed, and marched to Doesburg on the Yssel. But a fortnight after hearrived there, while he was waiting for ships to transport him toBrittany the news came to him that Verdugo, having gathered a largeforce together, was about to attack Prince Maurice in his camp, andVere at once started to the prince's aid.

  On the night of the 6th of September, Verdugo, with 4000 foot and 1800cavalry, wearing their shirts outside their armour to enable them todistinguish each other in the dark, fell upon Maurice's camp.Fortunately the prince was prepared, having intercepted a letter fromVerdugo to the governor of the town. A desperate battle took place, butat break of day, while its issue was still uncertain, Vere, who hadmarched all night, came up and threw himself into the battle. Hisarrival was decisive. Verdugo drew off with a loss of 300 killed, andfive days later Coevorden surrendered, and Prince Maurice's army wentinto winter quarters.

  A few weeks later Parma died, killed by the burden Philip threw uponhim, broken down by the constant disappointment of his hopes ofcarrying his work to a successful end, by the incessant interference ofPhilip with his plans, and by the anxiety caused by the mutiniesarising from his inability to pay his troops, although he had borrowedto the utmost on his own possessions, and pawned even his jewels tokeep them from starvation. He was undoubtedly the greatest commander ofhis age, and had he been left to carry out his own plans would havecrushed out the last ember of resistance in the Netherlands andconsolidated the power of Spain there.

  He was succeeded in his post by the Archduke Albert, but for a timeErnest Mansfeldt continued to command the army, and to manage theaffairs in the Netherlands. In March, 1593, Prince Maurice appearedwith his army in front of Gertruydenberg. The city itself was animportant one, and its position on the Maas rendered it of the greatestuse to the Spaniards, as through it they were at any moment enabled topenetrate into the heart of Holland. Gertruydenberg and Groningen, thecapital of Friesland, were now, indeed, the only important places inthe republic that remained in possession of the Spaniards. Hohenlohewith a portion of the army established himself to the east of the city,Maurice with its main body to the west.

  Two bridges constructed across the river Douge afforded a means ofcommunication between two armies, and plank roads were laid across theswamps for the passage of baggage waggons. Three thousand soldierslaboured incessantly at the works, which were intended not only toisolate the city, but to defend the besiegers from any attack thatmight be made upon them by a relieving army. The better to protectthemselves, miles of country were laid under water, and palisade workerected to render the country impregnable by cavalry.

  Ernest Mansfeldt did his best to relieve the town. His son, CountCharles, with five thousand troops, had been sent into France, but bysweeping up all the garrisons, he moved with a considerable armytowards Gertruydenberg and challenged Maurice to issue out from hislines to fight him. But the prince had no idea of risking a certainsuccess upon the issue of a battle.

  A hundred pieces of artillery on the batteries played incessantly onthe town, while a blockading squadron of Zeeland ships assisted in thebombardment, and so terrible was the fire, that when the town wasfinally taken only four houses were found to have escaped injury.

  Two commandants of the place were killed one after the other, and thegarrison of a thousand veterans, besides the burgher militia, wasgreatly reduced in strength. At last, after ninety days' siege, thetown suddenly fell. Upon the 24th of June three Dutch captains wererelieving guard in the trenches near the great north bastion of thetown, when it occurred to them to scale the wall of the fort and seewhat was going on inside. They threw some planks across the ditch, andtaking half a company of soldiers, climbed cautiously up. They obtaineda foothold before the alarm was given. There was a fierce hand-to-handstruggle, and sixteen of the party fell, and nine of the garrison. Therest fled into the city. The Governor Gysant, rushing to the rescuewithout staying to put on his armour, was killed.

  Count Solms came from the besieging camp to investigate the suddenuproar, and to his profound astonishment was met by a deputation fromthe city asking for terms of surrender. Prince Maurice soon afterwardscame up, and the terms of capitulation were agreed upon. The garrisonwere allowed to retire with side-arms and baggage, and fifty waggonswere lent to them to carry off their wounded.

  In the following spring Coevorden, which had been invested by Verdugo,was relieved, and Groningen, the last great city of the Netherlands inthe hands of the Spaniards, was besieged. Mines were driven under itsprincipal bastion, and when these were sprung, after sixty-five days'siege, the city was forced to surrender. Thus for the first time, afteryears of warfare, Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland became truly united,and free from the grasp of the hated invader.

  Throughout the last three years of warfare Sir Francis Vere had provedan able assistant to the prince, and the English troops had foughtbravely side by side with the Dutch; but their contingent had been buta small one, for the majority of Vere's force had, like that of theSpaniards, been withdrawn for service in France. The struggle in thatcountry was nearly at an end. The conversion of Henry of Navarre forthe second time to the Catholic religion had ranged ma
ny Catholics, whohad hitherto been opposed to him, under his banner, while many hadfallen away from the ranks of the League in disgust, when Philip ofSpain at last threw off the mask of disinterestedness, and proposed hisnephew the Archduke Ernest as king of France.

  In July, 1595, a serious misfortune befell the allied army. They hadlaid siege to Crolle, and had made considerable progress with thesiege, when the Spanish army, under command of Mondragon, the agedgovernor of Antwerp, marched to its relief. As the army of Maurice wasinferior in numbers, the States would not consent to a general action.The siege was consequently raised; and Mondragon having attained hisobject, fell back to a position on the Rhine at Orsoy, above Rheinberg,whence he could watch the movements of the allied army encamped on theopposite bank at Bislich, a few miles below Wesel.

  The Spanish army occupied both sides of the river, the wing on theright bank being protected from attack by the river Lippe, which fallsinto the Rhine at Wesel, and by a range of moorland hills called theTesterburg. The Dutch cavalry saw that the slopes of this hill wereoccupied by the Spaniards, but believed that their force consisted onlyof a few troops of horse.

  Young Count Philip of Nassau proposed that a body of cavalry shouldswim the Lippe, and attack and cut them off. Prince Maurice and SirFrancis Vere gave a very reluctant consent to the enterprise, butfinally allowed him to take a force of five hundred men.

  With him were his brothers Ernest and Louis, his nephew Ernest deSolms, and many other nobles of Holland. Sir Marcellus Bacx was incommand of them. The English contingent was commanded by Sir NicholasParker and Robert Vere. On August 22d they swam the Lippe and gallopedin the direction where they expected to find two or three troops ofSpanish horse; but Mondragon had received news of their intentions, andthey suddenly saw before them half the Spanish army. Without hesitationthe five hundred English and Dutch horsemen charged desperately intothe enemy's ranks, and fought with extraordinary valour, until,altogether overpowered by numbers, Philip of Nassau and his nephewErnest were both mortally wounded and taken prisoners.

  Robert Vere was slain by a lance-thrust in the face, and many othernobles and gentlemen fell. Thus died one of the three brave brothers,for the youngest, Horace, had also joined the army in 1590. Thesurvivors of the band under Sir Nicholas Parker and Marcellus Bacxmanaged to effect their retreat, covered by a reserve Prince Mauricehad posted on the opposite side of the river.