Battle of Wattrelos
Spanish victory in the Eighty Years' War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Battle of Wattrelos[1] at the Flemish (now French) town of Wattrelos on 27 December 1566 between a Calvinist rebel army[3] (sometimes described as "Geuzen"[1]) and troops of the Spanish Netherlands government. It is sometimes considered as one of the first battles of the Eighty Years' War.[4]
| Battle of Wattrelos | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eighty Years’ War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Dutch rebels |
 Spanish Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jan Denys |
Maximilian Vilain | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 200 infantry[2] |
150 infantry[2] 50 cavalry[2] | ||||||
Battle
The rebel army was composed of about 200 men from the sayetterie centre of Hondschoote and its surroundings in West Flanders.[2] They were Calvinists,[3] and their goal was to intervene in the Siege of Valenciennes,[1] where their fellow Calvinists were beleaguered by governmental troops under Philip of Noircarmes.[3]
Maximilian Vilain, baron of Rassenghien and since 1 June 1566 stadtholder of Walloon Flanders,[5] learned that the rebels had arrived at Wattrelos, about fifteen kilometres northeast of Lille.[2] He sent 50 light cavalry and 150 infantry in response.[2] On 27 December, these governmental forces surprised the rebels.[2] The rebels fled into a parish church, which Rassenghien's forces set on fire, so that many rebels burnt to death.[2]
Two days later, on 29 December 1566, Noircarmes defeated another rebel force in the Battle of Lannoy, also north of Lille.[1] In the night of 1 to 2 January 1567, Noircarmes' troops occupied Tournai and expelled the Calvinists there.[6]