French Fury

On 17 January 1583, in a ploy to deceive the citizens of Antwerp, Anjou asked to be permitted to enter the city in order to honour them with a Royal Entry. As soon as his troopers had entered the city, the city gates were slammed shut behind them. Having lost the advantage of surprise, the small French army found itself hopelessly trapped within the city as it was bombarded from windows and rooftops with stones, rocks, logs, and even heavy chains. The city's experienced garrison then opened up with a deadly, point-blank fire on the troops. Only a few Frenchmen, including the Duke of Anjou, escaped. Over 1,500 troops perished, many of them hacked to death by the enraged citizens of Antwerp. One contemporary account is by Jean Bodin, an adviser to Anjou who also escaped the slaughter.

The position of Anjou after this attack became untenable and he left the country in June 1583. His departure also discredited William the Silent, who had always supported Anjou.

The city was eventually conquered by the Spanish under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma after the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585).

• George Edmundson, "The 'French Fury' at Antwerp (1583)", in Cambridge Modern History, edited by A. W. Ward, G. W. Prothero and Stanley Leathes, vol. 3 (Cambridge, 1907), p. 256.
• Louis Prosper Gachard, ed., "Lettre de Jean Bodin sur l'entreprise du duc d'Anjou contre la ville d'Anvers", Compte rendu des séances de la Commission Royale d'histoire ou recueil de ses bulletins, 2nd series, 12 (1859), pp. 458–463.

51°13′N 4°24′E / 51.217°N 4.400°E / 51.217; 4.400