Back Schlacht bei Dahlen German Batalla de Dalen Spanish Bataille de Rheindalen French Battaglia di Dahlen Italian Slag bij Dalheim Dutch Bitwa pod Dahlen Polish Битва у Дальхайма Russian
| Battle of Dahlen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eighty Years' War | |||||||
 The siege before Dalen, july 22 1568 (engraving) by Frans Hogenberg. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Dutch Rebels |
 Spanish Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jean de Montigny |
Sancho d'Avila | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000[1] | 1,600[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~2,000 killed[2][3] | Very few[4][5][6] | ||||||
The Battle of Dahlen was fought on April 23, 1568, between a Dutch rebel army led by Jean de Montigny, Lord of Villers, and a Spanish army commanded by Sancho Dávila y Daza. As a part of William of Orange's planned invasion, the Dutch rebels were trying to conquer the town of Roermond when the arrival of the Spanish force compelled them to withdraw. Dávila pursued the retreating force and inflicted a defeat upon Villers near the small town of Dahlen (today known as Rheindahlen). The survivors of this encounter sought refuge under the walls of Dahlen, where the Spanish infantry finally defeated them. This battle is sometimes considered the official start of the Eighty Years' War.
- ^ a b Motley, p. 160.
- ^ (in Spanish) Cabrera de Córdoba, p. 484.
- ^ (in Spanish) Carnero, p. 24.
- ^ Luis Cabrera de Córdoba mentioned 12 Spaniards killed and nearly 50 wounded. Cabrera de Córdoba, p. 484
- ^ Antonio Carnero put the Spanish loss as 20 killed and 50 wounded. Carnero, p. 24.
- ^ John Lothrop Motley credited the total Spanish loss as 20 men. Motley, p. 161.