Siege of Mons (1572)

Siege of Mons (1572)
	Part of the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
	; Mons in 1572 by Frans Hogenberg
Date	23 June – 19 September 1572
Location	Mons, Hainaut, Spanish Netherlands
Result	Spanish victory Valenciennes recaptured by the Spanish forces; Huguenot army destroyed; William of Orange's army defeated and disbanded; Louis of Nassau's forces at Mons capitulated on 19 September;
Belligerents
Dutch Rebels; England; French Huguenot forces	Spain
Commanders and leaders
William of Orange; Louis of Nassau; Jean de Hangest (POW)	Duke of Alba; Fadrique de Toledo; Julián Romero
Strength
Louis of Nassau:; 6,000–6,500 men; Jean de Hangest:; 10,000 men ; William of Orange:; 14,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry	8,500; 36 cannons

The siege of Mons of 1572 took place at Mons, capital of the County of Hainaut, Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium), between 23 June and 19 September 1572, as part of the Eighty Years' War, the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), and the French Wars of Religion.^[1]^[6] In the spring of 1572, after the capture of Valenciennes by a Protestant force under Louis of Nassau, the Dutch commander continued with his offensive and took Mons by surprise on 24 May.^[6]^[12] After three months of siege, and the defeats of the armies of Jean de Hangest, seigneur d'Yvoy and Genlis, and William the Silent, Prince of Orange (Dutch: Willem van Oranje), by the Spanish army led by Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba ("The Iron Duke"), Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands,^[5] and his son, Don Fadrique de Toledo,^[6] Louis of Nassau's forces, isolated and without any hope of help, surrendered Mons to the Duke of Alba on 19 September.^[6]^[13]^[14]

^ ^a ^b ^c David J.B. Trim p.162
^ Macgregor pp.211–212
^ ^a ^b Duffy. Siege Warfare: Fortress in the Early Modern World
^ Los Tercios de Flandes. Giménez Martín
^ ^a ^b Tracy pp.78–79
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Jaques p.676
^ With hope of French aid end at the St. Bartholomew's Eve massacre and the repulse of a relief army at Havré, the city surrendered. Jaques p. 676
^ Macgregor p.205
^ Macgregor p.207
^ Macgregor pp.205–206
^ Macgregor pp.207–214
^ The Eighty Years War (1568-1648)
^ Hernán/Maffi p.24
^ Without French assistance, William of Orange, leading a German mercenary army to aid his brother, was driven back into Germany; the garrison of Mons was thus cut off and –eventually– forced to accept the terms. Trim p.162