Destruction of Neuss (July 1586)
Encyclopedia
The Destruction of Neuss occurred in July 1586, during the Cologne War
. Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma's
troops surrounded the city of Neuss
, an important Protestant garrison in the Electorate of Cologne. After the city refused to capitulate, Parma's army reduced the city to rubble, through a combination of brutal artillery fire, destructive house to house fighting, plundering; during the battle, a fire started that destroyed most of the rest of the city. In total, approximately 3000 civilians were killed, of a population of approximately 4500, and the entire garrison was slaughtered.
supporters in February 1586. Adolf Count of Moers and Neuenahr
reinforced and supplied the city and took most of his troops north, to Moers
and Venlo
, leaving the young Friedrich Cloedt
in command of the city. Cloedt had a garrison of 1600 men, mostly Germans and Dutch soldiers; some had military experience, but many were recent recruits. One hundred years earlier it had resisted a lengthy siege
by Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and for its efforts, the emperor had granted Neuss the right to mint its own coins and to incorporate the imperial arms in its own coat of arms. In June, the Duke of Parma approached the city, and surrounded its landed fortifications; he was supported by Karl von Mansfeld
, Francisco Verdugo
, and Salentin VII of Isenburg-Grenzau
.
Parma had an impressive force at his command; in addition Mansfeld's 2000 troops, he had another 6000 or so foot and Tercio
s, plus 2000 mounted, experienced Italian, Spanish and some German soldiers, plus some 45 cannons, which Parma distributed on the redoubt across the river, and on the heights some short distance from the city walls. Prior to the cannonade, Parma requested the capitulation of the city, which was declined, officially with great politeness, but as Parma's emissary returned to the Spanish camp, he was followed by jeers and insults from the townsmen. The next day, being the feast of St. James, and the patron day for the Spanish, the battle was not joined, however reports circulated in the Spanish camp that two soldiers, captured in the previous days' sorties, had been roasted alive in the market square to desecrate the Holy day.
Cloedt, gravely injured (his leg was reportedly nearly ripped off and he had five other serious wounds), had been carried into the town. The Spanish and Italian forces entered the town from opposing ends, and met in the middle. Parma was reportedly inclined to honor the garrison commander; Ernst demanded his blood. Soldiers found Cloedt and the dying man was hanged from the window, along with several dozen others in his force. Italian and Spanish soldiers, on their rampage through the city, slaughtered the rest of the garrison, even the men who tried to surrender. Women, who had taken refuge in some of the churches, were initially spared, but when the fire started, they were forced into the street. Contemporary accounts refer to children, women, and old men, their clothes in sparks or flames, trying to escape the conflagration, only to be trapped by the enraged soldiers; if they escaped the flames and the Spanish, they still had to elude the Italians. Parma wrote to the king (of Spain) that over 4000 lay dead in the ditches. English observers confirmed this report, and elaborated that only 8 buildings remained standing.
; Parma had lost fewer than 500 of his own force, and the Protestants had lost a significant geographical and militarily strategic point, and one of their more intrepid young commanders in Cloedt. Parma had nearly unfettered access to the Electorate's northern regions, called the Niederstift, from which he could mount an attack on the rebellious provinces of the Netherlands. Gebhard renounced of the Electorate in 1588. Despite Ernst of Bavaria's unchallenged possession, Parma continued to acquire and fortify towns throughout the region.
Cologne War
The Cologne War devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North-Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany...
. Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma's
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
troops surrounded the city of Neuss
Neuss
Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district and owes its prosperity to its location at the crossing of historic and modern trade routes. It is primarily known...
, an important Protestant garrison in the Electorate of Cologne. After the city refused to capitulate, Parma's army reduced the city to rubble, through a combination of brutal artillery fire, destructive house to house fighting, plundering; during the battle, a fire started that destroyed most of the rest of the city. In total, approximately 3000 civilians were killed, of a population of approximately 4500, and the entire garrison was slaughtered.
Situation in 1586
Neuss had been taken by supporters of the Protestant Prince-Elector, Gebhard Truchsess von WaldburgGebhard Truchsess von Waldburg
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. After pursuing an ecclesiastical career, he won a close election in the Cathedral chapter of Cologne over Ernst of Bavaria. After his election, he fell in love with and later married Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben, a Protestant...
supporters in February 1586. Adolf Count of Moers and Neuenahr
Adolf van Nieuwenaar
Adolf van Nieuwenaar, Count of Limburg and Meurs was a statesman and soldier, who was stadtholder of Gelderland and Utrecht for the States-General of the Netherlands during the initial stages of the Eighty Years' War.-Early life:Nieuwenaar was the son of Count Gumprecht II von...
reinforced and supplied the city and took most of his troops north, to Moers
Moers
Moers is a German city on the left bank of the Rhine. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel...
and Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
, leaving the young Friedrich Cloedt
Hermann Friedrich Cloedt
Hermann Friedrich Cloedt was commander of the garrison at Neuss , near Duisburg, in July 1586, when the city was destroyed by the Duke of Parma's Army of Flanders. He died in the defense of Neuss.-Biography:...
in command of the city. Cloedt had a garrison of 1600 men, mostly Germans and Dutch soldiers; some had military experience, but many were recent recruits. One hundred years earlier it had resisted a lengthy siege
Siege of Neuss
The Siege of Neuss, from 1474–75, was part of the Burgundian Wars. The siege, led by Charles the Bold against the Holy Roman Empire city of Neuss, was unsuccessful...
by Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and for its efforts, the emperor had granted Neuss the right to mint its own coins and to incorporate the imperial arms in its own coat of arms. In June, the Duke of Parma approached the city, and surrounded its landed fortifications; he was supported by Karl von Mansfeld
Karl von Mansfeld
Karl von Mansfeld was a German general during the Cologne War and the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.Von Mansfeld was the son of Count Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, born in present day Luxembourg, and was educated in France. He entered the military of Philip II of Spain, and was appointed a general...
, Francisco Verdugo
Francisco Verdugo
Francisco Verdugo, Spanish military commander in the Dutch Revolt, born in 1537 in , became Maestre de Campo General, in the Spanish Netherlands....
, and Salentin VII of Isenburg-Grenzau
Salentin VII of Isenburg-Grenzau
Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne as "Salentin of Isenburg" from 1567 until 1577, the Bishop of Paderborn from 1574 until 1577, and the Count of Isenburg-Grenzau from 1577 to 1610.-Early life:Salentin IX was the second son of Count Henry of Isenburg-Grenzau...
.
Parma had an impressive force at his command; in addition Mansfeld's 2000 troops, he had another 6000 or so foot and Tercio
Tercio
The tercio was a Renaissance era military formation made up of a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers in a mutually supportive formation. It was also sometimes referred to as the Spanish Square...
s, plus 2000 mounted, experienced Italian, Spanish and some German soldiers, plus some 45 cannons, which Parma distributed on the redoubt across the river, and on the heights some short distance from the city walls. Prior to the cannonade, Parma requested the capitulation of the city, which was declined, officially with great politeness, but as Parma's emissary returned to the Spanish camp, he was followed by jeers and insults from the townsmen. The next day, being the feast of St. James, and the patron day for the Spanish, the battle was not joined, however reports circulated in the Spanish camp that two soldiers, captured in the previous days' sorties, had been roasted alive in the market square to desecrate the Holy day.
Battle
Once the cannonade began, Parma's 45 artillery pounded at the walls for 30 hours with iron cannonballs weighing 30 to 50 pounds, in total 2700 rounds. The Spanish made several attacks, each repelled. With the ninth assault, the outer wall was breached, and soldiers poured into the city, the Italians from one end, and the Spanish from the other. They met in the marketplace in the middle (see map of the city—above).Cloedt, gravely injured (his leg was reportedly nearly ripped off and he had five other serious wounds), had been carried into the town. The Spanish and Italian forces entered the town from opposing ends, and met in the middle. Parma was reportedly inclined to honor the garrison commander; Ernst demanded his blood. Soldiers found Cloedt and the dying man was hanged from the window, along with several dozen others in his force. Italian and Spanish soldiers, on their rampage through the city, slaughtered the rest of the garrison, even the men who tried to surrender. Women, who had taken refuge in some of the churches, were initially spared, but when the fire started, they were forced into the street. Contemporary accounts refer to children, women, and old men, their clothes in sparks or flames, trying to escape the conflagration, only to be trapped by the enraged soldiers; if they escaped the flames and the Spanish, they still had to elude the Italians. Parma wrote to the king (of Spain) that over 4000 lay dead in the ditches. English observers confirmed this report, and elaborated that only 8 buildings remained standing.
Aftermath
Although Parma had taken the city, his Protestant opponents could take some comfort in the fact that the city had been destroyed in the process and was of no use as a garrison. Yet this was in no way a Pyrrhic victoryPyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
; Parma had lost fewer than 500 of his own force, and the Protestants had lost a significant geographical and militarily strategic point, and one of their more intrepid young commanders in Cloedt. Parma had nearly unfettered access to the Electorate's northern regions, called the Niederstift, from which he could mount an attack on the rebellious provinces of the Netherlands. Gebhard renounced of the Electorate in 1588. Despite Ernst of Bavaria's unchallenged possession, Parma continued to acquire and fortify towns throughout the region.