Battle of Nieuwpoort

The Battle of Nieuwpoort, between a Dutch army under Maurits of Nassau and a Spanish army under Albrecht of Austria, took place on July 2, 1600 in the Belgian city Nieuwpoort.

Battle

Two days before a Dutch army had run before the same Spanish tercios almost without a fight. Maurits sent his ships to prevent a flight of the soldiers into the ships, and put his army in a defensive position where the sun would shine in the eyes of the Spanish towards the end of the day, while the beach sand would blow into their eyes.

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All afternoon the battle raged, until both sides were exhausted. Maurits held 3 vendels of cavalry in reserve, which he committed and cleared the beach. The Spanish army was defeated. Maurits' fame spread throughout Europe.

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