Perfection: The (Staggering) Siege of Geertruidenberg 1592/93 | Eighty Years War

A Dutch army under the command of Maurits of Orange arrived at the town of Geertruidenberg on the 27th of March 1592. This was the first time the Prince of Orange took autonomous command of a sizeable military operation. This established Maurits’ reputation as a competent commander. The siege of Geertruidenberg was characterized by difficult terrain, a ship-blockade on the Maas (Meuse), and the construction of extensive field fortifications. This is how contemporary historiography tells the story of the staggering siege of Geertruidenberg:
Patreon: / sandrhomanhistory
Twitter: / sandrhoman
#history #education #sandrhoman
Our reading list on military history:
Duffy, C., Siege Warfare: The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494-1660, Vol. 1, 1979. amzn.to/32dvvwM
Rogers, C.J., The military revolution debate. Readings on the military transformation of early modern Europe, 1995. amzn.to/3geVDMM
Rogers, C.J., Soldiers' Lives through History - The Middle Ages, 2006. amzn.to/3j2kQvG
Parker, C., The Cambridge History of Warfare, 2005. amzn.to/32ggn1L
Van Nimwegen, O., The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688, 2010. amzn.to/2E3Fc95

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Yeah... it was not easy to say Geertruidenberg so many times ;P

[@kindofunkind4826]

Your pronunciation is excellent, though.

[@JAGer-pl2vt]

Laughs in Dutch

[@Evangeline.F]

Your efforts to pronounce locations and names correctly is much appreciated.

[@TrojanHell]

@@kindofunkind4826 Was about to say this, his pronunciation of all Dutch seems impeccable compared to some of the butcherings I've encountered.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Where are you from? I cant tell by your accent. My guess is France, Germany or the Low Countries.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Leave it to the Dutch to make windmills a military asset

[@pez4]

Specially effective against the Spanish who thought those were giants!

[@alexhatfield4448]

Put on the wooden clogs and prepare for battle men!

[@tiely13]

I went to the comment section to either read this or post it

[@hedgehog3180]

That's where the Nether Gundam comes from.

[@bluebird3281]

@@pez4 ; )

[@iamthedutchguy]

Absolutely love your content. As a Dutch person I think it's a shame the Eighty Years War doesn't get covered much, so watching your videos is a real treat.

[@shorewall]

As I've learned about history, the 80 years war, with Maurice of Orange, and the 30 years war, with Gustavus Adolphus, have stood out as flashpoints in my lack of knowledge between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

[@Thurnmourer]

Really? Would have thought the opposite given its importance to the future of gunpowder warfare.

[@CatnamedMittens]

It seems to be extremely complex. Never talked about it much in University myself.

[@user-yz1vp4jh1d]

Is white people in Western Europe remain for a long time? Or African-arabian will be the majority soon .. .. Europe was great in past, but now....or now, ... Europe isn't white(

[@richardnixon2445]

@@user-yz1vp4jh1d nobody asked

[@theodorosgkountoulidis2385]

The only reason I didn't immediately watch this video once the notification popped up, was that I was in the middle of the Siege of Mantua video. After that was done, I clicked the link as fast as possible. Good job SandRhoman History. Your videos are truly amazing. Keep up the good work and keep 'em coming!

[@realityreport79]

I grew up in Geertruidenberg. We have annual re enactments of the battle which are always fun. But the River Maas nowadays flows north of the town and I couldn't figure out your map so I actually had to google it and it turns out the river I know was dug in 1905. Learning something every day hah

[@redgoblin2842]

De kaart is gespiegeld. Ik moest er ook wel even goed naar kijken, ziet er wel apart uit.

[@daanstrik4293]

Actually getting interested in the military history of my own country thanks to this series. This is some high quality stuff. Also as a dutch man: you have my pity needing to pronounce our names in english.

[@unknownip6741]

Nederland heeft een prachtige en indrukwekkende geschiedenis. Zonde om daar niks van mee te krijgen. Daarnaast is een beetje kennis van geschiedenis nooit verkeerd aangezien we dagelijks met de gevolgen van deze verhalen te maken hebben.

[@dominicbrunsmeier]

​@@unknownip6741 welp, as it was not obvious that presence is the grand sum of the past, hence learning history is the best way to foresee future.

[@sauerkraut2804]

The style and quality of your documentations are outstanding. Keep up the good work!

[@Kevin-yw5qr]

First challenge in attacking this fortress: saying its name correctly.

[@a.h.s.3006]

Soldier: where are we going sir? General: Ger-trident-berg? S: ? G: Girl-triden-berg S: ??? G: Geer-tiden-ber S: You can't say it sir, can you? G: I am not Dutch for crying out loud. S: Sir, I cannot march somewhere if I don't know it's name. G: Ok, we can look at the map ........................awkward silence G: Damn those Dutch, couldn't they siege something spell-able????

[@seneca983]

Similar to the siege of Przemyśl in WWI.

[@knosje]

Apparently the Dutch "ui" sound is quite rare. According to a quick google search it's also present in Norwegian and certain regional accents in the southern US.

[@ztac_dex]

Indy Neidell pronouncing Przemyśl in the Great war series :

[@UnsolicitedContext]

@@knosje now you’ve got me googling wtf has that sound in the American south so I can figure out what the phoneme actually sounds like lol

[@rasmuspedersen418]

For me, you have steadily grown into becoming the best history channel on KZbin. I love that you cover the early modern era, which is my favourite, so another video covering part of the 80 Years War is great. Keep up the good work!

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

TIL that there was an 80 years war. I mean, what's with the nomenclature of wars? Seven years war, hundred years war, thirty years war, are historians just that bad at nomenclature or is there something else going on?

[@rasmuspedersen418]

@@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai I am by no means a historian. But the thing is, throughout all of history a lot of wars have been fought. So it's impossible to give all wars names that make sense. For example Denmark and Sweden have fought 11 wars since 1523, if all these were called Danish Swedish war it would be impossible to distinguish one war from the other. For example one of the Danish Swedish wars is instead called the Northern Seven Years War which then can be distinghuished from the Kalmar War (another Danish Swedish war).

[@hawkeye4659]

Yayy!! Once again the eighty years war. Thank you guys for all the hard work!!!

[@gregoryvigneault1824]

An optimal way to take a city, using the natural defensive features of the landscape to isolate the city was genius.

[@dpeasehead]

I was stationed with my unit at the outer works at the siege when, without warning a huge fair broke out. We suffered 50% casualties due to over consumption of food and drink.

[@samy7013]

I hope that you and your unit were able to successfully deal with the characteristically furious assaults by well-fed, buxom Dutch farm girls.

[@dpeasehead]

@@samy7013 No, the few who could still stand after the feast capitulated after offering only token resistance.

[@brianoneil9662]

Especially in the U.S history tends to be Anglophile, occasionally Francophile but seldom balanced even on a Eurocentric measure. This channel is refreshing and very well done.

[@ivismartinez2542]

You hit the nail right on the head!

[@battlez9577]

You are reading in the English language so that will have an impact on the bias of the author

[@julio5prado]

Again a very well made and well researched video. I mentioned this in a earlier video but it still strikes me the view that the imperial side was the Spanish side. It’s generals were not Spanish, Farnesio and Mansfeld, there were English troops on both sides as well as Dutch troops on both sides. This war concluded with the independence of the provinces but it was part of a much bigger and deeper struggle tanking place across Europe. Centralization under one emperor, one pope and one religion against a decentralized model with different religions and a balance of power.

[@roodborstkalf9664]

Good comment

[@kyomademon453]

Centralization was not a part of either the hre or spain, Centralization was a french thing, the protestant wars were the result of greed and irrelevant nations wanting a piece of 5mins of fame for themselves

[@Djrepsaj]

@@kyomademon453 Germany, the Netherlands and the UK amongst others are irrelevant nations?

[@kyomademon453]

@@Djrepsaj back then they were backwater regions, they rose to prominence through propaganda

[@r32guy85]

there were still spanish generals.

[@maickelvieira1014]

could you do a video in logistics of gun powder fabrication and ration for armies, cuz whenever i see those sieges that took god know how long get me thinking how the defenders had gun powder to fight for so long and how the attacker got theirs in forreing land, i know that it maybe not be the best content for a video but it would make a good acompainment for a video about a suuuuper long siege

[@m.vantveer3475]

My spouse is from Geertruidenberg. We live in the town of Raamsdonksveer. Try this name! 😁

[@cmacdhon]

I just discovered this channel a few days ago, and I am so happy that I did. SandRhoman, your work is absolutely brilliant. Thank you for the time and effort you put into making your videos. You are very talented.

[@Teamgeschiedenis]

You make the absolute best 80 years war content I have ever seen. My compliments!

[@nickcody7257]

Whenever I watch your videos I look on google maps for the location to get an idea of what it really looked like and see if anything of the fortification are still existing. For this one it looks like Geertruidenberg is on the south side of the Maas with the Donge heading south. There are still parts of the star fort moat. Why do your maps show it differently? East West are correct but North South are reversed. Anyway, beyond that I really like your videos, keep up the great work.

[@quincybelk6267]

This channel is criminally underrated!

[@tomvanuytsel3465]

Love the video. My girlfriend and I live in Geertruidenberg. It's fun to see it's history in these kind of animations

[@biggusdickus819]

Nice! I truly needed this for difficult times thank you.

[@toukairin354]

Your videos are one of my most anticipated historical videos. I felt like I've got a headstart on understanding medieval and early modern warfare, especially siege warfare. Will be waiting for the next video!

[@theblackprince1346]

Recently came across your channel. Binge watching every video. The artwork, animations, information etc is amazing. Any chance of some English Civil war videos in future?

[@7adiyo]

I really like your presentation and art style in these videos, it made me interested in the Dutch and Swiss histories!

[@dirt0133]

I Really enjoy your content. Such a fascinating period in European History that i know little about. :( Thanks for all the hard work!

[@DerBuffBaer]

I just love the visuals of your videos! Love your work

[@iddomargalit-friedman3897]

Love this series, thank you! Would love some overarching timeline that would help place all the events.

[@PaulRudd1941]

Canadian who stumbled on this channel about early-modern warfare has been HOOKED, line and sinker into this vastly unexplored chasm of history! Thank you SandRhoman!

[@pascalhelvoort]

Happy to see my hometown covered in history

[@mercianthane2503]

Damn, these animations and editing is amazing, plus the narration. Subbed.

[@veso5863]

Never stop making these :D

[@shachmon1]

Caesar in Alesia: 48 years old Caesar in the thumbnail: 84 years old

[@dpeasehead]

@Shaun: After years of hard military campaigning, Caesar at 48 years of age DID appear to be about 84.

[@lordham4191]

Always love the videos!

[@Smi7h1sH3r3]

really great, fascinating videos!

[@shawnbeckett1370]

Awesome as always, ty

[@philRminiatures]

Another meticulous and wonderful job, superb video on an interesting historical subject...👍😍😍

[@ProductofWit]

I just happened to have visited Geertruidenberg today for a job interview. Perhaps the reason this video got recommended to me. There was also a docu about the onset of the Eighty Years' War on the Flemish television last Sunday. About the reason why Belgium is Catholic- and the Netherlands Protestant-oriented today. The only battle they talked about was the Siege of Antwerp in 1585, though, which - despite us being Catholic - is seen as a defeat, because it was bad for Antwerp. The trauma of Alva and the Spanish fury were also still fresh in the minds of the people, only later would the population become more pro-Habsburg again.

[@ivanpoparic1984]

Excellent quality, really enjoyed it, but there is just one thing... What's the music at 9:12 it's in my head all day and it's driving me crazy?

[@mathijsharskamp5983]

Fantastic video! You should do a video of the siege(s) of Bergen op Zoom in 1588 or 1622. The city that was called "La Pucelle" (the virgin) because it wasn't conquered for many centuries. They even wrote a song about it after the spanish failed to conquer it.

[@Porconion]

Many thanks. Geertruidenberg still is very nice place. To visit and to live in. And pretty well preserved.

[@mancroft]

Outstanding! Thank you.

[@wybren001]

Awesome video, I really love your style. Just the map you used for the city is flipped upside down. Steelhoven and Oosterhout are to the south of Geertruidenberg, the Maas to the North. So when you said that Maurits approached from the West, he actually did that from the East lol

[@btm6924]

I was about to remark the same ;)

[@itwillbesignificant]

love your channel

[@TechWechSech]

Love the video, although I do wonder why you put the map upside down?

[@johanvanangeren6150]

These are great little documentaries.

[@arnijulian6241]

More siege video's please Sand Rhoman!

[@solaire2904]

your channel is amazing

[@memofromessex]

Can you maybe do some of the English Civil War / War of the Three Kingdoms battles? I am just curious if Britain was that far behind the tactics and strategy because of our relative isolation

[@thehaus6998]

Nice Vedio,one among many that are amazing of your doing,I would like to see the singoku Jidai

[@_caracalla_]

i am in love with this episodes

[@emperorstrider9541]

I love this channel.

[@mariushunger8755]

1:20 nice warm cup of coffee for the scribe of the states general :P

[@Pelsjager]

Your placename pronunciation is excellent, impressive! 👏

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

Geertruidenberg. English bless you.

[@ThePhoenix109]

@Thats reality folks Im the Camaraman he trolled you

[@jepperdj6928]

Can you make one about the 2 sieges of Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands.

[@the_tactician9858]

And Leiden? The line between fantasy and history has become blurry on that due to its local popularity, but I'd love to see how the city managed to hold out while not being connected to a sea route.

[@paladinbob1236]

excellent video pointing to a otherwise lesser known siege..with some clear & easy to see military information..just as we military history enthusiasts like it :P

[@3ntra]

ur vids are great

[@clintmoor422]

Eight Years War! Nice! More!

[@demilung]

- What did you do this weekend? - Took my family to see the siege. It's a great event, I honestly recommend you check it out!

[@nielsvandenkieboom5034]

I live about 10 mins from there. I love the way your pronounce the names. Also I do have to add that I think you got the map upside down. Raamsdonk & Raamsdonksveer as they're are called now are actually to the right of Geertruidenberg, but the Maas is to the north of Geertruidenberg and not the south as despicted in your video. Although that might just be some artistic freedom that made it easier for you to portray! I often go to Fort Lunet a coffee, that fortress was built in the 1830's to defend from the Belgian uprising. Also a little piece of Geertruidenberg history!

[@shadowwarriorshockwave3281]

Another siege another great video

[@woofy2000]

8:47 these dudes be chilling but suddenly explode xD

[@barend415]

Strange to see the map upside down. Not rotated but mirrored (!) which makes absolutely no sense.

[@hedgehog3180]

I always make sure to have a cake or something ready for these videos.

[@MrBrznak]

These dutch were so dutch they used defensive windmills

[@samiamrg7]

And it was in defence of a siege, so they were offencively defencive windmills.

[@anderskorsback4104]

Spinola's siege of Breda next, pretty please?

[@gideonwijdeven1003]

Is the map you used upside down? As in north is down and south is up? Because Oosterhout is south from Geertruidenberg and the river is supposed to be north from Geertruidenberg.

[@Tuning3434]

Won't lie, that map confuses me. First I thought it was only upside down, as the Maas is most definitely north of Geertruidenberg, and the Dongen is a stream originating from the south until it meets the Maas at it's north tip. No big deal, as some of the historical drawings of the event are drawn with the North direction downwards. However, Raamsdonk is indeed east from Geertruidenberg, on the opposite side of the Donge. Looks like you've also mirrored the map. For some context, indeed the Spanish generally retained control south of the river Maas (Brabant, nowadays Noord-Brabant), where the Republic forces where interested in capturing Geertruidenberg as a (another) foothold into the south, and to get control over the river to protect their territories West of it (Holland, Zeeland).

[@bramzegwaard2198]

Please make a video about the raid on the medway.

[@lastmatix]

Only point of critisism as a dutchman is that the map of the siege should be inverted, as the Maas lies north of Geertruidenberg, Steelvliet to the south and Raamsdonk to the east of it. The lands south of the rivers were much harder to control for the Repubic than the more natural defended lands to the north like Holland and Utrecht. Therefore the regions of Brabant and Limburg were the sites were the fighting was present throughout the war and eventually these were incorporated as territorries administered by the Republic (Generaliteitslanden) instead of becomming full-fledged provinces with political power. This is also why catholisism stayed more prominent there. For the Netherlands geography has always been key

[@slome815]

Yes, the map is not just oriented wrong, but actually mirrored on a east-west axis. So while north and south are inverted, east and west still east and west. A really weird way to show a map.

[@falafelbiels]

Interesting video, but I have been confused about it. I lived in Geertruidenberg for 19 years and something felt very off. Turns out your map of Geertruidenberg is upside down.

[@robertobarazzutti3807]

If you are interested in the fortifications of Sluis Damme en Ijzendijk there is a boek by Jan Hutsebaut & Piet Lombaerde "Bastions zonder grenzen" published this year.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Ah hey thanks. Your email got lost in my spam for some reason, i noticed a few days ago already but the last days have been so busy for me that i did not manage to answer. I did receive them and i will answer soon!

[@medievalstorytime9105]

Mad stuff

[@maxwalker1159]

Very cool

[@craigleewhite6317]

That's beautiful that is. Thanks for the best ever films to watch. Does the historians have full story lines of all war fare ever. How does a person get into the business? Craig the guy indebted to you forever here;)

[@ruben.dortmont]

Sick to learn still new things about my own city

[@sriharshacv7760]

Video is good. The title is misleading. This seize is like a sequel to a hit movie which raises expectations.

[@remik9210]

First of all, Geertruidenberg is located on the other side of the Oude Maas, Raamsdonk is with two A's and I don't know if you did the card upside down but if so Geertruidenberg is located on the west bank of the river and the city of Oosterhout is southwest of Geertruidenberg and not north. Still great video!

[@ivarvanaalsburg7793]

Loved to see more of the eighty year war like the siege of alkmaar and leiden

[@Quickshot0]

Looking at the location on the map today, I became kind of confused, as the river is on the top there. But it's the Dutch, so maybe they moved the river since then. But if we also consider the relief army came in from the top, via Ooosterhout, which is clearly to the south on the map, is there a particularly reason you decided to place the south on the top of the map? Was it just how this particular map was back then?

[@remko2]

if you look at the map in the wikipedia entry about the siege... either the map in Wikipedia is mirrored ... or the map used in the video ... I suspect the latter (btw ... south is on top in the Wikipedia map) nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beleg_van_Geertruidenberg_(1593)#/media/Bestand:Siege_of_St._Geertruidenberg_by_Maurice_of_Orange_in_1595_-_Obsidio_St._Geertrvydenberg'.jpg

[@Quickshot0]

@@remko2 That's a good find, interesting it's there as well. I suppose they could have just made it that way for some reason as well.

[@strangerakari2836]

Damn, that early modern warfare is fucking dope! Is there some resources where I can find information for free? Sadly, amazon and such are kinda not an option for the time.

[@TimDutch]

Very well made as asual.

[@quintusantell2912]

Someone correct mijn beetje Nederlands, maar... Bergverkoper- does this translate to "city seller"? Or... how much am I off by?

[@enriquepascual8767]

I believe the most amazing battle during the eighty years was, was the battle of Glemboyx 1578, 20.000 dutch vs 1.600 spanish, result 10 spanish dead and 20.000 dutch dead or captured , that dutch army was completely anhilated.

[@enriquepascual8767]

Glemboux.

[@roodborstkalf9664]

Hardly any Dutch troops took part in this battle.

[@enriquepascual8767]

Venusians

[@roodborstkalf9664]

@@enriquepascual8767 : No mostly untrained Brabanders and Vlamingen.

[@5thMilitia]

I doubt your numbers, but anyway. That was when you guys were still fighting unorganised rebel armies. After the reformes of the states army under Maurice in the 1590s the Spanish were on the defence

[@xe2594]

First? Great video again.

[@Skyfishist]

Do Candia next?

[@JamesAce]

Funny you should upload this video on the dutch freedom memorial day and i happen to be watching this from a city you called by name! Cheers to all fellow dutchies in the comment section,

[@andreattafabio]

Love the Dutch Content

[@T33K3SS3LCH3N]

Looking at the comments before watching: "Huh, surely that name is just a Dutch spelling of 'Gertrudenberg', right? Should be easy." The video: "Chertraidenbherch" Dafuq.

[@reileyscoyote7976]

My last name is actually named after a small town in The Netherlands, and I heard it a couple of times this video and thought someone was calling me lol.

[@miguelmartins9706]

May I suggest a future video on the most definitely staggering siege of Cochin? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cochin_(1504)

[@denysd7241]

About as perfect as it gets!

[@michaelpanariello6044]

nice

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nice job with the video. It was charming. I get why it would be compared to Alesia.

[@Godzilar]

Song names?

[@kevinkyle8231]

Good video, only the map is in mirror in your vid. Because Raamsdonk is east of Geertruidenberg while this map shows its west of it. Because the river Maas is north of the city. You are using the original map of the siege where everything is upside down. So South is up, North is down, East is left and West on the right side. Somehow in your vid its in mirror.

[@welshfreedom1451]

Great

[@roryquijs7371]

I am impressed with your Dutch speaking capability !

[@adrianseanheidmann4559]

That guy is 100% Dutch. Listen how he says "out".

[@5thMilitia]

@@adrianseanheidmann4559 No he is Swiss

[@roryquijs7371]

@@adrianseanheidmann4559 I would be very suprised if he is . I am Dutch , and i cant say i hear anything that sounds like Dutch .

[@miroslavmalivukovic1534]

He is Swiss and if you listen carefully you can hear a German accent.

[@adrianseanheidmann4559]

@@miroslavmalivukovic1534 Man I AM German. I didn't hear a German accent at all. Well I'm from the North guess our German accents there are different.

[@5thMilitia]

The 1590s were really THE crucial years for the succes of the Dutch revolt. The first time when the Dutch could really challenge the Spanish armies in the Low Countries

[@roodborstkalf9664]

Yes, Maurits and van Oldenbarnevelt were very competent guys.

[@mirgjankupi128]

@@roodborstkalf9664 the death of Farnese seems to be a big factor too.