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The Siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish force under Archduke Albrecht besieged the fortress being held initially by a Dutch force which was reinforced by English troops under Francis Vere who became the town's governor.〔Knight, Charles Raleigh: ''Historical records of The Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) formerly designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment''. Vol I. London, Gale & Polden, 1905, (p 50 )〕 It is said "the Spanish assailed the unassailable; the Dutch defended the indefensible."〔〔Belleroche p 14〕 The commitment of both sides in the dispute over the only place in the Dutch province of Flanders, made the campaign continue for more than any other during the war. Thus causing one of the longest and bloodiest sieges in world history: more than 100,000 people were killed, wounded or succumbed to disease during the siege.〔 Ostend was resupplied via the sea and as a result held out for three years.〔van Nimwegen pp 171–73〕 A garrison did a tour of duty before being replaced by fresh troops, normally 3,000 at a time keeping casualties and disease to a minimum.〔Duffy p 85〕 The siege consisted of a number of assaults by the Spanish, including a massive failed assault by 10,000 Spanish infantry in January 1602 when governed by Vere.〔Fissel p 188〕 After suffering heavy losses the Spanish had replaced the Archduke with Ambrosio Spinola and the siege settled down to one of more attrition with the strong points gradually being taken one at a time.〔 Ostend was eventually captured by the Spanish on 20 September 1604 but the city was completely destroyed and the overall strategy had changed since the siege had started.〔〔Markham pp 308–10〕 The Spanish objectives to control Ostend with a high strategic value for its geographical location overlooking the North Sea were frustrated by the Dutch and English conquest of Sluis a few weeks before the surrender of Ostend.〔Edmundson pp 102–03〕 In addition, the economic cost of such a long campaign and the enormous amount of casualties sustained turned the result into a Spanish pyrrhic victory〔〔Malland p 31 ''It was in many respects a Pyrrhic victory''〕 and effectively the siege contributed largely to Spanish bankruptcy three years later which was followed by the Twelve Years' Truce.〔Ghelderode p 5〕 ==Background== In 1568, during the reign of Philip II of Spain, the Netherlands, until then under the rule of the Spanish Empire, took up arms against the Spanish crown.〔Tracy, pp 75–78〕 The first phase of the war began with two unsuccessful invasions of the provinces by mercenary armies under Prince William I of Orange (1568 and 1572) and foreign-based raids by the Geuzen or Sea Beggars, (irregular Dutch land and sea forces).〔Israel (1997), pp 180–81〕 By the end of 1573 the Beggars had captured the bulk of the provinces of Holland and Zeeland as well as converted the populace to Calvinism, and secured against Spanish attack. The other provinces joined in the revolt in 1576, and a general union was formed.〔Israel (1997) p 191〕 In 1579 the union was fatally weakened by the defection of the Roman Catholic Walloon provinces.〔Belleroche pp 23–26〕 By 1588 the Spanish, under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma had reconquered the southern Low Countries leaving only Ostend as a major rebel enclave along the coast and stood poised for a death blow against the nascent Dutch Republic in the north.〔Israel, p 213〕 Spain's concurrent enterprises against England and France at this time, however, allowed the Republic to begin a highly successful counter offensive under Maurice of Orange which lasted from 1590–1600 known as the ''Ten Glory Years''.〔Glete pp 155–56〕〔Naphy p 107〕 In 1599 the Archduke Albert of Austria and Isabel Clara Eugenia, brother and sister of Philip III ruled as joint sovereigns of the Netherlands through the will of the dying Philip II.〔Wedgwood p 55〕 By 1600 Maurice of Nassau was stadtholder and Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was Grand pensionary of the States General of the Netherlands.〔 In 1601 Spain now under King Philip III with his favourite the Duke of Lerma despite maintaining its hegemony in the world, was economically weakened with war and bankruptcy.〔Munck p 51〕 Starting with the bankruptcy of the Royal Treasury in 1575; operations against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean, thirty years of war in Flanders against the rebel forces of the United Provinces and a war with England which had waged from 1585.〔 Spain had also only just finished a costly and unsuccessful war with France.〔 The wars were a great burden for the Spanish Empire and meant that financially Spain depended entirely on the treasure fleet brought from the colonies.〔 Nevertheless, Philip pursued a highly aggressive set of policies, aiming to deliver a 'great victory' against both Holland and England.〔Williams p 125〕 The situation of the United Provinces was similar; more than thirty years of war, and foreign trade blocked by Spain had caused a financial drain. The Dutch tried to relieve their precarious finances by commercially expanding into the East Indies with the birth of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).〔Parthesius p 11〕 England were in the same position and were fighting now in Ireland.〔 Like the Dutch they too had just set up their own East India Company.〔 In 1600 the Dutch and English Army under the command of Maurice of Nassau and Francis Vere respectively used Ostend as a base to invade Flanders, in an attempt to conquer the city of Dunkirk after their victory in the Battle of Nieuwpoort.〔Borman pp 224–25〕 This never happened however as disputes in the Dutch command meant that taking Spanish occupied cities in the rest of the Netherlands took over priority as the opportunity arose.〔Knight (p 49 )〕 Maurice concurred and had his forces evacuated by sea leaving Ostend to be preoccupied by the Spanish.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Ostend」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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