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The Siege of Sluis (1604) also known as the Sluis Campaign or the Battle of the Oostburg Line was a series of military actions that took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War from 19 May to 19 August 1604.〔Jacques p 952〕 A States and English army under Prince Maurice of Orange and Horace Vere respectively crossed the Scheldt estuary and advanced on land taking Cadzand, Aardenburg and IJzendijke in the Spanish Netherlands.〔Markham pp 368–69〕 This soon led to the culmination of the siege of the Spanish held inland port of Sluis.〔〔Belleroche pp 69–71〕 Initially it was hoped that with Ostend under siege for three years by the Spanish, an attempted relief by Maurice's army could be achieved.〔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, (pp 53–54 )〕 Even though Ostend would finally fall into the hands of the Spanish, Sluis an important stronghold itself was eventually captured after tough fighting which included the defeat of a Spanish relief force under Ambrogio Spinola and Luis de Velasco.〔〔 ==Background== In 1600 the Dutch and English Army under the command of Maurice of Nassau and Sir Francis Vere respectively, used Ostend as a base to invade Flanders. After their victory at the Battle of Nieuwpoort an attempt was made to conquer the city of Dunkirk which had been harbouring privateers against the English and Dutch navies.〔Borman pp 224–25〕 This never happened however as disputes in the Dutch command meant that taking Spanish occupied areas in the rest of the Netherlands took 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.〔Duffy p 85〕 Officials in The Hague were desperately seeking a valuable stronghold that might compensate if Ostend then under siege by 1601 would fall.〔Belleroche pp 40–42〕 Originally Maastricht was to be captured during early 1604 but this soon turned to be of little significance in terms of increasing security to merchants and fishing fleets.〔van Nimwegen p 186〕 The prolific Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt knew that with the death of Elizabeth I the year before, the new king of England James I had been approached by the Spanish for peace proposals.〔Rowse p 413〕 Afraid that the new peace would sever the Dutch coastal towns in English hands, given in 1585 as part of the Treaty of Nonsuch, Oldenbarnevelt's attention then soon turned to the Cadzand area south of the Western Scheldt.〔Fissel pp 186–87〕 Here a replacement port could be used and the place chosen was the inland port of Sluis.〔〔(Motley (1869) pp 189–91 )〕 Sluis was of strategic value to the States because it protected Zeeland to the north.〔 In addition it provided a bridgehead from which attacks could be made from there in the future.〔Dalton 109–111〕 Being in possession of Sluis would help them to secure the Scheldt, which was on the approach to the important port city of Antwerp and control of the Zwin, which was also the route to Bruges.〔van Nimwegen p 187〕 The Spanish under the Duke of Parma had captured Sluis from the Dutch and English in 1587.〔Parker p 126〕 After the Anglo Dutch victory over Frederico Spainola's galley fleet at the Battle of the Narrow Seas in 1602 Sluis from then on was under a tight blockade by the Dutch navy.〔Bicheno pp. 298-99〕 When the surviving Spanish galley fleet under Spinola tried to exit the Sluis roadstead he was defeated and killed in 1603. With the Spanish gallies unable to escape, the town was reinforced as quickly as possible to guard against a possible attack from the south. With the siege of Ostend under way the Spanish made sure that Sluis was comprehensively fortified.〔 In the town itself there was a large garrison of 4,500 Spanish and Italian soldiers and sailors under the command of Don Mateo Serrano.〔Markham pp 366–67〕 Another 1,400 galley slaves (mostly Turks) and a large number of warships including ten war gallies were also in the town, as were hundreds of civilians who were determined to stay.〔 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 Sluis (1604)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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