A Spanish Army of Flanders victory at Steenbergen ended the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours and forced the Duke of Anjou to abandon the Netherlands.
Key Facts
- Date
- 17 June 1583
- Location
- Steenbergen, Duchy of Brabant, Spanish Netherlands
- Spanish commander
- Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma
- Allied commanders
- Marshal Armand de Gontaut and Sir John Norreys
- Conflict context
- Eighty Years' War and French Wars of Religion
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the Eighty Years' War, the Spanish Netherlands faced a combined Franco-Dutch military effort supported by Francis, Duke of Anjou, under the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours. Spanish forces under Alexander Farnese sought to reassert control over Brabant against this allied coalition led by French Marshal Armand de Gontaut, Baron de Biron, and English commander Sir John Norreys.
On 17 June 1583, the Spanish Army of Flanders under Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma and Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, engaged and defeated a combined Dutch and French army at Steenbergen in the Duchy of Brabant. The battle resulted in a decisive Spanish victory over the allied forces commanded by Biron and Norreys.
The Spanish victory nullified the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours, which had underpinned French involvement in the Netherlands. Francis, Duke of Anjou, departed the Netherlands in late June 1583, effectively ending his intervention and weakening the anti-Spanish coalition in the region during the ongoing Eighty Years' War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma.
Side B
1 belligerent
Armand de Gontaut, Baron de Biron, Sir John Norreys.