Battle of Gembloux

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Battle of Gembloux
Part of the Eighty Years' War
Date January 31, 1578 Location Gembloux, present-day Belgium Result Decisive Spanish victory
Combatants
Dutch rebels	Spain
Commanders
Unknown	Alexander Farnese
Casualties
10,000 dead, wounded, or captured	100 dead or wounded

Eighty Years' War

Oosterweel – Rheindalen – Heiligerlee – Jemmingen – Jodoigne – Brielle – Haarlem – Flushing – Borsele – Zuiderzee – Alkmaar – Leiden – Reimerswaal – Mookerheyde – Gembloux – Maastricht – 1st Breda – Punta Delgada – Antwerp – Boksum – Zutphen – 1st Bergen op Zoom – Gravelines – 2nd Breda – Turnhout – Nieuwpoort – Ostend – Sluys – Gibraltar – 2nd Bergen op Zoom –3rd Breda – Bay of Matanzas – 's-Hertogenbosch – Maastricht – 4th Breda – Kallo – The Downs – Hulst – Puerto de Cavite

The Battle of Gembloux marked a terrible defeat for the Protestant rebels fighting against Spain in the Eighty Years' War. On January 31, 1578, an advance force of 1,200 men from the main Spanish army of 20,000 men attacked the retreating Netherlandish army of around 20,000 men. The small force under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza succeeded in creating a panic and destroyed the Netherlandish army at Gembloux. Local resistance was crushed and the region pacified shortly afterwards.