Battle of Gembloux

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Battle of Gembloux

Date	January 31, 1578
Location	Gembloux, present-day Belgium
Result	Decisive Spanish victory

Belligerents

Dutch rebels

Spain

Commanders

De Goignie

Alexander Farnese

Strength

25,000 men

17,000 men

Casualties and losses

10,000 dead, wounded, or captured

20 dead or wounded

Dutch Revolt

Oosterweel – Rheindalen – Heiligerlee – Jemmingen – Jodoigne – Brielle – Haarlem – Flushing – Borsele – Zuiderzee – Alkmaar – Leiden – Reimerswaal – Mookerheyde – Gembloux – Maastricht – 1st Breda – Antwerp – Boksum – Zutphen – 1st Bergen op Zoom – Gravelines – 2nd Breda – Turnhout – Nieuwpoort – Ostend – Sluys – Gibraltar – 2nd Bergen op Zoom –3rd Breda – Groenlo - 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 cavalrymen from the main Spanish army of 20,000 men attacked the retreating Netherlandish army of around 20,000 men. The Dutch had about 7.000 men more than the Spanish, but the quality of the Dutch troops was too low to deliver the Spanish more damage. 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.