Siege of Alkmaar

Siege of Alkmaar
Part of the Eighty Years' War
The Siege of Alkmaar by Frans Hogenberg
Date 8 October 1573 Location Alkmaar (present-day Holland) Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
Dutch Rebels	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Jacob Cabeliau	Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo
Strength
800 Geuzen, ca.1,300 civilians	6,500 to 16,000 troops
Casualties and losses
24+ geuzen, 13 civilians	over 500

A painting showing unfinished fortifications

The Siege of Alkmaar (1573) was a turning point in the Eighty Years' War. The burghers of the Dutch city of Alkmaar fought off the Spanish (who had set up their camp in Oudorp) between August 21 and October 8, 1573, with boiling tar and burning branches from their renewed city walls.
This battle forced the Spanish commander, Don Fadrique, the son of the hated Alva himself, was defeated and retreated.