After the death of Archduke Ernest of Austria in 1595, Albert was sent to Brussels to succeed his elder brother as Governor General of the Habsburg Netherlands. He made his entry in Brussels on 11 February 1596. His first priority was restoring Spain's military position in the Low Countries. Spain was facing the combined forces of the Dutch Republic, England and France and had known nothing but defeats since 1590. During his first campaign season, Albert surprised his enemies by capturing Calais and nearby Ardres from the French and Hulst from the Dutch. These successes were however offset by the third bankruptcy of the Spanish crown later that year. As a consequence, 1597 was marked by a series of military disasters. Stadholder Maurice of Orange captured the last Spanish strongholds that remained north of the great rivers, as well as the strategic town of Rheinberg in the Electorate of Cologne. Between 13 May and 25 September 1597, the Spanish, who had sent a large army in March, had captured the city of Amiens easily in a ruse. Finally the Spanish Army of Flanders lost Amiens in September the same year to Henry IV of France despite desperate efforts to relieve the place by Albert and Ernst von Mansfeld. With no more money to pay the troops, Albert was also facing a series of mutinies.