Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders was a Spanish army based in the Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries . It was notable for being the longest - serving standing army of the period , being in continuous service from 1567 until its disestablishment in 1706 . In addition to taking part in the numerous battles of the Dutch Revolt ( 1567 – 1609 ) and the Thirty Years War ( 1618 – 1648 ) , it also employed many developing military concepts more reminiscent of later military units , enjoying permanent , standing regiments ( " tercios " ) , barracks , military hospital s and rest homes long before they were adopted in most of Europe . Sustained at huge cost and at significant distances from Spain , the Army of Flanders also became infamous for successive mutinies and its ill - disciplined activity off the battlefield , including the Sack of Antwerp in 1576 . Creation of the Army . The Army of Flanders formed the longest standing army in the early modern period , operating from 1567 until 1706 . It was established following a wave of iconoclasm in the troubled provinces of the Netherlands in 1565 and 1566 . The provinces were ruled by the Spanish King Phillip II , and as trouble mounted he decided to reinforce the existing forces of the governor , Margaret of Parma , with a more substantial force . This was both a political reaction against the perceived rebellion , but also a response to the Calvinist views being shown by the protesters , establishing a religious flavour to the military response . King Phillip ' s possessions stretched across Europe , and were reflected in the creation of the new army . In 1567 it was intended that 8 , 000 Spanish foot and 1 , 200 horse would form the nucleus of a new army for the Netherlands , to be sent from north Italy via Savoy . It was envisaged at this stage that the total number might potentially reach 70 , 000 ( 60 , 000 foot , 10 , 000 horse ) , under the command of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo , 3rd Duke of Alba . The force would be sent through Europe via a sequence of friendly or neutral territories , which would become known as the ' Spanish Road ' ; surveying of the route began in 1566 . Eventually the Spanish authorities concluded that 70 , 000 troops was excessive , and certainly too expensive , and in the end only 10 , 000 Spaniards and a regiment of German infantry under Count Alberic de Lodron were initially sent . Their formation , dispatch and march north was a considerable accomplishment for the time . Arriving in the Netherlands , they joined the 10 , 000 Walloon and German troops already serving Margaret of Parma , who then resigned in favour of Alba . The Spanish troops were unruly , but formed an essential professional basis for the new army . Backed by the new Army of Flanders , Alba began clamping down on the unrest ; around 12 , 000 people were tried by Alba : 1 , 000 were condemned to death , others forfeited property as a result of the trials . Recruitment and support . The size of the Army of Flanders would vary over the period in response to contemporary challenges and threats . The initial force that combined in the Netherlands in 1567 was a little over 20 , 000 strong ; after the defeat of William I of Orange the following year , the Spanish planned for an enduring force of 3 , 200 Walloon and 4 , 000 Spanish infantry along the borders of the Netherlands , backed by 4 , 000 Spanish infantry and 500 light cavalry forming a strategic reserve . In practice , the ensuing Dutch revolt meant that the Army had to enlarge considerably in 1572 , reaching , on paper , if not in reality , a strength of 86 , 000 by 1574 . The Army was a multinational force , drawn primarily from the various Catholic possessions of the Habsburgs . There was a clear contemporary hierarchy as to the value of different soldiers ; Spanish soldiers were considered the best ; then Italians , followed by English , Irish and Burgundian troops ; then Germans , then finally local Walloons . Parker has argued that the Germans in fact performed much better than they were given credit for by contemporary commanders . Despite their value on the field , Spanish troops in the Army were particularly unpopular with the local people , and at two key moments were sent out of the Netherlands to assuage local opinion . Recruitment occurred by various methods , including the commissioning of recruiting captains , who would attempt to enroll volunteers from a given recruiting region each year , and contractors , who would attempt to hire troops from across Europe . It is estimated that around 25 % of the Army had served their military apprenticeships elsewhere , with more than 50 % recruited outside the Low Countries . At its best , this system could achieve remarkable surges – the increase in the Army in 1572 used all these methods , and its success was a major accomplishment for the Spanish military establishment . During the 1590s , there was increasingly fierce competition for suitable veterans among Catholic France , embroiled in its civil wars of religion , the Habsburg Empire ' s other commitments and the Army of Flanders , with premiums being paid for transfers into the respective armies . By the early 17th century , the similarities between the Habsburg army of Hungary and the Army of Flanders made competition for recruits particularly intense . The cost of recruiting for the Army created tensions between Philip II ' s policy in the Netherlands , and his need to maintain a strong presence in the Mediterranean against the Ottoman Turks . Although volunteers were the norm , " in extremis " other methods could be used ; Spain raised a " tercio " of Catalan criminals to fight in Flanders , a trend Philip II continued for most Catalan criminals for the rest of his reign . Pay remained fixed throughout most of the period , three " escudo s " per day up until 1634 , then four " escudos " thereafter . At the highest social level , the Army of Flanders enjoyed a sequence of senior officers drawn from the nobility . Having senior noble commanders was considered extremely important in the Army , more so than in equivalent armies in Europe . At the lowest , the Army , like most of the period , had a substantial train of camp follower s . Drawn from the lower classes , they made up a large percentage of the overall size of the Army in the field , and represented a considerable logistical burden in campaigns . As time went on , the Army of Flanders began to enjoy various distinctly modern institutions , often before they were adopted by the rest of Europe . Alba set up a military hospital at Mechelen near Brabant in 1567 ; it was closed the following year , but after many complaints by mutineers it reopened in 1585 , ultimately having 49 staff and 330 beds , paid for partially by the troops . The ' Garrison of our Lady of Hal ' was created as a more permanent rest home for crippled veterans . A public trustee was also appointed in 1596 to administer the wills of soldiers who had fallen in service . After 1609 , a number of small barracks ( " baraques " , called after the French version of the Catalan " barraca " ) were created away from the main urban centres to house the Army – a move that was eventually copied by other nations . Character of warfare and the Army . The Army of Flanders had been built upon the concept of the Spanish " tercio " , a pike - heavy infantry formation that well suited the nature of warfare in the Netherlands . The large areas of flat ground , the " platteland " , was criss - crossed by rivers and drainage channels , dotted by numerous towns and cities well placed to dominate the surrounding landscape , increasingly defended with polygonal fort ifications . Siege warfare , rather than set - piece battles , dominated the Eighty Years ' War , especially in the 16th century . Away from the major sieges , the war took on an almost guerilla style of small engagements and skirmishes , with much of both the Army of Flanders and the Dutch forces dispersed across the countryside ; in 1639 , for example , just under half of the Army , then 77 , 000 strong , was distributed across 208 small garrisons . This pattern reflected the Dutch disposition as well . Siege warfare was extremely expensive , both in terms of casualties and money . In 1622 the siege of Bergen - op - Zoom cost Spinola 9 , 000 men , whilst the siege of Oostend in 1601 - 4 cost the Army of Flanders 80 , 000 in casualties . The siege of Breda during 1624 – 5 was so expensive financially that the advance had to pause through 1625 – no more money was available to exploit the success . In the 17th century , the conflict gradually changed , as the Spanish - Dutch borders became smaller and more secure and the number of sieges slowly reduced . The Army of Flanders gradually changed in response to these developments in warfare . The Spanish experiences fighting the Swedish , with their more flexible , firepower - oriented tactics of open battle , resulted in a decision to alter the balance of the Flanders " tercios " in 1634 . A new ratio of 75 % musketeers to 25 % pike was decided on ; this delivered more firepower , but was weaker in defending against cavalry , as was demonstrated at Rocroi ( 1643 ) . In practice this adjusted ratio was only applied to newly formed units . There were also attempts to introduce the heavier musket to replace the lighter arquebus ; the poor physical quality of new recruits , who could often not lift the heavier weapon , however , meant that this rule often had to be broken in practice , the local Walloons being felt to be particularly weak and requiring the arquebus . The efforts to deploy the Army of Flanders against France also encouraged changes . Generally speaking , the Army required more infantry for operations in the north against the Dutch , and more cavalry for operations in the south against the French . The Army of Flanders was rarely strong in terms of cavalry , however ; in 1572 Alba had discharged all his heavy cavalry , and until the 1630s the Army ' s cavalry was mainly light cavalry , used to patrol the " platteland . " Horses themselves were often in short supply – after the relief of Rouen in 1592 , for example , two thirds of the Spanish cavalry lacked mounts . On campaign , the Army of Flanders were considered highly disciplined in the field , being cohesive , with good support facilities . When necessary , they could achieve significant military feats , such as their building of a bridge over the Seine to escape pursuit in 1592 . By contrast , even by early modern standards the Army was considered very ill - disciplined off the field , as illustrated by a colloquial Spanish phrase in response to unruly behaviour which came rhetorically to question whether the person believed they were serving in Flanders . Role in the campaigns of the Dutch Revolt , 1569 – 1609 . The Army of Flanders was to play a key part in all the campaigns of the Dutch Revolt ( 1567 – 1609 ) . The Duke of Alba had first brought the army into Flanders , and despite losing the Battle of Heiligerlee to William I of Orange , the rebel leader , was able to pacify the north until a resurgence of rebel activity occurred in 1572 . Unable to deal with the crisis , Alba was replaced by the more moderate Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens in 1573 . Requesens was hampered by the bankruptcy of the Spanish crown in 1575 , which left him without funds to maintain his army . The Army of Flanders mutinied , and shortly after Requesens ' death in 1576 almost effectively ceased to exist , disintegrating in various mutinous factions . Don John of Austria took over the command of the province , attempting to restore some semblance of military discipline but failing to prevent the Sack of Antwerp by mutinous soldiers . By the time that Alexander Farnese , the future Duke of Parma , took control of the army in 1578 , the Low Countries were increasingly split between the rebellious north and those southern provinces still loyal to Spain . Farnese set about consolidating Spanish control in the south , retaking Antwerp and other major towns . At this point the Army was diverted from its original function of fighting the northern rebels to addressing the problem of England , at war with Spain . Farnese believed that the Army could hope to cross the Channel in force , relying upon a Catholic uprising in England to support it ; instead , Philip decided to undertake a naval attack using the Spanish Armada in 1588 . The Army of Flanders moved against Ostend and Dunkirk in preparations for a follow - up manoeuver across the Channel in support of the Armada , but the defeat of the main naval force brought an end to these plans . Farnese was ultimately removed as governor , being replaced by Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld - Vorderort in 1592 and Archduke Ernest of Austria in 1594 . By the time Archduke Albert of Austria – the husband of Isabella of Spain was given custody of the Netherlands by the Spanish king in 1595 , the Dutch north appeared to be an increasingly independent country , protected by the able military commander Maurice of Orange and his Dutch States Army . The Dutch continued to consolidate their control over various towns through a sequence of successful sieges , whilst the Army of Flanders saw itself increasingly pointed southwards , against France , being used as a strike force in 1590 and 1592 , and fighting to take Cambrai ( 1595 ) and Calais ( 1596 ) . Despite the failure of the Army to reoccupy the north , it continued to the end of the period as an effective fighting force , with its campaigns in 1605 and 1606 being notable for their ' vitality ' and vigour . Mutinies in the Army of Flanders . The Army of Flanders had become particularly well known for its frequent mutinies , especially during the 1570s . These mutinies , or " alteraciones " , stemmed from the mismatch between Spain ' s strategic military ambitions and her fiscal means . Spain was the only European power to be able to project military force on the scale and distance of the Army of Flanders ; backed by gold and especially silver from her American colonies , Spain had huge funds available . In practice , however , the costs of such a large military force outstripped even Spain ' s ability to pay for it . In 1568 , the defence costs for the army in Flanders amounted to 1 , 873 , 000 florins a year . By 1574 , the enlarged army was costing 1 , 200 , 000 florins a month . Even with increased taxation , the Low Countries could not hope to support such a force , but funds from Castile were limited – only 300 , 000 florins arrived each month at the time from Spain . This underlying fiscal tension was only just manageable in normal years ; in years like 1575 , when King Phillip II was forced to default on his loans yet again , there was simply no money available to pay the Army of Flanders . Mutinies usually ensued – ultimately the Army of Flanders mutinied 45 times between 1572 and 1609 , with the mutinies coming to have a formal character and process of their own . Broadly speaking , these mutinies resulted in three problems . First , the mutinies were unpredictable and frightening events for any military leader to deal with . Second , they encouraged the troops to live off the locals , extracting ' free lodgings , and encouraging theft and plunder ' which drastically reduced local support for the Spanish cause . Third , the pauses in the campaigns caused by the mutinies allowed the Dutch to recover lost ground each time . The first mutiny occurred in 1573 , with the soldiers ultimately being paid off with 60 florins each , two further mutinies followed , freezing the progress of the Spanish campaign . Mutinies continued in 1575 and 1576 , up until the death of the Army ' s commander , Requesens . The Army effectively collapsed , sustaining itself by extorting money and food from the local peoples – widespread fresh Dutch revolts recommenced , accompanied by a general outcry of ' death to the Spaniards ' . The new commander in the Netherlands , Don John of Austria was unable to restore order , resulting in the Sack of Antwerp , a horrific event in which 1 , 000 houses were destroyed and 8 , 000 people killed by rampaging soldiers . The States General , influenced by the sack , signed the Pacification of Ghent only four days later , unifying the rebellious provinces and the loyal provinces with the goal of removing all Spanish soldiers from the Netherlands , as well as stopping the persecution of heretics . This effectively destroyed every accomplishment the Spanish had made in the past ten years . Attempting to mollify the situation , Don John removed his Spanish troops from the country in 1577 , before recalling them shortly afterwards when the political situation worsened again . The damage , however , had been done – the mutinies shaped the course of the rest of the Eighty Years ' War . Role in the ' Thirty Years War ' , 1618 – 48 . During the opening campaigns of the Thirty Years ' War ( 1618 – 1648 ) , the Army of Flanders played an important role for the Imperial factions as a mobile field army . During the Palatinate phase ( 1618 - 1625 ) , the Army , 20 , 000 strong , was sent under Ambrogio Spinola to support the Emperor , pinning down the Protestant Union whilst Saxony intervened against Bohemia . Joined by the Army of the Catholic League , the two forces decisively defeated Frederick V at the Battle of White Mountain , near Prague , in 1620 . In addition to becoming Catholic once more , Bohemia would remain in Habsburg hands for nearly three hundred years . The Army of Flanders then outflanked the Dutch in preparation for a renewed offensive against the United Provinces , occupying the Rhine Palatinate . Having made a success on the battlefield , the Army then turned against the Dutch . Spinola made considerable progress from 1621 onwards , finally retaking Breda after a famous siege in 1624 . The cost of this siege , however , was far in excess of Spain ' s resources , and the Army was put on the defensive for the remainder of the war . Steadily placed under increased pressure , the Army ' s position could have been untenable , but in 1634 Spain exploited the Spanish Road once again , bringing fresh forces from Italy under the command of the Cardinal - Infante Ferdinand of Austria ; they decisively defeated the Swedes at the Battle of Nördlingen , before cutting west to reinforce the Army of Flanders . Any Spanish advantage , however , would be undercut by the new Franco - Dutch alliance that threatened to engulf the Spanish Netherlands in a pincer movement between her two enemies . With the French entry into the war in 1636 , the Army of Flanders initially made a good showing , counter - attacking and threatening Paris in 1636 . Over the next few years , however , France ' s military strength continued to grow and the earlier successes of the Army would be overshadowed by their defeat at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643 . Spain had responded to French pressure on the Franche - Comté and Catalonia that year by deploying the Army from Flanders , through the Ardennes into northern France , threatening an advance onto Paris . The ensuing battle , as the Army set siege to Rocroi , turned against the Spanish and their defeat became inevitable . The French commander , Louis , duc d ' Enghien , attempted to negotiate terms for surrender for the remaining Spanish infantry , but a misunderstanding led to the French troops attacking the Spanish forces with no quarter being given . Of the 18 , 000 strong Spanish army , 7 , 000 prisoners were taken and 8 , 000 killed , with the majority of these losses being the much - prized Spanish soldiers . The destruction of so much of the Army had immediate strategic ramifications . Spain could no longer continue its planned advance on Paris , and within five weeks had begun to make the first moves towards a negotiations that would culminate in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia . Traditionally , historians have traced the decline and collapse of Spanish military power in Europe from the battle of Rocroi ; the defeat , however , can be overstated . A substantial part of the Army of Flanders , some 6 , 000 men under Beck , failed to turn up in time to fight at Rocroi and formed the nucleus of the new Army of Flanders afterwards . Some recent historians have increasingly seen 1643 as a somewhat arbitrary date – Spain remained powerful and capable of defending itself in Flanders for many years afterwards . The final years of the Army , 1648 – 1706 . After the end of the Thirty Years War , a financially constrained Spanish government steadily reduced the size of the Army of Flanders ; this trend continued after the end of the Franco - Spanish war that continued after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 . The Battle of the Dunes in 1658 , resulting in a defeat for the Army of Flanders at the hands of the French , produced a renewed peace . Recent scholarship has highlighted the deep seated problems emerging in the Spanish state and military from the 1630s onwards . The Count - Duke of Olivares , the key advisor to King Philip IV , had attempted to re - energise the Army of Flanders by injecting increasing numbers of the aristocracy into the senior ranks ; the results had included rank inflation , a fragmented system of command and a raft of temporary appointments . By the 1650s , the officer - to - man ratio in the Army had reached the unsustainable levels of one to four . Recruitment had steadily shifted ; by the mid - 17th century , troops were increasingly being raised less by contractor and contractors , and more by either capturing men or selecting them as levies from cities and towns via lotteries ( " quintas " or " suertes " ) . The infrastructure and support services were considerably improved , but not as much as elsewhere , and Army was increasingly perceived as a ' broken force ' in European affairs . With money continuing to be tight , visitors to the provinces in the second half of the century reported seeing the Army in an appalling state , with soldiers begging and short of food . Despite this , there was no return to the mass mutinies of the preceding century . By the end of the century , the final days of the Army of Flanders were not far away . The War of the Spanish Succession ( 1701 – 14 ) saw French and Allied invasions and the disintegration of central Spanish authority in the peninsula , which destroyed the basis of the Army of Flanders – it was formally disbanded in 1706 . Cultural legacy . The Army of Flanders left a strong influence on various parts of Spanish culture . The patron saint of the modern Spanish infantry , for example , is the Immaculate Conception . This stems from an incident in 1585 , when the " tercio " of Francisco de Bobadilla was trapped on the island of Bommel by the Dutch squadron of Admiral Holako . Stranded in mid - winter , his men were fast running out of food , but de Bobadilla refused to surrender . One of his soldiers , digging a trench , then discovered a wooden picture of the Immaculate Conception – de Bobadilla placed this on a makeshift altar , and prayed for divine intervention . That night the weather turned yet colder and the river Meuse surrounding the island froze over ; de Bobadilla ' s men were able to cross the river on the ice , raid Holako ' s stranded ships and defeat the Dutch . The Army of Flanders adopted the Immaculate Conception as their patronness , and in turn this was followed by the modern Spanish infantry . Various phrases from the military in Flanders remain in the Spanish language . " Poner una pica en Flandes , " – ' to put a pike in Flanders ' – refers to something extremely difficult or costly , referring to the expense involved in sending Spanish forces to Flanders . " Pasar por los bancos de Flandes , " – ' to go through the banks of Flanders ' , refers to overcoming a difficulty , such as the notorious sand - bank protecting the river - strewn Netherlands .