Battle of Noordhorn The Battle of Noordhorn , fought on 30 September 1581 , was a pitched battle of the Dutch Revolt , fought between a Spanish army commanded by Colonel Francisco Verdugo – consisting of Walloon , German , Spanish and Albanian soldiers – and a Dutch States rebel army under the Englishman John Norreys – comprising English , Scottish , Dutch and Walloon troops – in the province of Friesland . In 1580 , the Dutch stadtholder of Friesland , George van Lalaing , Count of Rennenberg , had shifted its allegiance from the Dutch to the Spanish side . This opened a new front at the back door of the Dutch Republic , forcing the States - General to dispatch forces to the north . That year the Dutch , under the leadership of John Norreys , succeeded in relieving the town of Steenwijk . In July 1581 , Rennenberg died and was replaced by the Spaniard Francisco Verdugo , whose arrival in Friesland with reinforcements changed the situation . On 30 September Verdugo forced Norreys to give battle using a strategy of attrition . The battle was fought on a rough , marshy ground very favourable to the Spanish army . Norrey ' s initial assault on the Spanish right wing was successful , but the Spanish cavalry , led by Verdugo , routed the Dutch cavalry under William Louis , Count of Nassau - Dillenburg and broke the States ' infantry . The English left was then cut - off from the rest of the States ' army and destroyed . During the pursuit of the States ' troops Verdugo was nearly captured , but left unharmed in the end . Both Norreys and Count William Louis were wounded , and their army suffered a heavy death toll , losing many flags and all five of its guns . Verdugo could not capitalize on his victory because of a mutiny the following day by his German regiments and heavy flooding . The military situation in Friesland , however , had reached a turning point , and in 1582 the Spanish made great advances , even taking Steenwijk on 17 November 1582 . Background . In 1580 , during the Eighty Years ' War , the Dutch stadtholder of Friesland , George van Lalaing , Count of Rennenberg , though having been appointed by the rebellious States - General , shifted his allegiance to the Spanish government , held at that time by Don Alexander Farnese , Prince of Parma . In July 1581 Lalaing fell ill and died in the city of Groningen . Parma sent one of his most accomplished officers , the Spaniard Francisco Verdugo , to take the place of the deceased stadtholder . Verdugo , born in Talavera but raised amongst the Flemish and married to a daughter of the later governor - general of the Netherlands , Peter Ernst von Mansfeld , began his career as a simple soldier , but rose through the ranks to become a colonel . He was considered by the historian Charles Maurice Davies " " a leader of eminent skill and ability " " , and was promoted to the post over other candidates such as Colonel Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen , whom Farnese had earlier sent to relieve Rennenberg and had dealt a serious defeat to a Dutch army at the Battle of Hardenberg , on 17 June 1580 . Verdugo , having been forced by the Union of Arras – formed by the Dutch provinces loyal to Spanish King Philip II , who wanted the foreign troops out the Netherlands – to hand over his regiment to his brother - in - law Charles von Mansfeld , recruited a regiment of 2 , 000 Walloon arquebusiers and made his way to Friesland . While mustering his infantry in the village of Kerpen , Verdugo learned that the Dutch rebels were leving a company of German reiters – a type of armoured cavalry armed with pistols – in Cologne under a rittmeister called Adam von Langen . As he lacked cavalry or pikemen and it was reported by Spanish agents that von Langen was angry because he had been paid by the Dutch with false coins , Verdugo managed to convince the rittmeister to escort his arquebusiers to Groningen . Passing through Bredevoort and Coevorden , Verdugo and his regiment reached Groningen . There , Verdugo was met with a mutiny , which he ended by distributing 40 , 000 escudo s amongst the mutineers , disbanding an undisciplined German regiment and giving license to two companies of men - at - arms to join Farnese ' s army in Hainault . With the loyal troops , meanwhile , he took two Dutch forts , one at the mouth of the Emden and another near Groningen . Verdugo ' s arrival quickly altered the situation in Friesland , which had until then been favourable to the Dutch . During 1580 , the Dutch forces fighting Rennenberg in Friesland had failed to prevent him from taking the towns of Oldenzaal and Coevorden , but in December , under the leadership of the English Colonel John Norreys , a veteran soldier with experience in the Netherlands and Ireland , they had succeeded in relieving Steenwijk from a Spanish siege . Norreys , appointed " Master of the Camp " by the Dutch States - General , harassed the Spanish army during the winter of 1580 – 1581 , forcing Rennenberg to lift the siege and withdrew in February . The most effective force of the Dutch army in Friesland was Norreys ' English regiment . Though England was not officially at war against Spain , Queen Elizabeth I was playing a complex diplomatic role to keep the Dutch revolt alive , and this included sending troops to the Netherlands under the guise of " volunteers " , but factually maintained by the English crown . In June 1581 , the States - General appointed Norreys General of all the States ' troops beyond the Meuse . In August , the Dutch local council , assembled in Leeuwarden , tasked Norreys with preventing Verdugo from penetrating further into the country , for which his 30 companies of infantry were reinforced by five cavalry companies under William Louis , Count of Nassau - Dillenburg . He was expected to besiege the Spanish forts around Groningen , but he lacked the artillery to do so , having been given only four small guns . Moreover , Norreys ' Dutch and Walloon soldiers were unhappy with being under the command of a foreigner . Norreys spent the summer months attempting in vain to blockade Groningen , while Verdugo , who was aware of the dissent amongst the Dutch army , patiently waited in his fortified posts despite being urged by the local authorities to confront Norreys . In early September , after a failed raid on his camp , Verdugo was sure of Norreys ' intentions of giving battle , and thus he advanced his army to near Norreys ' camp near the village of Noordhorn . Shortly thereafter , determined to fight , Norreys ' Anglo - Dutch army was deployed over the dike of Niezijl . Order of battle . The Spanish army , led by Francisco Verdugo , with Lieutenant - Colonel Johann Baptista von Taxis as second in command , was deployed before the village of Noordhorn and behind broken ground with only one access point that was covered by a wide ravine and flanked on its left by a series of muddy ditches . Aiming to create a trap for Norreys ' army , the Spanish had smoothed the ground on their right in order to funnel English units and draw Norrey ' s troops into an engagement area where a crossfire effect could be created . Verdugo himself drove two stakes into the ground to mark the point that his cavalry was to charge upon the English vanguard . The Spanish army was organized into three infantry battalions with two cavalry companies at each wing : the right wing was taken by the Walloon harquebusier s under Monsieur de Villers and Verdugo ' s Spanish lances under Corporal Alonso Mendo , plus a battalion formed by half of Verdugo ' s foot regiment . 200 arquebusiers were detached later in a house nearby . The centre was made up by one battalion formed by the German foot regiments of Rennenberg , under Lieutenant Colonel Mocean , and Caspar de Robles , who was serving Farnese and had left the command to Lieutenant Colonel Johann Baptista von Taxis . The left consisted of two cavalry companies ( Famiano Strada names German reiters under Wolfgang Prengier , while Alonso Vázquez mentions Albanian horse under Captain Tomas Frate and Walloons under Baron de Bievres ) plus a battalion formed by the second half of Verdugo ' s foot regiment . Verdugo also deployed a forlorn hope of 200 musketeer s into a ditch covering the way , 300 steps ahead of his three foot battalions . The Anglo - Dutch army under John Norreys and Count William Louis of Nassau - Dillenburg was formed by 30 companies of foot – 11 English and Scottish flags from the regiments of Norreys and Colonel Thomas Morgan , and 19 Dutch , Frisian and Walloon flags – plus four cavalry companies under Captains Hendrik van Eck , Goor , Elleborn and Roger Williams , the latter of English cuirassier s . There existed a certain hostility between Norreys and Morgan , as Prince William of Orange favored Norreys despite Morgan ' s longer experience in the Netherlands , having served since 1572 . When Queen Elizabeth ' s secretary and advisor Francis Walsingham requested Orange appoint Morgan as a colonel , he refused , and Morgan attributed this to Norreys ' " hard dealings " . Battle . Having instructed his troops to hold their positions until he ordered them to attack , Verdugo sent 200 musketeers to occupy a house on his right flank , near the Villers ' position and that of his own companies of horse , to cut off the Anglo - Dutch vanguard with musketry fire as they advanced towards the Spanish positions . After that , Spanish and English armies began to skirmish . Verdugo aimed to take over a hill in the middle of both armies in order to force Norreys to order a general advance . The Englishman fired over the Spanish battalions with his five guns , but the fire was ineffective because of the broken ground : Spanish sources state that only Verdugo ' s drummer was killed . Seeing the ineffectiveness of the bombardment , Norreys ordered a general advance . As the way was narrow , the Dutch cavalry went in advance , flanked by the English infantry . Monsieur de Villers ' harquebusiers and Verdugo ' s lances under Corporal Mendo , ignored their general ' s orders , and charged against the Dutch cavalry , which drove back them " broken and disrupted " . The English infantry , upon Norreys ' order , charged the Spanish foot on the right , gaining more ground despite the difficult advance , and pushing back Verdugo ' s Walloons to Noordhorn . On the left , on the other hand , Count William Louis of Nassau advanced with the remaining Dutch cavalry but was halted by the musketry fire of the 200 men standing on the advanced ditch . Aiming to disrupt the Dutch right , Verdugo then charged ahead of Frate ' s Albanian company and that of Baron de Bievres . The Dutch horse , disorganized by the musketry fire , could not resist Verdugo ' s rush and turned back , breaking the order , in turn , of the English foot standing behind . To capitalize on this success , Verdugo ordered his foot to follow up the victory . Unaware of the Spanish success on the other side of the field , the English infantry continued pressing back the Spanish right flank until they reached the Spanish camp . When they realized what had happened , however , the Englishmen turned back in a vain attempt to escape . The Spanish centre and left were blocking the way , and thus the English attempted to save themselves fleeing across the bogged ditches , only to be killed in large numbers . In the meantime , Verdugo aimed to block Niezijl ' s dike with Frate ' s and Bievres ' companies , but as these troops lagged behind , he found himself alone on the dike when Norreys and his officers attempted to retreat back to their camp . Alone , Verdugo fought desperately against them . Twice the Spanish commander was taken prisoner , but in the end , as he killed or wounded many of his foes , Norreys preferred to let him go free rather than risk allowing the pursuing Spanish troops to capture himself or his remaining men . Once he had recovered , Verdugo massed some cavalry and completed the Anglo - Dutch defeat by destroying an English troop which , trying to save the flags , fled across a field towards the Niezijl canal . Most of the English flags and all of their artillery were lost . As the night was falling , Verdugo collected his troops and returned to Noordhorn , where they formed into squadron formation and , kneeling down , prayed to thank God for their victory . Aftermath . The battle was " " a very greate overthrowe " " for the English , as noted by the affluent English trader in a letter written in Antwerp on 15 October . The Frenchman Gillaume Baudart noted that half of the States ' infantry and a large number of cavalry were lost . Verdugo claimed between 2 , 000 and 3 , 000 casualties in Norrey ' s army , asserting that " " Few times is true the number of dead that in such cases is said , but the common [ number ] for those who saw it was this " " . Many English and Dutch officers were killed , mostly of foot : Charles van Wijngaerden , George Robert , Schul , Wynaert van Ommeren , Rets , Gerard Entens , Corneille Loevesschen and , for the English , captains Cotton , Bishop , Fitzwilliams and Nisbeth , who died of a wound on the head . Amongst the cavalry Hendrik van Eck and Lieutenant Bellewijn of Elleborn ' s company were killed . Both States ' commanders were wounded : Norreys on one hand and Count William Louis in a leg . The Spanish army ' s exact losses are unknown . Alonso Vázquez , a contemporaneuos chronicler and soldier with direct access to the Spanish contendats , wrote that " " of the Catholics died no more than Verdugo ' s drummer , but there were some wounded " " . Charles Maurice Davies noted that " " Scarcely any one of note fell on the side of the royalists " " . The day after the battle , the Spanish army ' s German regiments , induced by Captain Jean van der Cloester , mutinied again in their quarters , claiming that they had not received their monthly pay . Verdugo sent Captain Pedrosa to take news of the Spanish victory to Farnese and , having refreshed his troops , aimed to capture the Niezijl fort with his Walloon regiment , his four cavalry companies and a few volunteers from among the German mutineers . As the season changed and a furious rain started , Verdugo was forced to abandon the project of seizing the fort and returned to Noordhorn . The autumnal floods made the Frisian land impassable for the armies , and thus Verdugo moved with his troops to the dry and gritty land of Drenthe , while Norreys kept the remains of his army behid the Ijssel river . A group of 400 Dutchmen in Norreys ' army lodged themselves in the town of Keppel , in Gelderland . In January 1582 , Verdugo destroyed them and seized Keppel and the castle of Bronckhorst , achieving , according to Professor John S . Nolan , a " tremendous success " in Gelderland . Over the following months many English soldiers , who were unpaid and decimated by disease and disappointed by the progress of the war , amongst them Captain Roger Williams , deserted the States - General army and went to serve in Francis , Duke of Anjou ' s French army . By the Treaty of Plessis - les - Tours , Francis had been recognized by the States - General as the sovereign of the Netherlands instead of Philip II of Spain . Even Norreys , in the end , left the States ' service and put himself under Anjou ' s command . Thus , in command of the English infantry , he found himself at the Battle of Steenbergen in 1583 , when he covered the rearguard of the defeated French army .