Siege of Breda (1637) when word came that the Dutch had suddenly invested the city of Breda with a besieging army of 18,000. Breda was the capital city of the baronial fief that had once been the crown jewel in the Dutch estates of the Nassau family in the Habsburg Netherlands before the war started. Frederick Henry had therefore a personal interest in recapturing the city and its surroundings. The siege was preceded by an attempt to surprise the garrison on 21 July 1637 by Dutch cavalry under Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz. However, the gates were closed in time and the Dutch skirmishers
Capture of Breda (1590) the Italian soldiers garrisoning the city; the attackers killed forty defenders without any loss. So surprised were the Italians and Spanish that they dispersed into a total rout into the streets of the city. Before dawn, Count Hohenlohe arrived at the doors of Breda with the Dutch cavalry and after him Maurice of Nassau with the main body of the army; Count Solms, and Francis Vere being among them. By then the men of Heraugiere had already taken control of most the city. With the Breda garrison completely surrounded and in total confusion Paolo Lanzavecchia negotiated with the attackers the