The Surrender of Breda was the seat of the Orange family, who had a castle there. In 1624, the suspension of hostilities in Germany enabled the Spanish to concentrate their forces towards Breda. Although attacking such a formidable fortress was widely considered to be unwise, Ambrogio Spinola made the bewildering executive decision to march on Breda, accompanied by the Marquis de Leganés and Carlos Coloma. Spinola had made a military reputation for himself in 1604 and been rewarded with the Order of the Golden Fleece for conquering Ostend in Flanders. Consequently, the siege of Breda was not only a clash between the Netherlands and
Siege of Breda (1624) the Dutch regularly used the town as a base for raiding Spanish Brabant, the parts of Brabant under royal rule would be better protected if the city were conquered. In addition, neighbouring towns occupied by the States, such as Bergen op Zoom, would be easier to conquer with a foothold in Breda. In 1590, Breda was captured from the Spanish using the stratagem with the peat boat. The conquest of a well-defended city like Breda would erase this disgrace. More importantly, Spinola personally felt that the failure of the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom (1622) was a blot on his reputation. Furthermore,