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 (1581) Capture of Breda (1581) The Capture of Breda of 1581, also known as the Haultepenne Fury, occurred on 26 – 27 July when Spanish troops under the command of Claude de Berlaymont, lord of Haultepenne, took Breda by surprise after a sentry was bribed by a follower of the king, Charles de Gavre, who was kept a prisoner at the castle. The corrupt sentry allowed the Spanish troops to enter the castle. Despite the resistance by Breda's citizens, the attackers succeeded in taking the most important city gates and launched an attack on the city hall, the tower and the