The time was right for an operation deep inside enemy territory. Apart from Spanish mutiny issues, Ostend was being slowly encircled by forts. It was only a matter of time before Albert would lay siege to it: so using Ostend as a base was a matter of now or never. Maurice and the military didn’t agree on Dunkirk however. They’d much rather focus on Sluis, the Spanish galley port north of Ostend. Maurice knew the area well, after landings in 1586, 1591, and two in 1593. Sluis was closer to the Republic and important to control the sea access of major trade centre Antwerp. The government overruled the military however: it was to be Dunkirk.