Atlas of Battles

siege, notable, early modern

Siege of Haarlem

Siege of Haarlem was a siege conducted on 11 December 1572 at Haarlem, in what is now Netherlands; it lasted 7 months. It was part of the Eighty Years' War, which ran from 1568 to 1648. The recorded result: Spanish victory. Recorded strength: 2,550 infantry and 225 cavalry (Haarlem); 5,000 soldiers; (William the Silent) against 17,000–18,000 troops.

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Depiction of the Siege of Haarlem, winter 1572-1573. From Samuel Ampzing, Beschreijvinge ende Lof der Stad Haerlem (Haarlem, 1628).
Depiction of the Siege of Haarlem, winter 1572-1573. From Samuel Ampzing, Beschreijvinge ende Lof der Stad Haerlem (Haarlem, 1628).. Willem Outgertsz Akersloot / After Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought11 December 1572lasted 7 months
WhereHaarlem, Netherlands52.383N, 4.633E
OutcomeSpanish victory
BelligerentsDutch rebelsagainstSpain
Part ofEighty Years' War1568 to 1648

Where it sits in the Eighty Years' War

Siege of Valenciennes, 1566Battle of Oosterweel, 1567Battle of Dahlen, 1568Battle of Heiligerlee, 1568Battle of Jemmingen, 1568Battle of Jodoigne, 1568Battle of Le Quesnoy, 1568Siege of Loevestein, 1570Capture of Brielle, 1572Capture of Flushing, 1572Capture of Zutphen, 1572Siege of Mons, 1572Spanish Fury at Mechelen, 1572Relief of Goes, 1572Siege of Middelburg, 1572Siege of Haarlem, 1572Battle of Flushing, 1573Battle of Haarlemmermeer, 1573Capture of Geertruidenberg, 1573Battle of Delft, 1573Siege of Alkmaar, 1573Battle on the Zuiderzee, 1573Capture of Valkenburg, 1574Battle of Reimerswaal, 1574Siege of Zaltbommel, 1574Siege of Leiden, 1574Siege of Oudewater, 1575Siege of Schoonhoven, 1575Siege of Zierikzee, 1575Spanish Fury at Maastricht, 1576Siege of Vredenburg, 1576Siege of Breda, 1577Siege of Binche, 1578Battle of Gembloux, 1578Siege of Nivelles, 1578Siege of Deventer in 1578, 1578Battle of Borgerhout, 1579Siege of Maastricht, 1579Siege of Steenwijk, 1580Capture of Breda, 1581Siege of Tournai, 1581Siege of Niezijl, 1581Siege of Lier, 1582Siege of Lochem, 1582French Fury, 1583Siege of Eindhoven, 1583Siege of Ghent, 1583Siege of Brussels, 1584Fall of Antwerp, 1584Battle of Werl, 1585Siege of IJsseloord, 1585Battle of Empel, 1585Battle of Boksum, 1586Siege of Grave, 1586Siege of Venlo, 1586Siege of Rheinberg, 1586Battle of Zutphen, 1586Siege of Sluis, 1587Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, 1588Battle of Bayona Islands, 1590Capture of Breda, 1590Siege of Nijmegen, 1591Siege of Zutphen, 1591Siege of Deventer, 1591Siege of Knodsenburg, 1591Battle of the Gulf of Almería, 1591Siege of Hulst, 1591Siege of Steenwijk, 1592Siege of Coevorden, 1592Siege of Geertruidenberg, 1593Siege of Coevorden, 1593Siege of Groningen, 1594Siege of Huy, 1595Siege of Groenlo, 1595Siege of Hulst, 1596Siege of Rheinberg, 1597Siege of Meurs, 1597Siege of Groenlo, 1597Siege of Bredevoort, 1597Siege of Oldenzaal, 1597Siege of Lingen, 1597Siege of Rheinberg, 1598Siege of Rees, 1599Siege of Schenckenschans, 1599Siege of Zaltbommel, 1599Siege of San Andreas, 1600Battle of Nieuwpoort, 1600Siege of Rheinberg, 1601Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch, 1601Siege of Grave, 1602Battle of the Narrow Seas, 1602Battle of Sluis, 1603Siege of Sluis, 1604Siege of Lingen, 1605Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1606Siege of Groenlo, 1606Siege of Erkelenz, 1607Battle of Gibraltar, 1607Battle of Playa Honda, 1617Battle of Gibraltar, 1621Siege of Jülich, 1621Siege of Bergen op Zoom, 1622Siege of Breda, 1624Cádiz Expedition, 1625Siege of Oldenzaal, 1626Siege of Groenlo, 1627Battle in the Bay of Matanzas, 1628Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch, 1629Battle of the Slaak, 1631Capture of Maastricht, 1632Siege of Maastricht, 1634Siege of Schenkenschans, 1635Battle off Lizard Point, 1637Siege of Breda, 1637Siege of Venlo, 1637Battle of Kallo, 1638Battle of Cabañas, 1638Action of 18 February 1639, 1639Battle of the Downs, 1639First Battle of San Salvador, 1641Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1641Final Battle of San Salvador, 1642Attack on Saint Martin, 1644Siege of Hulst, 1645Siege of Dunkirk, 1646Battle of Puerto de Cavite, 164715661647Siege of Haarlem, 1572
126 placed engagements of the Eighty Years' War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date11 December 1572
to 13 July 1573
PlaceHaarlem, Netherlands
52.383N, 4.633E
KindSiege, early modern
Strength2,550 infantry and 225 cavalry (Haarlem); 5,000 soldiers; (William the Silent)17,000–18,000 troops
Casualties and losses2,000 dead or wounded; (Haarlem); 700 – 5,000 dead or wounded; (William the Silent)1,700 dead; Thousands of casualties
Commanders
  • Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva
Siege of HaarlemSiege of HaarlemSiege of HaarlemBattle of HaarlemmermeerBattle of CastricumBlockades of AmsterdamBattle of Baduhenna WoodSiege of HaarlemBattle of CastricumBattle of Baduhenna WoodThe HagueRotterdamAntwerpenDüsseldorfGroningenBruggeEssenEindhoven100 km52.383N, 4.633E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1274 and 1573.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1572

Siege of Haarlem is one of 831 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 172 in present-day Netherlands.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q652271, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Haarlem, revision 1383971962, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.