Sack of Lier

Sack of Lier
Part of the Eighty Years' War
The Relief of Lier by the troops of Antwerp and Mechelen (17th century), Flemish school.
Date 14 October 1595 Location Lier, Duchy of Brabant, Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium) Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	Spanish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Charles de Heraugières	Alonso de Luna Gaspar de Mondragón Gerard de Hornes Antoni van Berchem Niklaes van der Laen
Strength
870[1]	Garrison: Unknown Relief: 250 regulars, 3,800 militia[2]
Casualties and losses
300[3]–700[4]	Unknown

The Sack of Lier, also known as the Fury of Lier in the Southern Netherlands, took place on 14 October 1595 when a force of the Dutch States Army led by Charles de Heraugières, governor of Breda, took the town by surprise during the Eighty Years' War. Heraugières, who was known for his daring surprise attacks over Breda in 1590 and Huy in March 1595, had been instructed to capture Lier ahead a small elite force while the bulk of the Spanish Army of Flanders was deployed in northern France and the Lower Rhine. The possession of Lier would have provided the Dutch Republic an advanced base deep inside the Brabant, which would allowed the States troops to cut the communications between Antwerp, Mechelen, Leuven and 's-Hertogenbosch, and to raid as far as Brussels.

Having marched from several border garrisons, the Dutch troops launched a swift attack on 14 October before dawn. A small force entered Lier across an unfinished ravelin before the Mechelen gate, neutralized the few guards of the said gate and that of Antwerp, and opened the way for the bulk of the force. The defenders, a mix of Spanish soldiers and civic guards, known as schutterij, were easily overran. Nevertheless, the governor of the town, Alonso de Luna y Cárcamo, had time enough to organize the defense at the 's-Hertogenbosch gate, also known as Lisper gate, and sent messengers to Antwerp and Mechelen calling for help. While the Dutch soldiers lost disciplane and plundered the town and desecrated its churches, the militias from Antwerp and Mechelen, reinforced by some regular troops, marched to relief Lier. After a stubborn fight, the schutterij and the Spanish troops drove the Dutch soldiers from the town and killed or captured most of them.

Although a minor action, the relief of Lier was widely celebrated in the Southern Netherlands, specially because the role of the schutterij from Antwerp and Mechelen, who revealed themselves as loyal subjects of the Spanish Crown and an effective and essential force in the defense of the Catholic south against the northern Dutch Protestants. The success was publicized through printed accounts and commemorated by means of paintings, medals and other artworks.