Francis Vere

In the next year Sir Francis became sergeant major-general of the English and Scottish troops in the Low Countries, and soon afterwards the chief command devolved upon him. He was prominent in the campaign known as the Ten years, spanning from 1588 to 1598 with the Dutch forces under Maurice of Nassau. After assisting in taking Breda he then retook the cities of Zutphen and Deventer, these having been lost five years earlier due to English treachery by Rowland York and William Stanley respectively. He ordered that York (who had died in 1588) be dug up, hanged and gibbeted as a reminder of his treachery. These victories were important in recovering the losses caused by the mistaken confidence which the Earl of Leicester had placed in both Stanley and York.[5]

The siege of Groningen in 1594

Vere garnered more rewards and respect from Maurice and the Dutch with his decisive actions in the defeat of Parma, this time during the Siege of Knodsenburg outside Nijmegen in July 1591. Nearly half of the army were English and Scots; twelve English and ten Scots companies were present in this campaign under the command of Vere.[6] Following this Maurice and Vere seized Hulst the same year. At the Siege of Steenwijk in the summer of 1592 Vere lead a force into a breach of the city's wall after a mine has blown - although he along with his brother Horace, Sir Robert Sidney, and a few of their captains were wounded, along with 152 of their men during the assault, the attack was successful and the Spanish surrendered the town. The Anglo-Dutch army then marched to Coevorden and which fell after another successful siege. The city of Geertruidenberg fell the following year, and a Spanish attempt to retake Coevorden was defeated after Vere and Maurice when they marched to the city's relief. They both took to the field again in 1594 and laid siege to Groningen, which was also captured. By this time the Spanish army had been all but pushed out of the Northern provinces and the restoration of the seven provinces was then complete. Step by step these victories helped to secure the country for the cause of independence.[7]

Vere won the reputation of being one of the best English soldiers of the day. His troops acquired a cohesion and a training based on the Dutch model fitting them to face the best Spanish troops, and his camp became the fashionable training-ground of all aspiring English soldiers, amongst others not only his younger brother Horace, but men of such note as Ferdinando (Lord) Fairfax, Gervase Markham and Captain Myles Standish.[3] The future prominent dramatist and poet Ben Jonson served as a volunteer under his command.

Battle of Turnhout - 1597. English cavalry led by Vere shown on bottom right

In early 1596 he was transferred from the field to take part in the Cádiz expedition to Spain which was to take place in June. Vere and Sir Walter Raleigh quarrelled over leadership but it was agreed that Raleigh would command at sea and Vere was made lord marshal and lieutenant-general of the army. On June 30, Vere's veterans spearheaded the assault on the city and captured it and the outlying forts. The English and Dutch held the place for two weeks during that time Vere received the ransoms of three wealthy prisoners a clergyman who was president of the Casa de Contratacion at Seville and two cavaliers named Don Pedro de Herrera and Don Geronimo de Avalos. The town was then set on fire and the fleet departed on the 5th of July. Vere shared in a considerable amount of booty as well as the popular acclaim that greeted the leaders of the expedition on their return to England.[8]

The following year he was back in the Low Countries and in January 1597 he made an important contribution to the victory of Turnhout, a rare pitched battle against the Spanish 'Tercios'. The English and Dutch cavalry having driven off the Spanish cavalry, then fell upon the disordered Spanish infantry who were then routed with heavy casualties.[9] Vere received a personal note from the Queen congratulating him on the victory, and he was even dramatised in London on the stage. The following year he was entrusted with the negotiation of the treaty whereby the Anglo-Dutch alliance was revised; for himself he obtained the governorship of Brill and the rank of general.[3]

Battle of Nieuwpoort, 1600. From The commentaries of Sr. Francis Vere

In May 1599 a Spanish offensive led by Francisco López de Mendoza y Mendoza was launched in the area of Bommelerwaard. A subsequent siege on the town of Zaltbommel by the Spanish was attempted but they had to lift the siege after Vere crossed the river Waal with 6,000 men, and successfully stormed a Spanish position which they called Durango. The Spanish were on the verge of being totally cut off and were defeated in subsequent attempts to regain the initiative. Mendoza retreated and the Spanish army then found itself in chaos: mutinies took effect and as a result further operations by them were suspended for a number of years.[10]

The culminating point of Vere's career came the following year, when on the advice of Oldenbarnevelt, the States General decided to carry the war into the enemy's country. In the Battle of Nieuwpoort (2 July 1600), one of the most desperately contested battles of the age, Maurice of Nassau, with support by Vere, defeated the veteran Spanish troops of the Archduke Albert.

This was followed by the celebrated defence of Ostend from July 1601 when he took command of the garrison. The Spanish were under the command of the Archduke Albrecht. He was severely wounded in the head during a Spanish bombardment in August but returned by the end of the following month after convalescing. In December a Spanish assault on the outlying positions was defeated with nearly a quarter of the attacking force killed wounded or captured. However as the siege dragged on it became apparent that the town was unable to get any reinforcements for some time.

Siege of Ostend - depiction showing the repulse of the huge Spanish assault of 7 January 1602

After learning of a Spanish attempt to launch a huge assault - Vere had to rely on a parley stratagem to keep the Spanish from doing so. This he succeeded and at the same time vital repair work was carried out on the defences. During the ruse reinforcements came in and the parley was called off. Vere's plan had worked and when the Spanish assault came on 7 January 1602 the defenders were ready. The attack consisting of some 10,000 Spanish veterans rushed to assault the main bulwarks of Ostend's defences just as the darkness of night set in. Vere directing the defenders made sure the defences were impassable - using his engineers to shore up defences. The Spanish attacked the bulwarks and revelins but were repelled at all points. Just before midnight the Spanish had seized a position known as the Spanish Half Moon but Vere ordered its recovery and an English company subsequently drove the Spanish out who lost 300 men, mostly captured. Vere now ordered a defensive sluice to be opened, through which the water rushed down the ford where the Spanish were still wading across. The huge torrent then hit them and carried many of the assailants away into the sea. Once the waters had subsided Vere ordered a counter attack which drove what was left of the Spanish assailants away taking great plunder in the process. The assault was a costly failure for the Spanish who lost somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 men.[11]

Vere remained for a few months longer, when he was called away by the States General to assume command in the field. Vere's parley in December was met with muted criticism, however the repulse of the assault had overshadowed this. Vere came back to England in March 1602 and was feted for the successful conduct of the siege. English troops kept fighting side by side with the Dutch until the surrender of the garrison in September 1604.[12]

Vere returned to the Low Countries with more troops in 1602 and with Maurice laid siege to the Spanish garrison at Grave but before that place surrendered he was injured under the right eye. He recovered after six months in Ryswick, was again on active service with the Dutch throughout 1603-04 and continued with the governorship of Brill.

When James I made peace with Spain in 1604, Vere retired from active service and spent the remainder of his days in country life in England, occupying himself with the compilation of his Commentaries of the Divers Pieces of Service that he had taken part in (which remained in manuscript form until 1657; reprinted in Arbers English Garner, 1883).[3]