DEFENDER OF THE FAITH

The Spanish lancers bore down on their Dutch counterparts outside Gembloux on 31 January 1578, in the Walloon province of Namur, and scattered them like ashes in the wind. Soon the fabled Spanish tercios, led by Don John of Austria, arrived on the field of battle and charged into the main body of rebels. They killed the majority and sent the survivors fleeing for the safety of the walled town.

32-year-old Alessandro Farnese, the Prince of Parma, had led the impetuous charge of the Spanish cavalry. Don John had warned his dashing cousin not to engage the enemy until the infantry had arrived, but Parma thought the opportunity too great to let slip by. Without his quick thinking the rebels might have escaped that day.

Together, the cousins had annihilated the army of the States General of the Netherlands and shattered the fragile unity the Dutch had achieved through the Union of Brussels. Parma’s performance was proof of his aggressive nature and his keen sense of timing. The victory laid the groundwork for reestablishing Spain’s control over the southern provinces and forced the beleaguered Dutch to seek foreign military assistance to counter the might of Spain.

The hero of Lepanto arrived in the Spanish Netherlands on 3