Siege of Rheinberg (1586–1590)

The Siege of Rheinberg 1586–1590, also known as the Capture of Rheinberg of 1590, took place at the strategic Cologne enclave of Rheinberg (present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), one of the principals crossing-points over the Rhine on the stretch between the Electorate of Cologne and the Dutch border, between August 13, 1586, and February 3, 1590, during the Eighty Years' War, the Cologne War, and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). After an initial siege in 1586, and a long blocking by the Spanish forces until September 1589, Don Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (Spanish: Alejandro Farnesio), commander-in-chief of the Spanish army, sent a substantial force, under Peter Ernst, Count of Mansfeld, to besiege Rheinberg. Despite the efforts by Martin Schenck van Nydeggen (until his death at the Assault on Nijmegen on August 10, 1589), and Sir Francis Vere (from 1590), to relieve the fortress city, the Protestant garrison finally surrendered to the Spaniards on February 3, 1590.