Relief of Goes

Relief of Goes
Part of the Eighty Years' War

The Siege of Goes, 1572, by Petro Le Poivre.
Date20 October 1572
Location
Goes (present-day Netherlands)
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic Dutch Rebels
 England
Spain Spain
Commanders and leaders
Dutch Republic Jerome de Tseraarts
England Thomas Morgan
England Humphrey Gilbert
Spain Cristóbal de Mondragón
Strength
7,000 3,000
Casualties and losses
800+ killed 6 drowned

In August 1572, during the course of the Eighty Years' War, the city of Goes, in the Spanish Netherlands, was besieged by Dutch forces with the support of English troops sent by Queen Elizabeth I. This was a menace to the safety of the nearby city of Middelburg, also under siege. Given the impossibility of rescue of Goes by sea, 3,000 soldiers of the Spanish Tercios under the command of Cristóbal de Mondragón waded across the river Scheldt at its mouth, walking 15 miles overnight in water up to chest deep. The surprise arrival of the Tercios forced the withdrawal of the Anglo-Dutch troops from Goes, allowing the Spanish to maintain control of Middelburg, capital of Walcheren Island.