| Capture of Roermond | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eighty Years' War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spain |
 United Provinces | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand |
Carpentier[1] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 17,000 soldiers[2][3][4] |
1,100 infantry[1] 2 cavalry companies | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Minor |
Minor Many weapons and baggage lost[1] | ||||||
The Capture of Roermond was a minor siege during the Eighty Years' War which took place from the 31st of August to the 1st of September, 1637. A Spanish army under Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand would successfully siege and seize Roermond from the Dutch just one week after his victory at Venlo. This siege battle and that of Venlo were originally targeted to draw Frederick Henry away from Berda and towards the Cardinal-Infante's army for what could've been a field battle. Frederick Henry wouldn't be swayed by this attempt and was dedicated to sieging Breda and would eventually take it on the 11th of October.
The campaign led by the Cardinal-Infante would be rather successful with large swathes of territory being captured near and around Maastricht. Venlo fell just a week before the Spanish army laid eyes on Roermond, which served to cut off Maastricht from the Dutch and prevent any further Dutch attacks from the east. The next step would be to take Roermond in which, knowing so, Ferdinand sent his cavalry to rapidly invest in the siege of the city. The siege wouldn't be long as the Spanish would heavily bombard their opponents into submission.[1] This might be attributed to specialized Spanish explosive shells which were being utilized against the French and the Dutch. The city would surrender on the 1st of September, which secured a total separation of Maastricht from the Dutch Republic.
