Before winter was over, Maurice, with 800 horse, cut up an army of 5,000 men on the heath of Tiel, killing 2,000 and taking 500 prisoners, with a loss of nine or ten men only.  The enemy had comprised the pick of the Spaniards’ forces, and their prestige was absolutely wiped out.  This was just after Philip had wrecked European finance at large by publicly repudiating the whole of his debts.  The year 1697 was further remarkable for the surprise and capture of Amiens by the Spaniards, and its siege and recovery by Henry—­a siege conducted on the engineering methods introduced by Maurice.  But the relations of the provinces with France were now much strained; uncertainty prevailed as to whether either Henry or Elizabeth, or both, might not make peace with Spain separately.

The Treaty of Vervins did, in fact, end the war between France and Spain.  It was followed almost at once by the death of Philip, who, however, had just married the infanta to the archduke, and ceded the sovereignty of the Netherlands to them.

IV.—­Winning Through

In 1600 the States-General planned the invasion of the Spanish
Netherlands, but the scheme proved impracticable, and was abandoned.

Ostend was the one position in Flanders held by the United Provinces, with a very mixed garrison.  The archduke besieged Ostend (1601).  Maurice did not attack him, but captured the keys of the debatable land of Cleves and Juliers.  The siege of Ostend developed into a tremendous affair, and a school in the art of war.  Maurice, instead of aiming at a direct relief, continued his operations so as to prevent the archduke from a thorough concentration.  In the summer of 1602 he was besieging Grave, and Ostend was kept amply supplied from the sea, where the Dutch had inflicted a tremendous defeat on the enemy.  But early in 1603 the Spaniards succeeded in carrying some outworks.

The death of Elizabeth, and the accession of James I. to the throne of England affected the European situation; but Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury, was the new king’s minister.  Nevertheless, no long time had elapsed before James was entering upon alliance with the Spaniard.

A new commander-in-chief was now before Ostend in the person of Ambrose Spinola, an unknown young Italian, who was soon to prove himself a worthy antagonist for Maurice.  Spinola continued the siege of Ostend, where the garrison were being driven inch by inch within an ever-narrowing circle.  This year, Maurice’s counter-stroke was the investment of Sluys, which was reduced in three months, in spite of a skilful but unsuccessful attempt at its relief by Spinola.  At length, however, the long resistance of Ostend was finished when there was practically nothing of the place left.  The garrison marched out with the honours of war, after a siege of over three years.

The next year was a bad one for Maurice.  Spinola was beginning to show his quality.  Maurice’s troops met with one reverse, when what should have been a victory was turned into a rout by an unaccountable panic.  Spinola had learnt his business from Maurice, and was a worthy pupil.