With these precarious means of support, the army of Louis of Nassau, as may easily be supposed, was anything but docile.  After the victory of Heiliger Lee there had seemed to his German mercenaries a probability of extensive booty, which grew fainter as the slender fruit of that battle became daily more apparent.  The two abbots of Wittewerum and of Heiliger Lee, who had followed Aremberg’s train in order to be witnesses of his victory, had been obliged to pay to the actual conqueror a heavy price for the entertainment to which they had invited themselves, and these sums, together with the amounts pressed from the reluctant estates, and the forced contributions paid by luckless peasants, enabled him to keep his straggling troops together a few weeks longer.  Mutiny, however, was constantly breaking out, and by the eloquent expostulations and vague promises of the Count, was with difficulty suppressed.

He had, for a few weeks immediately succeeding the battle, distributed his troops in three different stations.  On the approach of the Duke, however, he hastily concentrated his whole force at his own strongly fortified camp, within half cannon shot of Groningen.  His army, such as it was, numbered from 10,000 to 12,000 men.  Alva reached Groningen early in the morning, and without pausing a moment, marched his troops directly through the city.  He then immediately occupied an entrenched and fortified house, from which it was easy to inflict damage upon the camp.  This done, the Duke, with a few attendants, rode forward to reconnoitre the enemy in person.  He found him in a well fortified position, having the river on his front, which served as a moat to his camp, and with a deep trench three hundred yards beyond, in addition.  Two wooden bridges led across the river; each was commanded by a fortified house, in which was a provision of pine torches, ready at a moment’s warning, to set fire to the bridges.  Having thus satisfied himself, the Duke rode back to his army, which had received strict orders not to lift a finger till his return.  He then despatched a small force of five hundred musketeers, under Robles, to skirmish with the enemy, and, if possible, to draw them from their trenches.

The troops of Louis, however, showed no greediness to engage.  On the contrary, it soon became evident that their dispositions were of an opposite tendency.  The Count himself, not at that moment trusting his soldiery, who were in an extremely mutinous condition, was desirous of falling back before his formidable antagonist.  The Duke, faithful, however, to his life-long principles, had no intentions of precipitating the action in those difficult and swampy regions.  The skirmishing, therefore, continued for many hours, an additional force of 1000 men being detailed from the Spanish army.  The day was very sultry, however, the enemy reluctant, and the whole action languid.  At last, towards evening, a large body, tempted beyond their trenches, engaged warmly with the Spaniards.