The Dutch (30 page)

Now aware of the more imminent threat, the Baron limited his son's raiders to only fifty men drawn from the Gypsy's camp and men from the new settlements who understood the conditions they would encounter in the swamp. The Baron knew this small force would have little chance to delay either column's advance but wanted Jon to try. The Baron affectionately thanked his son for trusting his judgment but further complicated Jon's mission by ordering him to leave the gunboat crews with their boats. The Baron wanted Jon's fleet fully crewed when the enemy columns reached Lake Derick.

Early the next morning, the Baron ordered the lake settlements evacuated following the harvest and offered their Gypsy allies sanctuary on the mainland. The Gypsies were the only group of interlopers ever allowed to permanently settle in the swamp. Originally, these caravan dwellers from the east were welcomed in Western Europe in the fifteenth century. That changed in the sixteenth century as these “heathens” were accused of spying for the Ottoman Turks. The tendency of Gypsies to beg, steal, and commit fraud had slowly outraged the people of Western Europe. Gypsies became unwelcomed and uninvited guests wherever they went. Ten years earlier, when the Gypsies arrived in the swamp, Lord Karl had led the gunboat fleet against their encampment. They had come to the swamp, with little more than the clothes on their back, after being set upon by German mobs that burned their wagons. After weeks of wandering through the water, they came upon a small patch of drier ground near the settlements where they found temporary safety until they were discovered. Karl had intended to destroy the site but delayed the attack when he noticed the camp contained few able-bodied men. In fact, the band consisted of mostly starving old men and women and many terrified young children. After a parley, Karl took pity on the community and allowed them to remain. He warned them that he demanded proper behavior and would monitor their conduct. The band prospered by foraging, fishing, hunting, and growing vegetables in the wet soil. The band carefully avoided conflict with the settlers. The Gypsies became skilled at hunting a new breed of gigantic hog that arose over the centuries when escaped domestic pigs mated with wild boars. Those hunting skills sustained the band during the cruel winters and provided a surplus of pork which they smoked and sold on the mainland. They remained loyal subjects who informed Lord Karl whenever danger arose in the swamp. The Gypsies were the first to recognize the buildup of German forces on the border. The young boys, once spared, now grown, had become the Duchy's eyes and ears in the swamp. Many would soon repay Lord Karl's kindness by laying down their lives in the family's service.

Gustoff and Teewes finally arrived with the first two barges of the new fleet. Teewes found the original gunboat fleet aging but in good condition, though the oak hulls had lost much of their majestic strength with age. With help from local craftsmen, Teewes Roulfs reinforced the frames and installed the heavier swivel guns to both the bow and stern of each boat and added extra plating to each hull. While Teewes was working on the boats, Gustoff began recruiting crews for the new fleet. When Jon and Gustoff met, they had little time to celebrate any reunion. Jon left for the swamp after distributing some of the small arms Gustoff had purchased to his raiders. He also took along two of the discarded swivels which he felt could be manhandled through the swamp. He hoped to make good use of Gustoff's arms and the two old swivel guns.

As Jon re-entered the swampland from the west, he had no way of knowing that his father had sent a few of his most trusted men into the eastern section of the same swamp. They were sent not to harass, but to monitor the third column that had a diagonal starting point two German kingdoms to the east. His soldiers had orders to uncover the exact strength of the approaching force and the name of their commander. Their first report told him about five thousand enemy soldiers were approaching, many of them cavalry. A second message informed him this column was commanded by Prince Herman Lutwaff, an experienced cavalry commander from Lower Saxony.

The Baron and all Holland knew
this man.
Lutwaff had commanded a mounted detachment of Spanish Calvary during the initial stages of the invasion of the Netherlands. It was Lutwaff's horsemen that had laid waste to many rural parts of the Netherlands and Lutwaff had allowed his cavalrymen to rape and plunder the Dutch countryside. Lutwaff's family, once Catholic, became Lutheran and then reconciled with the Catholic faith to please Charles V. It was during that reconciliation that the Baron's late wife were held captive at his family's estate. The
Baron knew this man and his family.
It came as no surprise that Parma would employ such a ruthless person to lead the main force. His column was the prime threat and the Baron had no intention of letting the others distract him. The raiders and the fleets would have to hold those other forces in-check while he built a force capable of dealing with Lutwaff. The Baron's decision was only confirmed when one of his men left the swamp to personally report, “More than a thousand cavalry and siege guns in the vanguard.”

After mounting three cannons on the barges, Gustoff began training crews to sail them and fire the cannons. When Hector arrived from Rotterdam with two additional boats, Gustoff labored to get them operational. Hector reported that Gustoff's mother was meeting with every English smuggler in Rotterdam and Hector thought she was having some success in acquiring more guns. Hector flatly refused to leave Gustoff's side. After failing to convince Hector to return to the shipyard, Gustoff appointed him his fleet's deputy commander.

The “Gathering” was a spectacular moment in the Droger Land's history. Never before had so many men come together to defend the realm. The sight of the assembled eighteen hundred local men on the common green was a sight to behold. With the Baron's remaining two hundred cavalrymen and other patriotic volunteers, twenty-two hundred men would be available to defend the mainland. Most of these men thought the enemy forces to be only slightly more numerous. The Baron had kept the actual size of the enemy forces and the existence of a third column a secret. His men would learn the true size of their enemy after they were organized into an army able to confront any foe. The “Gathering” began appropriately with prayers. All knelt as the fiery Calvinist minister John Pascal and a more temperate but just as patriotic Catholic priest asked God's blessing on the assembled army. Once the prayers were completed, the men spontaneously began singing
Het Wilhelmus
, the song about their martyred leader William of Orange and the fight for Dutch Independence. The song contained fifteen stanzas and would become the national anthem for the Netherlands. The lyrics were known by all who cherished independence. The song reminded the Baron that Prince William would have enjoyed a moment like this. After reviewing the horse and militia units, he spoke to the assembled multitude: “Sons of the Droger Land, today we unite for the defense of our homeland and the survival of free Holland. We defend the same sacred land our ancestors have defended for fifteen hundred years. They turned back all who invaded and so shall we. Our Lord Jesus and our ancient gods demand nothing less.”

After the address the organizing began. He directed all mounted men to form up with his troop of cavalrymen and five hundred horsemen rode off to an encampment prepared for them within the Lord's Forest. Next archers were collected and they began a trek to the First Fort where Old Andries, a pretty fair archer himself, would mold them into an effective unit. The Baron called for those with woodworking skills and almost reluctantly two dozen men complied and were told to follow the column of archers. He ordered the remaining footmen under the age of thirty to gather behind him. It was the single largest group, most armed with muskets and pistols, and it took time to form them into columns but soon they too departed towards the Lord's Forest.

After they had gone, the Baron motioned the remaining older men to form a semi-circle around him. In a soft voice he told the older men that they have the most difficult task during the coming conflict. It was their responsibility to protect the women and children sheltered within the walls of the town and villages. He told them, “No enemy force is to be allowed to breach your walls. You must keep them out until others come to your assistance or each of you has joined our ancestors. Remember, as you pass on to the next world, hand your weapon to one of our women so they may continue to resist. Everything relies on your stubborn defense. You must resist until your death. If the enemy sends men to parley, they are to be killed as they approach your walls.”

Within a week even the rural families had taken refuge within the town or village closest their home. The politicians at The Hague sent English troops to the Droger Land's doorstep with orders to block and fortify the marshlands. These English mercenaries, commanded by a Dutch General, were assigned the task of building defensive fortifications to contain any further advance on central Holland following the inevitable fall of the Droger Land. They sent English soldiers, fearing Dutch troops, would disobey orders and join the Baron's defenders. One ugly truth of this war was that both sides depended heavily on paid mercenaries. The Spanish favored Germans and Italians, the Dutch preferred Englishmen. Yet small groups of Frisian horsemen and other Dutch volunteers were arriving daily to join the defenders and these men were only driven by pure patriotism not pay. They had decided to ignore the politicians and help defend the Droger Land. Many of the arriving Frisian nobility had lost land and wealth in the previous struggles with Holland. Some became too poor to arrive on horseback. When one such nobleman arrived on foot, at the head of a small formation of archers, Lord Karl was so pleased to see the bowmen that he gave the poor knight a gift of his own horse.

In mid-November, as the weather grew colder, Henri Roulfs delivered the last six barges. These vessels were the last to use the canal. The English troops had begun obstructing the waterway with stones and other debris. Thanks to Reylana who arrived with her husband, the barges contained enough cannons to fully arm the fleet. Her prior relationships with smugglers had served her well. Reylana also acquired a battery of field guns, which Karl happily dispatched for deployment with the main army. The defender's ranks had by this time swelled to twenty five hundred men. On that same day, the Baron received word that Jon had begun the war with a spectacular success. His small force of Gypsies and settlers had delivered a major blow to the enemy. They had miraculously killed the commander of the middle column.

After hiding the two swivel guns near the first causeway, Jon had traversed the swamp and reached the middle roadway without being discovered. He decided not to waste the element of surprise on a mere detachment of road builders. Instead, Jon waited patiently as his Gypsy scouts searched for the main enemy encampment and soon found it was built for comfort rather than defense. It was situated on a small plot of dry ground surrounded by dense woods. In this clearing the enemy had pitched scores of tents to protect themselves from the late autumn chill. The inexperienced Prince Werner had posted no pickets and left security to a few sleepy sentries. The Prince's quarters, a magnificent stately tent, sheltered him and his officers of noble birth. It was purposely separated from the rest of the camp by a wall of supply wagons. Jon's scouts reported the wagons contained more than the noble's personal possessions. Some wagons carried the camp's supply of munitions, including kegs of black powder.

Jon seized the opportunity by taking his men to an even more remote part of the swamp where they could freely gather highly flammable tree bark and dry swamp mosses, which were woven into sizeable balls. After dark, his men converged on all sides of the enemy camp. They used rope and tackle to bend back the tops of the surrounding trees, creating enough tension to propel the balls upon the camp when the ropes were cut. Jon waited until the encampment had settled in for the night. He and a few of his men crept silently into the camp and kill the unfortunate sentries. They left the camp undisturbed as they meticulously searched wagons until they found the black powder. They retreated to the camp's perimeter, leaving a single trail of black powder to mark their visit. Upon reaching the tree line, Jon's men set the birch and moss balls afire and flung them upon the camp. The burning bark emitted flaming oil which rapidly set fire to many tents. The smoke and flames caused pandemonium in the sleeping camp. Soldiers, awakened by the commotion, became excellent targets for the muskets of the raiders, as they fled burning tents. The Prince and his noblemen were beginning to stir when Jon ignited the powder trail with his pistol. For a moment, there was a bright line of burning black powder returning to its source. Suddenly there was a huge explosion. Most of the wagons disappeared. The blast sent the Prince's tent high into the night sky, killing or severely burning everyone inside and all in the immediate vicinity. Prince Otto Von Werner of Thuringia, confidant of the Spanish King, his noble staff officers and many ordinary soldiers were dead.

As prearranged, Jon's raiders faded into the swamp where they divided into even smaller groups. They hoped to escape to a rendezvous near the first causeway where they had left the swivel guns. Yet the veteran German field officers, who survived, led their infuriated soldiers in relentless pursuit. Vicious dogs, relegated to another encampment because they disturbed the late Prince Werner's sleep helped in the hunt. They kept to the scent, even in the wet conditions, and a quarter of Jon's men were caught and killed. The survivors used the swivel guns on a few small detachments of Count Alschultz's soldiers before Jon wisely ordered a retreat to the bank of the swamp. Here the gunboat fleet took his remaining men to safety. Despite killing the commander, Jon knew future raids would be less fruitful and more costly. He knew his father had been right. It would be up to the two fleets to halt the enemy advance as these columns reached the bank of Lake Derick. Despite his success, Jon knew he had only slowed and not stopped them.