Title: "Commemoration of the
Battle of Empel"
Subject: Battlefield myth
Investigation made at: Empel,
municipality of 's-Hertogenbosch,
Province of North Brabant, the
Netherlands
GPS Location: 51°44'12.6"N
5°18'06.9"E
Period Covered: 4 - 8DEC1585
Date: 2DEC2023
Status: Unsolved
Introduction On Saturday 2DEC2023 , this
agency witnessed the 2023 edition of
the commemoration of the Battle and
the Miracle of Empel.
The miracle is about a battle which
turned out to be an unexpected
Spanish victory on 8 DEC 1585, near
Empel, in the Netherlands, as part
of the 'Eighty Years' War, in which
a surrounded Spanish force won
against a numerical superior enemy.
click to enlarge:
Spanish Army
officers giving a speech about the
Battle of Empel in 1585.
Note Battle Detective Tom on the far
right behind Spanish Army security
personnel
History
That year Spanish troops decided to
go into winter quarters in the Low
Countries and about 3000-4000 men of
the "Tercio" under Francisco Arias
de Bobadilla were stationed on
Bommelerwaard; an area of land
surrounded by the water of the river
Meuse. The land was supposed to be
rich enough to support these troops
through the winter. But all the
farmers had left the island, taking
their cattle with them.
Desperate situation
To make matters worse for the hungry
Spanish troops, the commander of
their enemy, Philip of Hohenlohe,
arrived with a strong land force and
100 ships. He offered an honorable
surrender to the Spaniards but their
response was strictly negative.
Then, the dikes of Bommelwaard were
breached, forcing the Spanish back
over the river Maas to higher ground
around the hamlet of Empel. From
there they were unable to reach
nearby 's-Hertogenbosch, because the
terrain was flooded and guarded by
Hohenlohe's fleet. The island was
also under artillery fire from a
fortress at the opposite side of the
river. The situation for the Spanish
seemed desperate.
Miracle of Empel
A Spanish soldier who was digging a
trench around the church of Empel
found a painting representing Mary
of the Immaculate Conception.
Bobadilla interpreted the discovery
as a sign from God, and had the
painting raised next to the Spanish
flag.
That night, a sudden drop in
temperature froze the shallow waters
of the flooded countryside making it
possible for the Spanish troops to
attack the rebels and burn their
ships. The next day they charged and
conquered the Dutch fortress located
alongside the river.
That same day, Mary of the
Immaculate Conception was proclaimed
patroness of the Spanish Tercios of
Flanders and Italy.
click to enlarge: Left:
artist impression of the painting of
Saint Mary being carried before the
Spanish colors. Right: modern Artificial
Intelligence impression of the
Battle of Empel
438th Anniversary Since the year 2000, Spanish
people, most of them affiliated with
the military in general and the
infantry branch in particular, visit
the location of the battle annually.
With wool knit hats on and thick
scarves around their necks, about
250 Spaniards stood along the banks
of the river Maas on Saturday
2DEC2023. It made an appropriate
picture, because 438 years ago this
was the place where 4000 Spanish
soldiers escaped death thanks to the
frost.
Most Dutch people and even many
people from Empel are unaware of the
story. But for the Spaniards this is
still a historical event that is
widely commemorated. There is even a
national holiday created for it on
December 8. This Saturday, a week
before that holiday, dozens of
Spaniards will come to the hamlet in
the Province of North-Brabant. The
miracle was first commemorated at
the river bank.
click images to enlarge:
About 250 mostly
Spanish people during the
commemoration on the river bank
click to open video:
Video impression
of the crowd and the ceremony at the
Maas river bank on December 2nd,
2023
Then the audience moved to the
Chapel of Saint Mary where they sang
a battle song together.
click images to enlarge:
Spanish gathering
at the Saint Mary chapel in Empel
Program leaflet
with battle hymn of the Spanish
Infantry
Their ceremony ended in church with
a holy mass but we left the cold
river floodplains before that.
Commemoration and not a Case
File
The story of the Battle and the
Miracle of Empel is a battlefield
mystery that calls for further
investigation. So far, however, we
have found no leads or clues to
investigate further into the matter.
It is a fact that thermometers as we
know them today had yet to be
invented in 1585 and no records of
meteorological data were kept at the
time.
It is therefore not possible to find
an explanation for the sudden
freezing of the flowing water in the
river Maas and the stagnant water in
the floodplains.
We appreciate the story of the
Miracle and the Battle of Empel as
it is told today and will keep our
sensors out for future investigative
leads should to appear.
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