Don John has found himself helpless in…
January 1578 CE
Don John has found himself helpless in face of the superior talent and personal influence of William, who has succeeded in uniting all the provinces in common resistance to the civil and religious tyranny of Philip (the last to accede will be Amsterdam, in February 1578).
Alexander Farnese, the nephew of Philip and of Don John, had In the autumn of 1577 been sent from Parma to join his uncle at the head of reinforcements, and it is mainly his prompt decision at a critical moment that wins the Battle of Gembloux on January 31, 1578, enabling Don John to capture the city of Namur.