Ambrogio Spinola

Common card · No. 434903

Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was an Italian nobleman and military leader from the Republic of Genoa in the service of the Spanish Empire. He distinguished himself in several key engagements during the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War, and is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of his time and in the history of the Spanish army. Born into a prominent family in the Republic of Genoa, Spinola entered Spanish service in 1602, raised 9,000 men at his own expense and conducted a successful siege at Ostend. His early victories led to his appointment as commander-in-chief in Flanders by King Philip II. Demonstrating his mastery of siege warfare, he led a one-year campaign that resulted in the capture of a string of cities along the Rhine from Maurice of Nassau, but also brought about his own financial ruin. Early in the Thirty Years' War, Spinola conducted the Palatinate campaign. Following the end of...

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