But, in spite of these disadvantages, it
seemed at first as if the fortunes of the day were to go in their
favour.
The bridge of boats across the Yser was broken, and some of the
Dutch regiments, seized by a sudden panic, began to retreat towards
the sea; but, finding it impossible to reach the ships, they rallied,
and began once more to fight with all the dogged courage of their
race. For some hours the battle was continued with equal bravery
on both sides, the Spaniards storming a battery which the Dutch
had entrenched amongst the dunes, and the Dutch defending it so
desperately that the dead and wounded lay piled in heaps around
it. But at last the Spanish infantry were thrown into confusion
by a charge of horsemen; the Archduke Albert was wounded, and had
to retire from the front to have his injuries attended to. Prince
Maurice ordered a general advance of all his army, and in a few
minutes the enemy were fleeing from the battlefield, leaving behind
them 3,000 dead, 800 prisoners, and more than 100 standards. The
loss on the Dutch side was about 2,000.
The Archduke Albert, who had narrowly escaped being himself taken
prisoner, succeeded in entering Nieuport safely with what remained
of his army.
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