On this day, 457 years ago, July 21, 1568 (June 27, 1568, the Battle of Jermgen broke out in the Dutch War of Independence. On July 21, 1568, the Battle of Jermgen broke out in the Dutch War of Independence. Louis, the younger brother of William, Duke of Orange, led an army of 12,000 (including 2000 cavalry) to face an army of 15,000 (including 3000 cavalry) commanded by the Duke of Alba of Spain. The Louis army suffered a disastrous defeat, with more than 7000 casualties and captured, while the Spanish army suffered only 300 casualties. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was the first country in the world to break out in a bourgeois revolution. Although the battle was defeated miserably, the indomitable spirit of the Dutch continued to be carried forward by those who came after it. Finally, independence was won a few years later (1609)