inundated, and offered the enemy many places to set up camp. However, the existence of the Haarlemmermeer (a great lake) nearby made it difficult for the enemy to cut off the transportation of food into the city completely. In the Middle Ages it was unusual to fight in the winter, but the city of Haarlem was crucial and Don Fadrique stayed and put the town under siege. During the first two months of the siege, the situation was in balance. The Spanish army dug two tunnels to reach the city walls and collapse them. The defenders made tunnels to blow up the Spanish tunnels. The situation became worse for Haarlem on 29 March 1573. The Amsterdam army, faithful to the Spanish king, occupied the Haarlemmermeer and effectively blocked Haarlem from the outside world. Hunger in the city grew, and the situation became so tense that on 27 May many (Spanish-loyal) prisoners were taken from the prison and murdered. On 19 December no less than 625 shots were fired at the defensive wall between the Janspoort and the Catherijnebridge. This forced the defenders to put up a completely new wall. Two city gates, the Kruispoort and the Janspoort, collapsed from the fighting. Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer, a widow of a shipwright, aided in restoring the city fortifications during the siege. Later this would develop into a historical myth that she personally fought and even led an army of 300 women into battle. In the beginning of July William I of Orange put together an army of 5000 soldiers near Leiden, to rescue Haarlem. However, the Spanish trapped them at the Manpad and defeated the army. Surrender In the early days of the battle, the Spanish army tried an assault of the city walls, but this attempt to quickly conquer the city failed due to the insufficient preparation by the Spanish army, which had not expected much resistance. This initial victory gave the defenders' morale a big boost. After seven months the city surrendered on 13 July 1573. Usually, after such a siege, there would be a period of time that the soldiers of the victorious army could pillage the city, but the citizens were allowed to buy themselves and the city free for 240,000 guilders. The written assurances that had been given to the city were respected, but the whole garrison (which included many English, French Huguenots, and Germans) was executed with