Ambrogio Spinola

Ambrogio Spinola (1569–1630) was a Genoese nobleman who became the foremost general of Habsburg Spain. Entering Spanish service in 1602, he raised troops at his own expense and took Ostend in 1604, then commanded the Army of Flanders and seized a string of Rhine towns from Maurice of Nassau.

After the Twelve Years' Truce ended, he won his famous victory at Breda in 1625, later immortalized by Velázquez in The Surrender of Breda. Hampered by his rivalry with Olivares, he left Flanders in 1628 and died at the siege of Casale in September 1630.