May 23 - Battle of Heiligerlee - Troops under William of Orange's younger brother, Louis of Nassau, defeat a small loyalist force under the Duke of Arenberg in an attempt to invade the Northern Netherlands.
July 21 - Battle of Jemmingen - The main Spanish army of the Duke of Alva utterly defeats Louis of Nassau's invading army in the Northeastern Netherlands.
August 18 - Beginning of the Third War of Religion in France after an unsuccessful attempt by the Royalists to capture Condé and Coligny, the Huguenot leaders.