| Siege of Maastricht (1676) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFranco-Dutch War | |||||||
-1.jpg) Siege of Maastricht by the Prince of Orange (William III) in 1676 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of France | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|  William III of Orange Karel Florentine of Salm Marquis of Louvignies | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 7,000 infantry[1] | 25,000 infantry[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Several thousand[3] | ||||||
The 1676siege of Maastricht was a failed attempt byWilliam III of Orange to take the city, which had been occupied by the French since 1673. The siege took place from 6 July to 27 August 1676 during theFranco-Dutch War of 1672 to 1678.
In the 1667-1668War of Devolution, France captured most of theSpanish Netherlands but theTriple Alliance of theDutch Republic, England andSweden forced them to relinquish most of these gains in theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.[4]Louis XIV now moved to break up the Alliance; Sweden remained neutral in return for the payment of large subsidies, while England agreed to join the French against the Dutch in the 1670Treaty of Dover.[5]
Alliances withMünster and theElectorate of Cologne allowed the French to bypass defences in the Spanish Netherlands when they invaded the Dutch Republic in May 1672. They seemed to have achieved an overwhelming victory but the Dutch army then withdrew behind theDutch Water Line and the gates were opened on 22 June, flooding the land and preventing further advances. On 4 July,William of Orange was appointedStadtholder and repelled an invasion force from Münster, recapturing most of the territory lost in June.[6]
By late July, the Dutch position had stabilised, while concern at French gains brought them support fromFrederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia,Emperor Leopold andCharles II of Spain.[7] In August,Johan andCornelis de Witt, whose policies were blamed for the Dutch collapse, were lynched by anOrangist mob, leaving William in control.[8] Louis was now forced into another war of attrition around the French frontiers, with anImperial army opening a new front in theRhineland.[9]
Until the advent of railways in the 19th century, goods and supplies were largely transported by water, making rivers like theLys,Sambre andMeuse vital for trade and military operations.[10] In June 1673, the French tookMaastricht, which controlled a key access point on the Meuse but the Dutch recapturedNaarden in September 1673, while Münster and Cologne left the war in November. This was followed in early 1674 byDenmark joining the Alliance and England agreeing peace with the Dutch in theTreaty of Westminster.[11] The French were now over-extended and withdrew from the Dutch Republic, retaining only Grave and Maastricht.[12]Grave was recaptured by the Dutch in 1674.[13]
In the summer of 1676 William III decided to put an end to the French presence in Maastricht. He was supported byCarlos de Gurrea, Duke of Villahermosa andGovernor of the Habsburg Netherlands. On July 3, he martialed his forces found a great place nearNivelles, and began to march on Maastricht. The combined armies reached Maastricht on July 6. Under William's command were GeneralGeorg Friedrich of Waldeck, while the Spanish forces were under De Gurrea. Also present were regiments from England (under the command of John Fenwick), as well as forces fromOsnabrück,Brandenburg and thePalatinate-Neuburg. The combined forces started work on theinvestment of the heavily-fortified town, building both circumvallation and contravallation lines on both sides of the riverMeuse.
Due to delays, the first assault by the Prince of Orange on the fortified town was not until July 21. It was focused on the Bossche Fronten, in the northwestern section near theBosch Gate (see map of the siege,I). This was considered the weakest portion of the city's defenses. During the attacks in late July and August, the Dutch forces suffered a thousand casualties. During one of the attacks in early August, Charles Florentine of Salm, the lieutenant general of the infantry, and right hand of William III, suffered fatal injuries.[14] Meanwhile, the Marquis of Louvignies, commander of theArmy of Flanders, focussed his attack on the southern defenses, near the village ofSint Pieter (see map,K).
While the siege continued, peace talks were taking place atNijmegen. While these failed to lead to an end to the siege, they would eventually lead to the firstTreaties of Nijmegen.[15]
William was given a letter byMeinhardt Schomberg on August 17, which had been sent to the commander of the fortress, and had been intercepted. The letter was informing the commander that a French relief column was on their way to break up the siege. William met with Waldeck atTongeren, also present were thePrince-Bishop of Osnabrück, the Marquis of Louvignies, as well as military officers fromSpain andAustria. The siege continued, with the allied Dutch forces continuing to attempt to outflank the garrison through the suburb ofWyck on August 23. However, with the impending arrival of the French relief column, the siege was abandoned on August 27.
Reasons for the failure of the siege varied. Some blamed weak command skills of the Dutch, while others thought it was due to a lack of support from William's allies. Another theory was that the low water level of the riverMeuse, made the supply of water for the Dutch forces inadequate.[1]