The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the ''siege of Bois-Le-Duc''
[Markham pp. 435-38] was an action in 1629, during the
Eighty Years' War and the
Anglo–Spanish War in which a Dutch and English army captured the city of
's-Hertogenbosch.
The city had been loyal to the King of Spain since 1579 and was part of the
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...
.
Background
The
Twelve Years' Truce
The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a soverei ...
ended in 1621.
Stadtholder Maurice of Orange
Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...
had in the meantime played a part in instigating the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
in Germany. The
Habsburgs tried to punish the rebellious Dutch Republic by cutting it off from its
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
by a land blockade. 's-Hertogenbosch was the main fortress in this perimeter and enormous sums of money were poured into the improvement of its defences. As the ground surrounding the city was a marsh, the city was generally deemed to be impregnable, as the water-saturated soil seemed to make an application of current siege methods impossible; trench-digging and undermining were apparently out of the question. Maurice had failed twice in taking the city.
The blockade caused an economic crisis for the Republic and it reacted by trying to harm the enemy in its colonies. In 1628 one of the many schemes undertaken met with spectacular success when Admiral
Piet Hein of the
Dutch West India Company captured the
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet ( es, Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the es, label=Spanish, plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to ...
. The vastly improved financial situation of the Republic allowed for a major counter-stroke and
Stadtholder Frederick Henry decided to break the Habsburg morale by conquering their main stronghold in the Netherlands. This came very unexpectedly; most had predicted the goal of his campaign would be
Breda, which had
been retaken by the Habsburgs in 1625.
Siege
Advancing from
Grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
Frederick Henry laid siege to the city in April 1629, with an army of 24,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry. Among them were between c.13-14,000 troops from Britain, the English being commanded by
Horace Vere
Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury (1565 – 2 May 1635) (also ''Horatio Vere'' or ''Horatio de Vere'') was an English military leader during the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War, a brother of Francis Vere. He was sent to the ...
,
Edward Cecil
Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (29 February 1572 – 16 November 1638) was an English military commander and a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1624.
Life
Cecil was the third son of Thomas Ceci ...
,
Sir Charles Morgan, Edward Harwood, while the Scots were commanded by
William Brog,
Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch
Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch, 2nd Baron Scott of Buccleuch (before 1606 – 20 November 1633) was a Scottish nobleman.
He was born the son of Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch
Walter Scott, 5th of Buccleuch, 1st Lord Scott of ...
, Sir George Hay of Kinfauns, and Sir John Halkett (who was killed at the siege).
Frederick Henry had also hired 4,000 peasants and these would cause a tactical surprise. He diverted the two main streams feeding the swamps (the
Dommel
The Dommel is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands, left tributary of the Dieze. It is 120 km long, of which 85 km in the Netherlands. The Dommel takes in water from the Keersop, Tongelreep, Run, Gender and Kleine Dommel streams and merg ...
and the
Aa) around the city by means of a double forty kilometre dike, in the form of a giant square, completely enclosing the fortress. Thus having created a
polder, he began to drain it with (mainly horse) mills. After the soil had sufficiently dried out his trenches could approach the city walls. Noble visitors from all over Europe visited the siege to admire the novel and spectacular method.
Of course the Habsburg authorities didn't remain idle while their main bulwark was being reduced. They sent a large relief army under command of Frederick Henry's Catholic cousin
Hendrik van den Bergh, reaching the city in July. Van den Bergh quickly found out that his cousin's
circumvallation
Investment is the military process of surrounding an enemy fort (or town) with armed forces to prevent entry or escape. It serves both to cut communications with the outside world and to prevent supplies and reinforcements from being introduced ...
, successfully tested at the
siege of Grol in 1627, was too strong to breach. He tried to lure Frederick Henry away by invading the Republic through the
Veluwe
The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts.
The Ve ...
, capturing
Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...
on 14 August. When his supply base at
Wesel
Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.
Geography
Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine.
Division of the city
Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...
was taken, he had to withdraw.
Meanwhile, the Protestant forces dug themselves ever closer to the city along the southern road from the direction of
Vught
Vught () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, and lies just south of the industrial and administrative centre of 's-Hertogenbosch. Many commuters live in the municipality, and the town of Vught was once named "Best place to liv ...
, continuously bombarding the defences. During the siege 28,517 cannonballs were fired. On 18 July the large Fortress Isabella fell, followed the next day by Fort Anthony. Despite repeated sallies by the 2,500 men of the garrison, the attackers slowly worked their way to the southern city gate. There they undermined Bastion Vught; in the early hours of 11 September a massive explosion caused a large breach in the ramparts. On 14 September its military governor
Anthonie Schetz surrendered the city.
Aftermath
Bishop
Michael Ophovius
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
tried to plead with Frederick Henry for religious tolerance, but though the stadtholder himself would gladly have granted religious freedom to the Catholics, as he tried to gain popularity in the Spanish Netherlands in the hope support for the rebellion would grow, due to vehement Calvinist resistance it had already been decided to be as strict in this respect as in the rest of the Republic; only nunneries could remain until the last
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
of those present in 1629 had died.
The fall of 's-Hertogenbosch was an enormous blow to the prestige of the Spanish monarchy and the worst defeat in the North since the
Spanish armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
in 1588.
[Israel p. 507] As a result, their position in the North would soon crumble and Frederick Henry, encouraged by the success, would start a series of other sieges, assisted by his cousin Van den Bergh, who changed sides after being accused of treason. Many of the English soldiers who fought during the siege would become prominent during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
s. These were
Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
,
Jacob Astley,
Philip Skippon
Philip Skippon (c. 1600, West Lexham, Norfolk – c. 20 February 1660) supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War as a senior officer in the New Model Army. Prior to the war he fought in the religious wars on the continent. D ...
,
Thomas Glemham
Sir Thomas Glemham (c. 1594 – 1649) was an English soldier, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1625. He was a commander in the Royalist army during the English Civil War.
Early life and career
Glemham was ...
,
George Monck
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cruc ...
as well as
Henry Hexham, the historian of the Dutch wars. Fairfax, Skippon, and Monck, particularly, were Vere's pupils in the art of war.
[ :s:Vere, Horace (DNB00)]
Although its population would remain predominantly Catholic, 's-Hertogenbosch would stay firmly in the hands of the Republic as part of the
Generality Lands
The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands ( nl, Generaliteitslanden) were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General. Unlike the seven pr ...
until French revolutionary forces captured it in 1794; only then would the
Batavian Republic grant equality to Catholics. The former
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...
remains divided to this day between
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
(Flemish Brabant, Brussels and Walloon Brabant) and the Netherlands (North Brabant).
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch 1629on the
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Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
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Hertogenbosch
1629 in the Dutch Republic
1629 in the Habsburg Netherlands
17th-century military history of the Kingdom of England
17th-century military history of Scotland
17th-century military history of Spain
Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630)
Eighty Years' War (1621–1648)
Hertogenbosch (1629)
Hertogenbosch (1629)
Hertogenbosch (1629)
Hertogenbosch (1629)
Hertogenbosch (1629)
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