The siege of Geldern was one of the first military confrontations between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Surrounded by an advancing French army, the Prussian garrison of Geldern surrendered after a four-month

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

Background

In the wake of the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 and the subsequent First Treaty of Versailles, France agreed to a defensive pact with its new ally,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, if either were attacked by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. On 29 August 1756, Prussia launched a pre-emptive invasion of the Austrian ally of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, starting the Third Silesian War, and therefore drawing France into the new conflict. The invasion led to the signing of the

Second Treaty of Versailles The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...

between Austria and France on 1 May 1757. In the treaty, France promised to strengthen its commitment to their existing alliance by raising an army in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

to invade Prussia from the west. However, France had already been assembling troops in Flanders as early as March to invade the British ally of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. With the French invasion of Hanover looming,

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

ordered for the Prussian fortress of

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 ...

to be evacuated in early 1757, and its garrison sent to join the assembling Hanoverian

Army of Observation An army of observation is a military body whose purpose is to monitor a given area or enemy body in preparation for possible hostilities. Some of the more notable armies of observation include: *Third Reserve Army of Observation, a Russian army tas ...

, leaving the garrison of Geldern on the western extremity of the Kingdom of Prussia isolated. The garrison of Geldern exchanged fire with French hussars on 25 March, and would later fall under a full siege when the French surrounded the town on 14 April.

Siege

The Prussians attempted to flood the approaches to the fortifications, but were only partly successful. During the siege, part of the mostly-foreign Prussian garrison mutinied, although this was swiftly dealt with by von Salmuth. The garrison finally surrendered on 23 August and, in recognition of its stubborn defence, was allowed by Beausobre to withdraw to the Prussian stronghold of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

unmolested.

Aftermath

Although the siege had delayed part of the French army for several months, its conclusion allowed them to rejoin the rest of French army in the invasion of Hanover. By the time the Prussians reached Magdeburg on 4 October, almost all of the original Geldern garrison had deserted along the way.

Citations

Sources

* * * (page 268) *{{cite book , last=Reid , first=Stuart, title=Frederick the Great's Allies 1756-63 , publisher=Osprey Publishing , year=2010 Campaigns of the Seven Years' War 1757 in Europe 1757 in military history Conflicts in 1757 Kingdom of Prussia Hanover 1757 1757 in the Holy Roman Empire Hanover 1757