The siege of Ostend took place during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. In the wake of the Allied victory over the French at the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon ar ...

in May 1706, town and cities across 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 Ha ...

rapidly surrendered to the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

's victorious forces often without a fight.

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

, a port on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

coast, offered more resistance. Determined not to "give the enemy any breathing space", Marlborough detached Dutch and British forces under

Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk Henry, Count of Nassau, Lord of Overkirk (Dutch: ''Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk'', French: ''Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque'') (1640 – 18 October 1708) was a Dutch military general and second cousin of King William III of England and his Mast ...

and Duke of Argyle to deal with it. Meanwhile he established his main army at

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

as a

covering force A covering force is a military force tasked with operating in conjunction with a larger force, with the role of providing a strong protective outpost line (including operating in advance of the main force), searching for and attacking enemy forces o ...

to protect the siege operations from the French army which had regrouped at

Courtrai Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

to the south. Naval support for the besiegers came from a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

squadron under Sir

Stafford Fairborne Admiral of the Fleet Sir Stafford Fairborne (1666 – 11 November 1742) was a Royal Navy officer and Whig politician. As a captain he saw action in command of various ships at the Battle of Beachy Head, at the Battle of Barfleur and at the Batt ...

. Fairborne used

bomb ketch A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons ( long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounted ...

es to fire on the town, setting it alight. After a three week siege Ostend capitulated. In the wake of Ostend's fall, Marlborough was offered the Governor Generalship of the Spanish Netherlands but was forced to decline it for fear of offending his Dutch allies.Webb p.139

References

Bibliography

* Falkner, James. ''The War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714''. Pen and Sword, 2015. * Webb, Stephen Saunders. ''Marlborough's America''. Yale University Press, 2013. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostend (1706), Siege of

Osdend

Battles of the War of the Spanish Succession 1706 in Europe Conflicts in 1706 Sieges of the War of the Spanish Succession