The siege of Tournai was an event in the

War of Devolution In the 1667 to 1668 War of Devolution (, ), France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire (and properties of the King of Spain). The name derives from an obscure law know ...

. A French army commanded by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

successfully

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

the town of Tournai, then 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 ...

. The siege, which began on 21 June 1667, led to the surrender of the defenders loyal to the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

fewer than five days later.

Background

Louis XIV's initial objective for the campaign season had been to capture

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, delivering a single decisive blow to the Spanish. Louis was, however, advised by the

Vicomte de Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

to be more cautious and attack easier objectives closer to the French border. In the summer of 1667, Tournai had obsolete fortifications and was lightly defended by a garrison comprising 230 Irish soldiers and 150 cavalry troops under the command of the Marquis de Trazegnies. Trazegnies also had four companies of burghers to draw upon.

Siege

The French army, commanded by Louis himself, presented itself at the foot of the town's ramparts on 21 June. The following day, a siege trench around the town was dug and occupied by French soldiers. Louis is recorded as having joined his soldiers in the trenches, exposing himself to enemy fire in the process and causing Turenne much anxiety. On 25 June, the town of Tournai surrendered and its fortress capitulated the following day. Trazegnies was permitted to surrender to Louis with the

honours of war The honours of war are a set of privileges that are granted to a defeated army during the surrender ceremony. The honours symbolise the valour of the defeated army, and grew into a custom during the age of early modern warfare. Typically a surren ...

Aftermath

Tournai and its environs were among the territories ceded to France by Spain in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Louis ordered the construction of a new citadel in 1667, which was completed in 1674. The new fortifications, built by Guillaume Deshouillères under the supervision of Vauban, were to be put the test in the siege of Tournai in 1709 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tournai1667, Siege of 1667 in France 1667 in Spain 1667 in the Dutch Republic Conflicts in 1667 Sieges involving France Sieges involving Spain Louis XIV History of Tournai War of Devolution