The siege of Maastricht took place in April–May 1748 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George ...

. A French force under the overall command of

Maurice de Saxe Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus I ...

besieged and captured the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

barrier fortress of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

in the final few months of the campaign in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. After a relatively long siege the garrison of Maastricht capitulated and marched out with the honours of war. Maastricht was returned along with France's conquests in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...

according to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle signed in 1748. Among the defenders were the Austro-Walloon Regiment of Los Rios, commanded by its Colonel Jean Charles Joseph, Count of Merode, Marquis of Deynze ; Charles, 5th Duke of Arenberg (Jean Charles' ''brother-in-law'')

References

* Browning, Reed. ''The War of the Austrian Succession''. Alan Sutton Publishing, 1994.

Sources

* Conflicts in 1748 1748 in the Dutch Republic Sieges of the War of the Austrian Succession Sieges involving the Dutch Republic Sieges involving France Battles in Limburg (Netherlands)

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

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