Siege Of Besançon
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The siege of Besançon took place from 25 April to 22 May 1674 during the
Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...
, when French forces nominally led by
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
invaded
Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...
, then part of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. Siege works were supervised by the
duc d'Enghien Duke of Enghien (, pronounced with a silent ''i'') was a noble title pertaining to the House of Condé. It was only associated with the town of Enghien for a short time. Dukes of Enghien – first creation (1566–1569) The title was first confe ...
, eldest son of le Grand Condé, and French military engineer
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of the Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', mea ...
. The defenders were commanded by Vaudémont but the town's isolated position meant they could only delay capture. The bulk of French casualties were caused by a botched assault, allegedly launched to impress Louis, before the garrison surrendered and were allowed free passage to the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
. Under the 1678
Treaties of Nijmegen The Treaties or Peace of Nijmegen (; ; ) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sw ...
, the province was annexed by France and Besançon replaced Dole as the regional capital.


Background

In the 1667–1668
War of Devolution The War of Devolution took place from May 1667 to May 1668. In the course of the war, Kingdom of France, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and County of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire ...
, France captured most of the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
and
Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...
before a Dutch-led coalition forced
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
to return most of their gains in the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668) __NOTOC__ The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle or Aachen ended the War of Devolution between France and Spain. It was signed on 2 May 1668 in Aachen (). Spain acceded on 7 May 1669. Terms of the treaty The treaty was mediated and guaranteed by the ...
and Louis began plans to attack the Republic directly. In May 1672, French forces invaded the Dutch Republic and initially seemed to have achieved an overwhelming victory but by late July, the Dutch position had stabilised. Concern at French gains led to the August 1673 Treaty of the Hague between the Republic, Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold and
Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...
; in early 1674,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
joined the Alliance, while England and the Dutch made peace in the Treaty of Westminster. Forced into another war of attrition and with new fronts opening in Spain, Sicily and the
Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
, French troops withdrew from the Dutch Republic by the end of 1673, retaining only
Grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...
and
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
. Instead, Louis focused on
Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...
, capturing
Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...
and
Vesoul Vesoul ( ) is a Communes of France, commune in the predominantly rural Haute-Saône department, of which it is the Prefectures in France, prefecture, or capital, in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern Franc ...
in February 1674.
François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois (; 18 January 1641 – 16 July 1691) was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. He is commonly referred to as "Louvois". Together with his father, ...
, French Minister of War, planned to attack
Salins-les-Bains Salins-les-Bains (), commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Doubs, 34.8 km (21.6 mi) to the s ...
then Dole next, but the French military engineer Vauban persuaded him to take Besançon first.


Siege

After the capture of Besançon in 1667, Vauban drew up plans for strengthening the defences; when it was returned to Spain in 1668, his design was adopted by the Italian engineer Precipiano. Spanish resources were stretched by the need to rebuild the defences of Dole and Gray, which were destroyed when the French withdrew in 1668; this meant work on the outer wall and citadel were only partially complete by 1674. As was the practice, the towns' defences were split between the outer 'City,' containing the main residential and commercial quarters, and the inner 'Citadel.' The garrison was commanded by a Spanish officer, Baron Francois de Saint-Mauris but overall command was held by an Imperial general, Prince Vaudémont, since Besançon was a Free Imperial City of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. A French army of 15,000–20,000 led by Duc d'Enghien arrived on 25 April; most of these troops were positioned outside the suburbs of Battant, Charmont and Arènes, with a secondary force under Charles Antoine de Revel stationed at Buis and Beure. Operations began on 26 April, directed by Vauban who was familiar with the defences based on his earlier work. Besançon was located on the River Doubs, which ran through the town; siege works were constructed next to the ''Porte d'Arènes'' on the right bank and the suburb of Chamars on the left. After considerable effort, the artillery was placed on hills overlooking the town at Chaudanne and Bregille and the bombardment commenced on 1 May. Louis arrived in the French camp the next day; while he often attended sieges for purposes of prestige, he was rarely involved in operations. At Besançon he helped supervise the emplacement of artillery batteries, exposing him to counter-battery fire from the town, one shot killing a nearby staff member. After this was completed on 6 May, the town was subjected to constant bombardment from five different locations and the Chamar quarter had to be flooded to prevent its loss after assaults on the nights of 6/7 and 8/9 May. The attackers suffered heavy casualties, which Vauban later complained were entirely avoidable and launched largely to impress Louis; however, the defenders were unable to respond effectively to the French bombardment and there was no hope of relief. By 13 May, several breaches had been made in the walls around the Arènes gate; the protocol of the time was that if a garrison fought on after a 'practical breach,' the attackers were entitled to sack and destroy the city. Following a meeting on 14 May, the town council asked for terms of surrender; these were granted by Louis, who entered the city on 15 May. The Citadel held out for another week, repulsing an assault on 20 May led by François de La Feuillade and the Gardes Francaises. However, the garrison's position was hopeless and two days later, Vaudémont surrendered; he was given free passage to the Spanish Netherlands along with 800 other survivors.


Aftermath

On 27 May, Louis left Besançon and moved onto Dole, which was already besieged by d'Enghien; the town surrendered on 7 June, followed by
Salins-les-Bains Salins-les-Bains (), commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Doubs, 34.8 km (21.6 mi) to the s ...
on 10th. With the conquest complete, many of the French troops were sent to join the Great Condé's army in the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
and fought at the Battle of Seneffe in August. In 1676, the regional capital was moved from Dole to Besançon, which became the site of the Regional Parlement. The province remained unstable, with security threatened by guerrilla bands known as ''loups de bois'', as well as Imperial troops campaigning in the
Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
. The huge costs of the war led to conflict over taxes and expenditure; when the Besançon magistrates were ordered to repair damage caused by the recent siege, they refused, arguing it was the responsibility of the French Crown. When forced to comply, the work was carried out very slowly; similar arguments took place over supplying the French garrison. During the siege, Étienne Morel, a French Army surgeon, reportedly used a
tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to create ischemia or stopping the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can ...
to control
haemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...
from battlefield injuries, the first time this technique was applied.


See also

* Louis XIV Victory Monument


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * (French); {{DEFAULTSORT:Besançon 1674
Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
Conflicts in 1674 Sieges involving Spain Sieges of the Franco-Dutch War Military history of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté History of Doubs 1674 in France 1674 in Spain Louis XIV Annexations by France