The siege of Ypres in 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 ...

took place between March 18 and March 25, 1678, as part of the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

, and ended with the conquest of the city by the French.

Prelude

In October 1677, Mary Stuart, niece and possible successor of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

, married

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from ...

, concluding the rapprochement between England and the Dutch Republic, who had been at war with each other until 1674.

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

decided to invade the Spanish Netherlands to counter a possible English military intervention against him. The Dutch expected an attack against

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

. But Louis XIV directed his troops towards

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, taking the city on March 9, and then turned immediately west in the direction of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

The siege

On March 18, the French, led by Vauban, started digging approach trenches towards the citadel. The city was defended by a Spanish garrison under Dom Francisco de Pardo, who ordered the surroundings of the city flooded. But the French had already advanced too much to be stopped by this action. The city was pounded by 22 high caliber guns and 12 mortars. After one week, the works had advanced so far, that Louis XIV ordered an attack in the night of March 24–25. The city was quickly conquered and the defenders capitulated by dawn. Only the citadel held out for one more day, after which the surviving 1600 valid men and 600 wounded also surrendered.Histoire de Louvois et de son administration politique et militaire... p. 493.

Consequences

In April, Vauban started reconstructing and modernising Ypres' fortifications, giving it the form that can still be seen today.

Louis de Crevant, Duke of Humières Louis de Crévant, Marquis then later duc d'Humières (1628–1694) was a French nobleman of the 17th century, who became a Marshal of France in 1668 and Grand Master of Artillery in 1685. His career allegedly benefited from connections to h ...

became governor of the city.
In England, Charles II raised some 20 regiments to be shipped to

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 ...

, but then hesitated to go to war with France. In the meantime, negotiations started between France and the Dutch Republic, leading to the

Treaty of Nijmegen The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) 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 Repub ...

on August 10.

Sources

Abel Hugo Abel Joseph Hugo (15 November 1798, Paris - 7 February 1855, Paris) was a French military officer, essayist, and historian. His younger brother was the novelist Victor Hugo. Biography He was the eldest son of General Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hu ...

, ''France historique et monumentale : Histoire générale de France depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours'', 1843. * Camille Rousset, ''Histoire de Louvois et de son administration politique et militaire'', Volume 2, 1862. * Luc-Normand Tellier, ''Face aux Colbert : les Le Tellier, Vauban, Turgot-- et l'avènement du libéralisme'', Édition presse de l'université de Quebec, 1987.

References

External links

Fortified Places: Ypres 1678
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ypres, Siege of (1678) Conflicts in 1678 Sieges involving Spain Sieges involving France 1678 in the Habsburg Netherlands