Siege of Charleroi (1672)

Siege of Charleroi
Part of the Franco-Dutch War
17th century depiction of Charleroi
Date 14–26 December, 1672 Location Charleroi, Belgium Result French victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
William III of Orange	Unknown

The siege of Charleroi was a siege launched by William III of Orange of the city of Charleroi which was in French hands. The siege resulted in a failure for William and had to retreat.

Background

Charleroi was one of the cities annexed by France from Spain after the war of Devolution. And during the preparation of the French invasion of the Dutch Republic in 1672, it served as a supply point for the French army, it therefore had the purpose as a starting base for the French army. ^[1]

Siege

After the disastrous battle of Woerden, William gained permission from the Dutch field marshals to commence the siege of Charleroi. William also gained the permission from the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, the Count of Monterey to besiege Charleroi, even though that was a risky move since it could potentially drag Spain into war with France. ^[2]

William had trouble besiegeing the city, due to the frozen ground. His chance to take Charleroi also depended on his allies, Monterey was not in a state to provide him troops and Raimondo Montecuccoli was awaiting battle in the Holy Roman Empire. William also learned in the meantime that the waterline was threatened due to Luxembourg preparing an offensive against Holland, because of this William had to abandon the siege and returned to the Republic. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Aftermath

After the siege, Luxembourg attacked and slaughetered Bodegraven and Zwammerdam through Woerden. He had also planned to invade Den Haag, but that failed due to heavy rain. ^[5] Although William's siege failed, it did show that the Dutch army felt strong and brave enough to take major initiatives on their own. In France, Louis XIV had to improve the defenses of Charleroi to prevent another future attack. ^[3]

References

1. Nimwegen 2020, p. 112.
2. Nimwegen 2020, p. 126.
3. Fruin 1972, p. 314.
4. Panhuysen 2016, p. 86.
5. Nimwegen 2020, p. 126-127.

Sources

• Nimwegen, Olaf. van (2020). De Veertigjarige Oorlog 1672-1712, De strijd van de Nederlanders tegen de Zonnekoning. Prometheus. ISBN   9044638718.
• Fruin, Robert (1972). De oorlog van 1672 (E-book ed.). Wolters-Noordhof. ISBN   9789001324155.
• Panhuysen, Luc (2016). Oranje tegen de Zonnekoning: De strijd van Willem III en Lodewijk XIV om Europa. Atlas Contact, Uitgeverij. ISBN   9789045023311.