Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch
Encyclopedia
The Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch was in 1629 an action of the Eighty Years' War in which a Dutch Republican army captured the city of 's-Hertogenbosch which had been loyal to the King of Spain since 1579 and thus part of the Spanish Netherlands.
ended in 1621. Stadtholder
Maurice of Orange had in the meantime played a part in instigating the Thirty Years' War
in Germany
. The Habsburgs tried to punish the rebellious Dutch Republic by cutting it off from its hinterland
by a land blockade. 's-Hertogenbosch was the main fortress in this perimeter and enormous sums of money were poured into the improvement of its defences. As the ground surrounding the city was a marsh, the city was generally deemed to be impregnable, as the water-saturated soil seemed to make an application of current siege methods impossible; trench-digging and undermining were apparently out of the question. Maurice had failed twice in taking the city.
The blockade caused an economic crisis for the Republic and it reacted by trying to harm the enemy in its colonies. In 1628 one of the many schemes undertaken met with spectacular success when Admiral Piet Hein
of the Dutch West India Company
captured the Spanish treasure fleet
. The vastly improved financial situation of the Republic allowed for a major counter-stroke and Stadtholder
Frederick Henry
decided to break the Habsburg morale by conquering their main stronghold in the Netherlands. This came very unexpectedly; most had predicted the goal of his campaign would be Breda
, retaken by the Habsburgs in 1625.
and the Aa
) around the city by means of a double forty kilometre dike, in the form of a giant square, completely enclosing the fortress. Thus having created a polder
, he began to drain it with (mainly horse) mills. After the soil had sufficiently dried out his trenches could approach the city walls. Noble visitors from all over Europe visited the siege to admire the novel and spectacular method.
, reaching the city in July. Van den Bergh quickly found out that his cousin's circumvallation, successfully tested at the siege of Grol
in 1627, was too strong to breach. He tried to lure Frederick Henry away by invading the Republic through the Veluwe
, capturing Amersfoort
on 14 August. When his supply base at Wesel
was taken, he had to withdraw.
Meanwhile the Protestant forces dug themselves ever closer to the city along the southern road from the direction of Vught
, continuously bombarding the defences. During the siege 28,517 cannonballs were fired. On 18 July the large Fortress Isabella fell, followed the next day by Fort Anthony. Despite repeated sallies by the 2,500 men of the garrison, the attackers slowly worked their way to the southern city gate. There they undermined Bastion Vught; in the early hours of 11 September a massive explosion caused a large breach in the ramparts. On 14 September its military governor Anthonie Schetz
surrendered the city.
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of those present in 1629 had died.
Although its population would remain predominantly Catholic, 's-Hertogenbosch would stay firmly in the hands of the Republic as part of the Generality Lands
until French
revolutionary forces captured it in 1794; only then would the Batavian Republic
grant equality to Catholics. The former Duchy of Brabant
remains divided to this day between Belgium
(Brabant) and the Netherlands (North Brabant).
Background
The Twelve Years' TruceTwelve Years' Truce
The Twelve Years' Truce was the name given to the cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic as agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. It was a watershed in the Eighty Years' War, marking the point from which the independence of the...
ended in 1621. Stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
Maurice of Orange had in the meantime played a part in instigating the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The Habsburgs tried to punish the rebellious Dutch Republic by cutting it off from its hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
by a land blockade. 's-Hertogenbosch was the main fortress in this perimeter and enormous sums of money were poured into the improvement of its defences. As the ground surrounding the city was a marsh, the city was generally deemed to be impregnable, as the water-saturated soil seemed to make an application of current siege methods impossible; trench-digging and undermining were apparently out of the question. Maurice had failed twice in taking the city.
The blockade caused an economic crisis for the Republic and it reacted by trying to harm the enemy in its colonies. In 1628 one of the many schemes undertaken met with spectacular success when Admiral Piet Hein
Piet Pieterszoon Hein
Pieter Pietersen Heyn was a Dutch naval officer and folk hero during the Eighty Years' War between the United Provinces and Spain.-Early life:...
of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
captured the Spanish treasure fleet
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
. The vastly improved financial situation of the Republic allowed for a major counter-stroke and Stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
Frederick Henry
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry, or Frederik Hendrik in Dutch , was the sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1625 to 1647.-Early life:...
decided to break the Habsburg morale by conquering their main stronghold in the Netherlands. This came very unexpectedly; most had predicted the goal of his campaign would be Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
, retaken by the Habsburgs in 1625.
Siege attack
Advancing from Grave he laid siege to the city in April 1629, with an army of 24,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry. He also had hired 4,000 peasants and these would cause a tactical surprise. Frederick Henry diverted the two main streams feeding the swamps (the DommelDommel
The Dommel is a creek in Belgium and the Netherlands, left tributary of the Dieze. It rises in north-eastern Belgium near Peer and flows into the southern part of the Netherlands. The Dommel takes in water from the Keersop, Tongelreep, Run, Gender and Kleine Dommel streams and merges at...
and the Aa
Aa River (Meuse)
The Aa is a small river in The Netherlands. It rises near Meijel in the southeastern province of Limburg, in the Peel region. It flows northwest through the province of North Brabant towards 's-Hertogenbosch, roughly along the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal. In 's-Hertogenbosch, at the confluence of the...
) around the city by means of a double forty kilometre dike, in the form of a giant square, completely enclosing the fortress. Thus having created a polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
, he began to drain it with (mainly horse) mills. After the soil had sufficiently dried out his trenches could approach the city walls. Noble visitors from all over Europe visited the siege to admire the novel and spectacular method.
Reaction from Habsburg
Of course the Habsburg authorities didn't remain idle while their main bulwark was being reduced. They sent a large relief army under command of Frederick Henry's Catholic cousin Hendrik van den BerghHendrik van den Bergh (count)
Hendrik, count van den Bergh , lord of Stevensweert, was a Dutch soldier in Spanish service during the Eighty Years' War and stadhouder of Spanish Upper Guelders.-Life:...
, reaching the city in July. Van den Bergh quickly found out that his cousin's circumvallation, successfully tested at the siege of Grol
Siege of Groenlo (1627)
The Siege of Grol in 1627 was a battle between the Army of the Dutch Republic commanded by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and the Spanish controlled fortified city of Grol , during the Eighty Years War in 1627. The Spanish army led by Hendrik van den Bergh came to relieve Grol, but it came too...
in 1627, was too strong to breach. He tried to lure Frederick Henry away by invading the Republic through the Veluwe
Veluwe
The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts....
, capturing Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
on 14 August. When his supply base at Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
was taken, he had to withdraw.
Meanwhile the Protestant forces dug themselves ever closer to the city along the southern road from the direction of Vught
Vught
Vught is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is a town where lots of commuters live and has recently been named "Best place to live" by the Dutch magazine Elsevier.-Politics:...
, continuously bombarding the defences. During the siege 28,517 cannonballs were fired. On 18 July the large Fortress Isabella fell, followed the next day by Fort Anthony. Despite repeated sallies by the 2,500 men of the garrison, the attackers slowly worked their way to the southern city gate. There they undermined Bastion Vught; in the early hours of 11 September a massive explosion caused a large breach in the ramparts. On 14 September its military governor Anthonie Schetz
Anthonie Schetz
Anthonie Schetz, Baron of Grobbendonk was a military commander of the Spanish-Imperial armies during the Thirty Years' War. He was baron of Grobbendonk, lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle and Pulderbos, and Wezemaal...
surrendered the city.
Negotiations
Bishop Michael Ophovius tried to plead with Frederick Henry for religious tolerance, but though the stadtholder himself would gladly have granted religious freedom to the Catholics, as he tried to gain popularity in the Spanish Netherlands in the hope support for the rebellion would grow, due to vehement Calvinist resistance it had already been decided to be as strict in this respect as in the rest of the Republic; only nunneries could remain until the last nunNun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
of those present in 1629 had died.
Fall of Den Bosch
The fall of 's-Hertogenbosch was an enormous blow to Habsburg prestige. Their position in the North would soon crumble and Frederick Henry, encouraged by the success, would start a series of other sieges, assisted by his cousin Van den Bergh, who changed sides after being accused of treason.Although its population would remain predominantly Catholic, 's-Hertogenbosch would stay firmly in the hands of the Republic as part of the Generality Lands
Generality Lands
The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General...
until French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
revolutionary forces captured it in 1794; only then would the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
grant equality to Catholics. The former Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
remains divided to this day between Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(Brabant) and the Netherlands (North Brabant).
External references
- Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch 1629 on the Google Books Library ProjectGoogle Books Library ProjectThe Google Books Library Project is an effort by Google to scan and make searchable the collections of several major research libraries. The project, along with Google's Partner Program, comprise Google Books . Along with bibliographic information, snippets of text from a book are often viewable...