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Siege of Groenlo (1672)
Encyclopedia
- For other sieges of the town see Siege of GroenloSiege of GroenloSiege of Grol may refer to:* The capture of Grol in 1580 by Count Rennenberg * The Siege of Grol in 1595 by Maurice of Orange * The Siege of Grol in 1597 by Maurice of Orange...
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The Siege of Groenlo was a 10-day siege of the Dutch town of Groenlo
Groenlo
Groenlo is a city in the municipality of Oost Gelre, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands on the German border, a region in the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek . Groenlo was a municipality until January 1, 2005, when it merged with Lichtenvoorde. Until May 19 2006 Groenlo...
from 1 to 10 June 1672 by the combined forces of France
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...
, the Elector of Cologne and the Prince-Bishop of Münster during the Franco-Dutch War
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
. It ended in the town's surrender.
Course
After the secret Treaty of Dover between France, England, the Prince-Bishop of Münster and the Archbishop of Cologne against the Dutch RepublicDutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, French troops passed through the possessions of Münster and Cologne and a few other French allies then the Spanish Netherlands, enabling them to by-pass the Dutch defences in the south and invade the Dutch from the east in June. Bernhard von Galen
Bernhard von Galen
Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen was prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family....
, bishop of Münster, invaded the Netherlands on 1 June 1672 in several places, taking several towns (including Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
, Almelo
Almelo
Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....
and Borculo
Borculo
Borculo is a former municipality and a village in the eastern Netherlands, in the Province of Gelderland.On January first 2005 the municipality Borculo merged with the municipalities of Eibergen, Neede and Ruurlo into the municipality of Berkelland....
) and laying siege to Groenlo, where his forces were joined by those of France and Cologne.
Groenlo was well-supplied with food, garrisoned with 22 cannon on new gun-carriages and 600 troops (made up of 10 infantry companies and 1 cavalry company, led by the infantry lieutenant-colonel Gustaff Tungel) and defended by bulwarks and a moat (which had proved their effectiveness in a 1627 siege
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...
). However, vastly outnumbered by the French force of over 100,000, it was only able to hold out for 10 days, after which the besiegers moved onto Deventer
Deventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
and other cities, in what became the 'Rampjaar
Rampjaar
The rampjaar was the year 1672 in Dutch history. In that year,the Republic of the Seven United Provinces was after the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War and the Third Anglo-Dutch War attacked by England, France, and the prince-electors Bernhard von Galen, bishop of Münster and Maximilian Henry of...
' for the Dutch Republic. The most important parts of Groenlo's fortifications were demolished by the Bishop of Münster and his occupying troops only left the town in 1674.