Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch

Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch
Part of the Eighty Years' War
The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch by Pauwels van Hillegaert 1635. Oil on Canvas.
Date 30 April 1629 – 14 September 1629 Location 's-Hertogenbosch Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
Spain	United Provinces
Commanders and leaders
Anthonie Schetz	Frederick Henry Horace Vere
Strength
3000 infantry 4000 armed civilians	24000 infantry 4000 cavalry 116 cannons
Casualties and losses
1200 killed 1200 diseased and injured	unknown

3000 infantry

24000 infantry 4000 cavalry

1200 killed

The Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch was an action in 1629, during the Eighty Years' War in which a Dutch Republican army captured the city of 's-Hertogenbosch. The city had been loyal to the King of Spain since 1579 and was part of the Spanish Netherlands.

The Twelve Years' Truce 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.

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 Dommel 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.

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Wikipedia