Siege of Maastricht

Louis XIV of France (on a white horse) in the camp in front of the besieged city of Maastricht.

Date	13–30 June 1673
Location	Maastricht, Netherlands
Result	French victory

Belligerents

France

Dutch Republic

Spain

Commanders and leaders

Louis XIV

Sebastien Vauban

Jacques de Fariaux

Strength

24,000 infantry
16,000 cavalry
58 guns

5,000 infantry
1,200 cavalry

Casualties and losses

Unknown

6,000 dead, wounded, or captured

The Siege of Maastricht (13–30 June 1673) ended when Jacques de Fariaux, the governor of the Dutch garrison, surrendered to an army under the command of Louis XIV during the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678).

The siege was one of the key elements in King Louis XIV's plans to attack the Netherlands, in order to revenge the humiliating conditions enforced on him by the Triple Alliance when he tried to fully conquer the Spanish Netherlands.

After making a feint for Ghent and Brussels, Louis marched his army past Maastricht, a condominium of the United Provinces and the Bishopric of Liège, in May 1672, not bothering to take the fortress. In 1673, when his supply lines became threatened he decided to capture Maastricht; the siege began on 11 June. The city would be the first major city to be attacked by Sebastien Vauban, the master of siegecraft in his time.

In addition to firing upon the city walls with cannon, Vauban ordered the building of trenches, in a zigzag pattern, parallel to the walls before the Tongre Gate on the night of 17-18 June 1673. These trenches made it more difficult for the defenders from having a clear shot at the attackers and, in addition, allowed for the protection of military miners to allow them to reach the base of the fortifications and plant mines to make a breach. By 25 June the allies were ready to assault a hornwork and ravelin in front of the gate.

24 June was the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, and so Louis attempted to finish conquering the city in time to celebrate Mass in Maastricht's cathedral. The trenches were completed, the King's Regiment, and the Company of the Grey Musketeers led the march into the city, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan, also known as le compte (count) d'Artagnan. The French, after some difficult fighting, crossed the moat and seized a crescent-shaped fortification which would become the scene of the toughest fighting of the siege.

...
Wikipedia