In the 14th century, Brussels had a second set of defensive walls built to accommodate the expanding city. There were eight gates built along its length, many of which give their names to squares and intersections along the course of the road. The walls proved fairly useless in combat, not able to prevent either the French bombardment of Brussels in 1695, or French troops from seizing the city in 1746 as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. After the latter, the defensive works were in ruins. By that time, siege was no longer as important a part of warfare. Due to the growth of commerce and roads, it was found that the fortifications did little more than frustrate transit into and out of the city.