page_title: Siege of Maastricht (1673)
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Maastricht (1673) / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Relief Positionskarte von Belgien English: Physical location map of Belgium, for geo-location purposes. Français&#160;: Carte physique vierge de la Belgique, destinée à la géolocalisation. Scales: Topography: 1:1,180,000 (precision: 295 m) Bathymetry: 1:3,716,000 (precision: 929 m) Equirectangular projection, WGS84 datum Standard meridian: 004° 33' E Central parallel: 50° 30' N Geographic limits of the map: Top: 51° 48' N Bottom: 49° 12' N Left: 002° 12' E Right: 006° 54' E
context_page_description: The Siege of Maastricht on 15 - 30 June 1673 took place during the Franco-Dutch War of 1672–1678, when the Dutch garrison of Maastricht, a fortress city, surrendered to a French army nominally commanded by Louis XIV. The siege is now chiefly remembered for the introduction of the 'siege parallel' by French military engineer Vauban, a concept that remained in use until the middle of the twentieth century, the death of Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan, the hero of The Three Musketeers, and the English contingent including its commander the Duke of Monmouth and John Churchill.
context_section_description: In the 1667-1668 War of Devolution, France captured parts of the Spanish Netherlands and the entire Franche-Comté but was forced to relinquish the bulk of these gains in the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle with the Triple Alliance of the Dutch Republic, England and Sweden. Before making another attempt to gain territory in the north, Louis XIV strengthened his diplomatic position by paying Sweden to remain neutral, while England agreed an alliance against the Dutch in the 1670 Treaty of Dover.
  When the French invaded the Dutch Republic in May 1672, they initially seemed to have achieved an overwhelming victory, following a fast advance to the Rhine quickly capturing the major Dutch fortresses of Nijmegen and Fort Crèvecœur near 's-Hertogenbosch after having occupied Utrecht without a fight. However, by late July, the Dutch position stabilised behind the Holland Water Line and concern at French gains brought them support from Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold and Charles II of Spain. This forced Louis to divide his forces; in August 1672, he sent his best general Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne with 50,000 troops to the Rhineland.
  Maastricht is located on the extreme eastern edge of what contemporaries loosely referred to as Flanders, a compact area 160 kilometres wide, the highest point only 100 metres above sea level, and dominated by canals and rivers, most of which run east to west. Until the advent of railways in the 19th century, goods and supplies were primarily transported by water and campaigns fought over the control of rivers such as the Lys, Sambre and Meuse. Maastricht more precisely, is situated on high bedrock where the Maas has started running south to north. Historically, it is one of a series of strategic fortress cities, controlling the Meuse valley and the east to west roads crossing this river, such as Sedan, Namur and Liège. It was captured in 1632 from the Habsburgs by the Dutch stadtholder Frederick Henry of Orange, its fortifications afterwards being considerably expanded until 1645. The town was especially important due to its location on both banks of the Meuse and one of the few garrisoned in peacetime. Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn began his career there in 1657, as a young Lieutenant in his father's company. 
  In 1672, Maastricht was a key position in the Dutch defensive strategy. They had already noticed that the French were preparing forward supply bases in the Bishopric of Liège for a swift advance to the north. The Dutch concentrated a large part of the mercenary troops available to them in Maastricht, some eleven thousand men, hoping that a prolonged siege would gain them sufficient time to prepare the six Rhine fortresses defending the eastern border of the Republic. The French reached Maastricht on 17 May 1672 but, on advice of Turenne, avoided a direct assault, instead occupying the satellite forts of Tongeren, Maaseik and Valkenburg. They thus basically by-passed Maastricht to quickly overrun the Rhine fortresses, leading to a collapse of the Dutch defences. They maintained only a small observation force, a few thousand men, near the fortress. Not capturing Maastricht had its draw-backs because the fortress threatened the extended French supply lines. In November 1672, stadtholder William III of Orange advanced from Holland to Maastricht, taking part of its garrison with him, and he continued through the Spanish Netherlands to attack Charleroi, the French city at the start of the supply route.
  The capture of Maastricht was made the primary objective for the French 1673 campaign. Apart from logistical considerations, Louis XIV desired a conspicuous military victory to enhance his personal glory, in person accompanying the army. He also deeply enjoyed sieges. On the campaign, he took his wife with him, Maria Theresa of Spain, and two of his mistresses: Louise de La Vallière and Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan, although they were housed at Tournai, distanced from the actual fighting. 
  While Louis assembled his forces around Kortrijk, another French army w
caption: The campaign in Flanders 1672-1678; key locations in the Spanish Netherlands and Dutch Republic
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