page_title: Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77)
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77) / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: The citadel of Valenciennes (Nord, France). Français&#160;: La citadelle de Valenciennes (Nord, France). This building is inscrit au titre des Monuments Historiques. It is indexed in the Base Mérimée, a database of architectural heritage maintained by the French Ministry of Culture,&#160;under the reference PA00107847 . беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎&#160;| বাংলা&#160;| brezhoneg&#160;| català&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| Ελληνικά&#160;| English&#160;| Esperanto&#160;| español&#160;| euskara&#160;| suomi&#160;| français&#160;| magyar&#160;| italiano&#160;| 日本語&#160;| македонски&#160;| Nederlands&#160;| português&#160;| português do Brasil&#160;| română&#160;| русский&#160;| sicilianu&#160;| svenska&#160;| українська&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: The Siege of Valenciennes took place from 28 February to 17 March 1677, during the Franco-Dutch War, when Valenciennes, then in the Spanish Netherlands, was attacked by a French army under the duc de Luxembourg.
  Over the winter of 1676 to 1677, Valenciennes and Cambrai were subjected to a tight blockade, which prevented reinforcements or supplies reaching them from the outside. French armies also benefitted from superior logistics, which allowed them to begin campaigns far earlier than their opponents.
  Siege operations began on 28 February, supervised by French military engineer Vauban, and the town surrendered on 17 March; Spain formally ceded it to France under the August 1678 Treaty of Nijmegen.
context_section_description: Valenciennes was positioned on the Rhonelle, a tributary of the Scheldt (French; French: l'Escaut), a major trade route giving access to the sea at Antwerp. Until the advent of railways in the 19th century, goods and supplies were largely transported by water and campaigns often focused on gaining access to these.
  The Spanish Governor was Henri de Melun, Marquis de Richebourg (1623–1690), an experienced soldier and brother of the Prince d'Epinoy, senior members of the French-speaking nobility in the Spanish Netherlands. He had around 1,150 regular troops, plus two to three thousand civilian auxiliaries and adequate supplies of food and arms. 
  His position was hopeless without relief, while the early start provided the French by Louvois meant the Dutch were still assembling troops and supplies. Since it was accepted the best defended town could not be held indefinitely, Richebourg's objective was to occupy the attacking force as long as possible.
  The French military engineer, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban directed operations, using the siege parallel for the first time since it was pioneered at Maastricht in 1673; the bombardment began on 1 March, but siege works were delayed by heavy rain. For propaganda purposes, Louis often appeared at major sieges and joined Luxembourg at Valenciennes, along with other subordinate commanders including his brother, Philippe of Orléans, d'Humières and La Feuillade. 
  Work on the trenches finally began on 8 March, preparing for an assault on the Porte d'Anzin, the strongest part of the defences but where the ground was driest. By 16 March, Vauban felt they were close enough to launch an attack, and proposed they do so by day. Normal practice was to do so at night, but he argued it would also surprise the defenders, while allowing better co-ordination among the attacking force. 
  His plan was approved, and the French artillery kept up a continuous bombardment during the night of 16th/17th, while an assault force of 4,000 moved into the trenches, including the elite Musketeers of the Guard. At 9:00 a.m. on 17 March, the attackers formed two columns and stormed the walls; they achieved complete surprise and quickly over-ran the defenders, capturing a bridge over the Rhonelle that controlled access to the main city. Both sides wanted to minimise the damage that would follow an assault, since Louis intended to annex it to France, while the conventions of siege warfare shielded a town from being sacked if the defenders yielded once 'a practicable breach' had been made. Richebourg promptly surrendered, and Luxembourg withdrew the attacking troops after the city council agreed to pay a ransom.
caption: Valenciennes; the remains of the Citadel
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