Siege of Cambrai ( 1677 ) The Siege of Cambrai took place from March 20 to April 19 , 1677 during the Franco - Dutch War . Background . As a Principality dependent on the Holy Roman Empire and close to the border of the Kingdom of France , submitted to Spain since 1543 , Cambrai was besieged several times by the kings of France ( in 1477 by Louis XI of France and , between 1581 and 1595 , by Henry III of France and Henry IV of France ) . Sully and Richelieu had established a national policy of " putting [ France ] in its first strength and its former splendor " , and " put France in all places where was ancient Gaul " , which included Artois , Hainaut and the provinces of the Netherlands . During the reign of Louis XIV , Cambrai was besieged unsuccessfully by the French in 1649 and again in 1657 . In 1667 , Louis XIV , invoking the right of devolution to justify the claims of his wife Maria Theresa of Spain on several Spanish provinces , address to the Regent of Spain , Marie - Anne of Austria , a " Treaty on the rights of the most Christian Queen on various states of the monarchy of Spain " and then without waiting for an answer commenced hostilities in May . During the summer of 1667 the French took Charleroi , Tournai , Douai and Lille and in February 1668 the Franche - Comté . By the Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle ( 1668 ) Spain abandoned the cities of Charleroi , Binche , Ath , Douai , Tournai , Oudenarde , Lille , Armentieres , Courtrai , Bergues and Furnes . These achievements marked a significant advance but did not establish a defensible border : two prominent areas remained Spanish , between St . Omer and Ypres on the one hand and between Cambrai and Valenciennes on the other . Cambrai was in effect a peninsula tied to the Spanish Netherlands by Bouchain and Valenciennes sandwiched between Arras to the west and Le Quesnoy and Landrecies to the east ( French since the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 ) . In 1673 Vauban advocated in a letter to Louvois a defensive military doctrine known as the " backyard of the King " which called for a straighter border : " Therefore , whether by treaty or by a good war , Monsignor , always preach the quadrature , not of the circle , but of the backyard . It is a beautiful and good thing to be able to hold owns ground with two hands . " In 1672 , hostilities resumed against the Republic of the Protestant Netherlands . With a professional army well paid and well organized which includes more than 279 , 000 men , boasting a powerful artillery , the French monarchy was then the best army in Europe . Facing it , the strongholds of the Spanish Netherlands were defended by a few thousand men , often poorly paid mercenaries , and bourgeois companies offering little more than their courage . In spring 1676 Bouchain and Condé - sur - l ' Escaut were occupied by the French and Valenciennes was stormed March 17 , 1677 . Louis XIV , " ensuring forever the rest of his borders " , decided to take Cambrai and attended in person the siege of the city , while his brother Philippe I , Duke of Orléans besieged Saint - Omer . Conditions of the siege . The reputation of the place of Cambrai was great . Boileau wrote in its praise : " Cambray and St . Omer were the two strongest strongholds which the Spaniards had to defend . These cities , both situated on the borders of France , served as advanced positions and enabled them to make the law in the midst of their triumphs : Cambray was especially formidable . The Kings of Spain considered this Place more important than all the rest of Flanders together . She was famous for the number of indignities she had inflicted upon the French . " Spain ' s King Charles II of Spain considered this place as a point of resistance to flank the French territories and , according to Boileau , France judged that the Spaniards would save no efforts to hold St . Omer and Cambrai , whose loss was likely to lead to the loss of the rest of the Netherlands . The defense of the city is supported by inundating the river Scheldt to the south and the west , and by the citadel , built in 1543 on the orders of Charles V , to the north - east . The cold weather , rain and snow , makes the conditions even more difficult for the besiegers . On the other hand , Cambrai is isolated and can not expect any help . The Governor Don Pedro de Zavala , according to Paul Pellisson , " is old and broken , and as they say , often dizzy " . The Garrison is " mainly Spanish , but believed to have forgotten the art of war " . The Citadel , " is small despite its reputation , and will be thunderstruck by lightening bombs and cannon fire as soon as it will have been approached . " The secret services of Louvois informed him of the feelings of the citizens of Cambrai : " they are not aggressive and have no particular ties with Spain . Furthermore , the rapid capture of Valenciennes does not encourage them to resist France " . The Siege . On March 22 , the King , with the Marshal de la Feuillade , moved to Awoingt from where he directs the siege of the city . Marshal Luxembourg takes up position at Marlière , Marshal the Lorges at Escaudœuvres , and Marshal Schomberg at Ramillies . In the company of the King are also ministers Louvois and Pomponne and Father de la Chaise , his confessor . The French army is composed of 38 infantry battalions and 48 cavalry squadrons , in total more than 40 , 000 men . The Spanish have only some 4 , 000 to defend Cambrai . Vauban , in control of the operations , began constructing lines of circumvallation and contravallation surrounding the city . The isolated town can not hope to be relieved . Its northern front remains vulnerable . Taking advantage of this weakness , the French opened a trench near the Notre Dame gate . With the help of 7 , 000 farmers from Picardy work progressed rapidly , despite the extreme cold and rainy weather . Mounds are built to place , for a better performance , the guns at the same level as the Counterscarp . On March 30 , the first batteries begin to pound the three ravelins and the body of the gate . On April 1 , French troops attacked the three ravelins . On April 2 French troops invest the ravelin between the Selles and Notre Dame gates . On April 5 , the Spanish abandoned the city , after that the French troops had undermined the fortifications , and the garrison took refuge in the citadel . The French then open a trench on the esplanade . In the night of April 11 to 12 , 150 French soldiers were killed . < br > In response , the King has the fortifications at the bastion of St . Charles undermined at three locations . The governor , however , refuses to surrender . On April 17 , after the French command threatened to explode two other mines that would make the fortifications collapse , the governor Dom Pedro de Zavala , injured on the leg during the fighting , surrendered . The king heard the news while attending mass with Father de la Chaise in Awoingt . On April 19 , 1677 , after the usual negotiations , the Spanish governor Dom Pedro de Zavala , on a stretcher because of his injury , hands over the keys of the citadel to the King . After a siege of 29 days , Vauban honoured his enemy for his gallant defense , and let the 2 , 000 still valid Spaniards leave the place " drums beating , matches lighted , with colors flying . " The French had lost more than 1 , 200 injured or killed . On April 20 , Louis XIV entered the city and had a Deum sung in the Old Cambrai Cathedral . He also visited the citadel , and found it not as strong as he had thought . On April 21 , the King of France named the Marquis de Cezen governor of the city . the Marquis appointed 14 new aldermen , but kept the previous provost . The following day the king left Cambrai for Douai . The conquest of Cambrai increased the King ' s glory , because of the antiquity of the city and the prestige of his archbishopric . It was illustrated by numerous sketches , etchings and drawings , by artists like Adam Frans van der Meulen and Nicolas Boileau , who wrote : " Cambrai , for the French a dreadful pitfall < br > finally saw falling her ruins and her pride . " By the Treaty of Nijmegen signed on August 10 , 1678 , Cambrai is definitely attached to the Kingdom of France .