Siege of Coevorden (1672)

Siege of Coevorden
Part of the Franco-Dutch War and the Second Münster War
The storming of Coevorden, by Pieter Wouweman
Date First siege: 1–11 July 1672 Second siege: 29–30 December 1672 Location Coevorden, the Netherlands Result First siege: Münster victory Second siege: Dutch victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	Münster
Commanders and leaders
Carl von Rabenhaupt	Bernhard von Galen

The sieges of Coevorden were two separate sieges of the city of Coevorden located in Drenthe in the Netherlands. The first siege was launched for Bernhard von Galen to make further progress in his conquests in the Eastern and Northern Netherlands, and the second on with the intention to recapture the city as an aftermath of the siege of Groningen.

First siege

After conquering most of the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland, Bernhard von Galen had to make a choice between attacking the city of Coevorden or to invade Friesland. But his decision was quicly made and decided to attack and try to capture Coevorden instead.

He arrived before Coevorden on 1 July, and started investing in its defences and digging their trenches around the fortress on 4 July. And on 6 July, the Münsterite troops started bombarding the city, in which the first sign of surrender had been shown. A day later the Münster forces started to bombard the city again with artillery and grenades, that caused a massive amounts of fire in the city. The Münsterite troops started to assault the city, but without much success. However, the city city would surrender 2 days later.

Second siege

After the city was captured, the inhabitants of Coevorden would flee their homes and Bernhard von Galen would plunder the city with his troops. One of these refugees was a teacher who went by the name of Mijndert van der Thijnen, who fled with his family to Groningen. Who helped initiate a plan with Carl von Rabenhaupt to recapture Coevorden, playing a crucial role in the process.

The storming of Coevorden

The Dutch forces marched towards Coevorden on 27 December, with 1000 men, just a few months after Carl von Rabenhaupt successfully defended Groningen. The city was not well defended by the troops of von Galen, because a garrison was considered too costly. Almost none of the cities that von Galen captured had been properly defended after its capture. The city of Coevorden only had a garrison of 600 men, and that garrison being poorly equipped.

On 29 December, the Dutch army under Carl von Rabenhaupt would set up camps near the city. The next morning, with dense fog, the Dutch would attack on 3 sides. One on the side of the castle, the second on the side of the Bastion, and the third on the side of the gate. Short bu fierce fighting took place near the Ramparts, which resulted in the Münsterite troops fleeing afterwards. All attacks on each side succeeded. And the city was recaptured in just 1 hour.

Aftermath

The first siege would shatter the reputation of Coevorden as being regarded to be 'invincible to capture'. The siege would also be the height of Bernhard von Galen's campaign. And the capture of Coevorden allowed him to launch an invasion of Friesland and Groningen.

After the second siege, Carl von Rabenhaupt would be given the title of Drost of Drenthe. Commander van Eybergen would become the commander of the city, and van Thijnen would be given gold as reward. But Bernhard von Galen would return to the city just one year later and try to recapture it, but without success.

Sources

• Fruin, Robert (1972). De oorlog van 1672 (E-book ed.). Wolters-Noordhof. ISBN 9789001324155.
• Elberts, W.A (1870). Beknopt overzigt van de geschiedenis des vaderlands, Volume 1 (E-book ed.). KB, Nationale Bibliotheek van Nederland.
• Handley, Christine (2014). War & Peat (E-book ed.). Wildtrack Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781904098553.
• Panhuysen, Luc (2009). Rampjaar 1672: Hoe de Republiek aan de ondergang ontsnapte. Uitgeverij Atlas. ISBN 9789045013282.