Siege of Venlo (1702)
Who Fought
* *: Besieging force; 25,000 men; Covering force; 45,000 men
Bourbon Spain: 2,500 men
History & Significance
The siege of Venlo was a 12-day siege of the city of Venlo commenced by the Grand Alliance which saw the city being taken after being occupied by French troops the year before. The siege of Venlo in 1702 was one of many sieges that Venlo had endured throughout its history.
The Spanish king, Charles II died in 1700 without an heir to his throne. Ever since Charles' death, there had been disputes about his succession. The two main claimants to his throne were Philip of Anjou. And Charles VI of the house of Habsburg. These tensions of who was to succeed Charles II escalated into a full-scale war between Spain loyal to Philip of Anjou backed by France and its allies. And Spain loyal to Charles VI backed by the Grand Alliance.
The War of the Spanish Succession had commenced in the Netherlands in 1702 with the Allied siege and capture of Kaiserswerth, and with the unsuccessful assault of the French army on Nijmegen. The French forces that invaded Zeeland were repelled when they tried to take Middelburg. Marlborough took command of the combined Anglo-Dutch army on 1 July and at the head of 60,000 men went on the offensive by moving into the Spanish Netherlands. Like Frederick Henry in 1632, the British commander followed the course of the river Meuse. The river was very important as a line of operation, because, due to the inadequacy of the land roads at that time, the possession of a river or a canal to transport an army's military necessities was not only advantageous, but almost necessary.
After outmaneuvering the French army of Boufflers, Marlborough proceeded with the allied army towards Venlo, where the Dutch Obdam and Prussian General Von Heiden had already invested the city. Venlo could not be considered a particularly strong fortress, neither due to its location nor its defensive works. Originally, like all strongholds in the Spanish Netherlands, it had been in a state of total neglect. In the past year, however, the French had significantly improved its condition. Venlo and the associated fort Sint-Michiel were occupied by 2,500 French troops under Brigadier de Labadie. The governor of the city was the Count of Varo.
Despite lasting only 12 days, the siege of Venlo proved bloody due to extensive artillery use. Famine and hot weather already plagued the city before the siege began.
The massive movement of soldiers spread disease, causing Venlo's population to decline by 10%. Christian Davies, a dragoon in the army, reported that Venlo's inhabitants fled the city during the siege, abandoning their possessions.
6 days after the initial siege started, Allied forces stormed and assaulted the Citadel, and on the 23rd of September, the garrison of Venlo was forced to surrender.
The ground they fought on
The site of Siege of Venlo (1702) lies on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.
- * *: 1,100
- Bourbon Spain: 839
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