Siege of Groningen (1672)

For other uses, see Siege of Groningen (disambiguation).

The Siege of Groningen was a battle that took place in 1672 during the Franco-Dutch war. It was a Dutch victory that ended all hope of the Bishop of Münster to push deeper into the Netherlands. The Münster army was so weakened by the defeat that the Dutch army successfully reconquered much of the land that Münster had conquered just weeks earlier. Every year, the city of Groningen celebrates its victory as a local holiday on 28 August.

Siege of Groningen
Part of Franco-Dutch War
The siege of Groningen in 1672, by Dirk Maas.
Date 9 July 1672 – 17 August 1672 Location Groningen Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
Bishopric of Münster	Dutch Republic
Commanders and leaders
Bernhard von Galen	Carl von Rabenhaupt
Strength
24,000 soldiers	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

On August 28 of that year, after a siege of only a month, the Bishop of Münster ordered the withdrawal of his troops. He was popularly called “Berend Bombs” due to the frequent use of bombs fired from cannons, the most modern weaponry of the time, which caused considerable damage within the city walls.

Image of the Cologne and Munster army in front of Groningen.

Further reading

• Israel, Jonathan (1995), The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 0-19-873072-1

External links

• Media related to Siege of Groningen (1672) at Wikimedia Commons