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Second Münster War
Part of the Franco-Dutch War
The Siege of Groningen was the most important conflict and the turning point of the war
Date 1672-1674 Location The Eastern and the Northern Netherlands Result Dutch victory Bernhard von Galen renounces all claims in the Dutch Republic Treaty of Cologne
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	Bishopric of Münster Kingdom of France Electorate of Cologne
Commanders and leaders
Carl von Rabenhaupt Hans Willem van Aylva Nassau-Siegen Henry Casimir II	Bernhard von Galen Maximilian Henry
Strength
Unknown	30.000

The Second Münster War was a 2 year long conflict between the Dutch Republic and the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, which was backed by the Electorate of Cologne and France.

The war is mostly known for the failed attempt by Bernhard von Galen to capture Groningen, this event was a turning point of the war which eventually lead to a Dutch victory due to the troops lead by Bernhard von Galen being expulsed from the Dutch Republic. The siege of Groningen earned Bernhard the nickname 'Bommen Berend' and is still celebrated as a holiday in the Netherlands.

Background

Bernhard von Galen led a invasion of the Dutch Republic 7 years prior to this war, although it was not as major as the second war. But after the Battle of Jipsinghuizen, Bernhard von Galen lost 300 of his men, he eventually was forced to accept the humiliating Peace of Kleve, in which he had to reduce his army to 3.000 men, and promised 'eternal' peace between him and the Dutch Republic. Although the war was considered as a 'minor incident', it did show that the Dutch States Army had a lack of power and needed to be improved.

But the eternal peace promised in 1666 would not last as Bernhard von Galen would become allied with Louis XIV to invade the Dutch Republic in 1672. Because on the 26th of may, 2 days after Louis XIV attacked Maastricht in 1672, Louis was able to bribe Bernhard von Galen to become allies with him, even though Bernhard was officially neutral during the war of Devolution.

The French began their offensives in early May 1672 by attacking Dutch outposts in the Rhine to bypass Dutch defenses in the south and the Spanish Netherlands, and under the command of François-Henri de Montmorency or simply 'Luxembourg', took the cities of Rheinberg and Wesel by 5 June, And Rees on 9 June due to the garrisons being undermanned and barely equipped, these cities which were occupied by Dutch forces after the Thirty Years' War were ceded back to Brandenburg-Prussia after the war.

Before the siege of Groningen

With Bernhard von Galen joining the Franco-Dutch War on the side of Louis XIV, he immediately took action and invaded the Eastern Provinces of the Dutch Republic, and with the support of France and Cologne, he was able to capture a lot of cities in the Eastern provinces and was able to quickly advance into the North.

The first skirmishes began on 1 June, in which Bernhard von Galen, with the help of Maximilian Henry, invaded and took Lingen with an army of 30,000 men. Bernhard von Galen would then capture Overdinkel which allowed him to invade Twente, afterwards, Bernhard von Galen would capture Enschede.

After capturing Enschede, Bernhard von Galen would move towards Groenlo, in which he was able to capture the city with 100,000 soldiers against a garrison defended by 600 men. The siege began on 3 June and ended on 9 June. The cities of Doesburg and Nijmegen would then also be captured by the French forces, led by Turenne and Louis XIV, Bernhard von Galen would then take action himself and besiege and capture Bredevoort with an army of 2000 men against a garrison of 500 men, which surrendered after 6 days of fighting.

These two sieges allowed Bernhard von Galen to further invade Overijssel, and as a consequence captured many cities, including Deventer which fell on 21 June, and Zwolle which fell one day later. The capture and subsequent looting and sacking of the cities that were captured by invading forces caused a lot of civilians to flee their homes to parts of the country that had not yet been occupied. And the cities of Steenwijk and Kuinre were captured on 26 June.

Even though Bernhard von Galen's forces saw huge success in the east, he was not allowed to make further advances westward because this would offend his French allies. Maximilian Henry gained rights to the city of Deventer, but Bernhard and Maximilian's forces had to retreat to the rear of the Ijssel and had to lay their focus on the Northern provinces.

After plundering Rijssen for the second time, Bernhard von Galen would move towards the Ommerschans in order to capture it, the Ommerschans was defended by a garrison that consisted of 150 musketeers and 55 pikemen. But after spotting Bernhard von Galen's march towards the Ommerschans, they subsequently fled towards Groningen, and the Ommerschans would be captured without a fight. Shortly after, the states of Holland proclaimed William III of Orange as Stadtholder on 4 July.

Quickly after capturing the Ommerschans, Bernhard von Galen would start the siege of Coevorden, the siege began on 1 July, and after 11 days of fighting, the city surrendered. Due to its strategic position, this opened up the provinces of Friesland and Groningen for an invasion.

To make further conquests, Bernhard von Galen would have to capture the strategic Fort Bourtange, but that failed after a unsuccessful siege which had started on 11 July. Afterwards, Bernhard von Galen would move towards Groningen to start a siege, the city was well prepared in comparison to the other cities that he had besieged or captured, and was defended by Carl von Rabenhaupt.

The siege of Groningen

On 21 July, Bernhard von Galen arrived before the city of Groningen. The soldiers who defended the city, led by Carl von Rabenhaupt and Hans Willem van Aylva were also backed by refugees who fled from Drenthe after it was conquered by Münster.

The siege itself lasted for 4 weeks, which saw Bernhard von Galen giving up the siege, which meant that Groningen was successfully defended. The siege of Groningen is considered as the most important conflict of the war and the turning point. Since the siege meant that Bernhard von Galen could not advance further North into the Dutch Republic, which saved Friesland and the rest of Groningen of an invasion by Bernhard von Galen.

And because Friesland was saved after the siege, this would also mean that that the trade route of Amsterdam would also be saved. Because if Friesland were to fall into the hands of Bernhard von Galen, that would mean that the trade route would be endangered. Because it revolved around the Zuiderzee.

After the siege of Groningen

Shortly after the siege of Groningen, Hans Willem van Aylva would try attack and capture the occupied fort of Kuinre with 1200 soldiers and armed civilians, but that failed. Bernhard von Galen would later launch an attack on Heerenveen in Friesland, which was defended by the now elderly John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, Hans Willem van Aylva, Carl von Rabenhaupt and Henry Casimir II. Between 8 to 9 September he would launch 3 offensives towards Heerenveen. All of them resulted in a failure for the Bishop's troops.

Around the same time, Wedde would be recaptured by 8 September, and Oudeschans by 27 October by Carl von Rabenhaupt. And would recapture Coevorden shortly after with the help of Mijndert van der Thijnen.

In January 1673, Bernhard von Galen sacked and plundered Cleves and Mark and met with Turenne near Wesel. Shortly after Raimondo Montecuccoli would start the negotiations with the Bishop in order to start their own conflict against France and her allies. Meanwhile John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen and Hans Willem van Aylva would defeat the Münsterite forces after an engagement near Staphorst, and would attack Zwartsluis shortly after, but that resulted in a failure.

On 22 July 1673, Nieuweschans would be reconquered by Carl von Rabenhaupt after a lenghty blockade, and would try to reconquer Steenwijk afterwards, though that ended in a failure. A few months later in October, Bernhard von Galen would appear before Coevorden again to try to recapture it, this attack ended in a failure along with him losing 1400 men.

In march 1674, Bernhard von Galen would plunder Windschoten and the surrounding areas again, and would launch a final attack on Groningen on 22 March. Shortly before the peace was finalized, Carl von Rabenhaupt invaded the territories of the Bishopric of Münster and captured Nordhorn with 3000 men on 1 April and Neuenhaus on 7 April. But had to retreat due to the peace treaty being signed between both parties.

Aftermath

The second Münster War would be the last of Münsterite attempts of invading the Dutch Republic, along with Bernhard von Galen renouncing all claims in the Dutch Republic along with the Electorate of Cologne, who also left the war. This also meant that France lost two important allies that had helped them bypass the Spanish Netherlands and Dutch outposts in the south. This, along with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire joining the war against France, meant that the French army had to retreat out of the Dutch Republic, leaving only Maastricht under French occupation.

Bernhard von Galen would also betray his former French ally after leaving the war due to him fighting for coalition forces against Sweden during the Scanian War. The second Münster war also lead to the first international agreement regarding Chemical weapons, since Bernhard von Galen used many chemical weapons during the siege of Groningen, a few examples being Stink bombs and Grenades and poisoned bullets.

Gallery

• Portrait of Bernhard von Galen
• Fort Bourtange
• The siege of Coevorden
• The siege of Groningen
• Carl von Rabenhaupt

Notes

1. Bernhard von Galen claimed the Dutch held cities of Lingen, Bredevoort and Groenlo.
2. See Bremen-Verden campaign.

References

1. ^ Israel 1995, p. 813.
2. Panhuysen 2009, p. 84.
3. Roorda 1971, p. 76.
4. Panhuysen 2009, p. 134.
5. van Weduwen 2024, p. 282.
6. Fruin 1972, p. 154.
7. Panhuysen 2009, p. 145-146.
8. Panhuysen 2009, p. 201-202.
9. Fruin 1972, p. 167.
10. Seward 2006, p. 23.
11. "Groningens Ontzet en Bommen Berend (1672)". Historiek.net.
12. Fruin 1972, p. 326-327.
13. Potgieter 1851, p. 445.
14. Knoop 1862, p. 104.
15. van der Aa 1874, p. 22.
16. "Dutch War, 1672–1678". Encyclopaedia Britannica.
17. Rottman, Gordon L. (2013-10-20). The Book of Gun Trivia: Essential Firepower Facts. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781782006206.

Sources

• Panhuysen, Luc (2009). Rampjaar 1672: Hoe de Republiek aan de ondergang ontsnapte. Uitgeverij Atlas. ISBN 9789045013282.
• Roorda, D.J (1971). Het rampjaar 1672. Fibula-Van Dishoeck, Bussum. ISBN 9022830640.
• van Weduwen, Arthur (2024). State Communication and Public Politics in the Dutch Golden Age (E-book ed.). OUP/British Academy. ISBN 9780198926627.
• Fruin, Robert (1972). De oorlog van 1672 (E-book ed.). Wolters-Noordhof. ISBN 9789001324155.
• Israel, Jonathan (1995). The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198207344.
• Seward, Pat (2006). Netherlands (E-book ed.). Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 9780761420521.
• Potgieter, Everhardus Johannes (1851). De gids: nieuwe vaderlandsche letteroefeningen, Volume 15,Deel 2;Volume 30 (E-book ed.). G.J.A. Beijerinck.
• Knoop, Willem Jan (1862). Krijgs- en geschiedkundige geschriften, Volume 3 (E-book ed.). H. A. M. Roelants.
• van der Aa, A.J (1874). Rabenhaupt (Karel), Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden, Vol. 16 (E-book ed.). Brederode.

• Franco-Dutch War
• 1670s in the Dutch Republic
• 1670s in France
• 1670s conflicts
• Wars involving the states and peoples of Europe
• Wars involving the Dutch Republic
• Wars involving Cologne