Siege of Leuven

in 1645 by Joan Blaeu In 1635 the Dutch Republic concluded an alliance with France with the objective of taking on the Army of Flanders from two sides, in the hope of breaking the strategic stalemate in the Eighty Years' War and dividing up the Spanish Netherlands between the two partners in the alliance. The French invaded from the south and defeated the Spanish army at Les Avins on 20 May, eventually joining forces in Maastricht with Frederick Henry of Orange, who had departed the Dutch Republic in command of 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry soldiers,. Meanwhile, the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, who was in Leuven, ordered the Spanish Tercios to move to Tienen and sent the Count of Fuenclara to Germany with instructions to call the Imperial army for help. The joint army of France and the United Provinces, then numbering 50,000 men, composed by French, Dutch, German and English soldiers, marched to Tienen, defended by a small garrison under Captain Martín de los Alarcos. The town was taken by assault, looted for three days, and finally razed. The Spanish garrison and most of its inhabitants were massacred. This event gave Ferdinand time to improve the fortifications of Leuven and to camp his army in a fortified position next to the city. The Franco-Dutch army made its appearance soon after and camped two leagues from Ferdinand's headquarters. Nevertheless, they remained inactive for eight days, which allowed the populace of all the country, but specially of Brussels, where the news of the sack of Tienen had caused great fear, to escape to safer places. == Siege ==

First operations , Baron of Grobbendonck. On 20 June the Franco-Dutch army raised camp and advanced its lines to the eastern bank of the Dijle river. Francisco de Moncada, 3rd Marquis of Aitona, commanding the Spanish Tercio of Marquis of Celada, several other tercios, and the cavalry under John VIII of Nassau-Siegen, proceeded to reinforce the German garrison of a fortified bridge over the Dijle fearing that the invading army would use it to cross the river. The Spanish troops spent two hours observing the Franco-Dutch forces moving over the hills of the opposite riverside, when they discovered that they were crossing the Dijle using an undefended footbridge located a league from the first one. leaving the defense of Leuven in charge of the veteran Anthonie Schetz, baron of Grobbendonck. He was in command of the Tercio of his son, Baron of Wezemaal, the Walloon Tercio of Ribacourt, and the Irish Tercio of Thomas Preston, besides five militia companies of citizens of Leuven and students of the University of Leuven, and some cavalry units. Walloon troops and students of the university also made many sorties, and the sap works were destroyed regularly every night. This tower, besides as artillery position, served as look-out to Baron of Grobbendonck. When the Franco-Dutch realized this, the Verlooren-Kost was put under heavy artillery fire, but the 9-meter-thick walls of the tower could not be overthrown. Relief On 29 June, Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, while the Franco-Dutch remained inactive, Grobbendonck ordered 250 selected defenders to make a sortie. They went out from three different gates and met in front of the Verlooren-Kost tower. Then they stormed the besieging entrenchments by surprise, taking the troops occupying them completely unprepared. About 400 men, including a large number of officers, were killed. Despite the setback he suffered, Frederick Henry urged Grobbendonck that same day to surrender, threatening to massacre the inhabitants of the town. Five days later a relief army under Ottavio Piccolomini of 8,000 cavalry troops and the tercios of Alonso Ladrón and Sigismondo Sfondrati, which had been garrisoned at Namur to recover the defeat of Les Avins, and a rearguard of 3,000 infantry and cavalry troops arrived in the outskirts of Leuven. Their presence forced the Franco-Dutch army, which was then suffering food shortages, to lift the siege and retreat north towards the United Provinces. A large number of soldiers deserted and were killed or captured by the Spanish cavalry and the Flemish peasants. Shortly afterwards the Cardinal-Infante also made his appearance in command of 22,000 infantry and 14,000 cavalry men. == Aftermath ==

The Franco-Dutch failure in front of Leuven's walls allowed the Spanish to take the initiative. with the aim of linking the fort of Shenck with the main body of the Spanish Netherlands. ==Notes==