Klöffler, Martin Lieber ins Meer versinken, als Holland verlieren

oder die Befreiung der Niederlande und die Belagerungen der Festungen 1813–14 in Holland, Belgien und Nordfrankreich

Prussian, Russian, Swedish and British sieges on the Lower Rhine, the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France from November 1813 to May 1814.

The book presented here is the first to deal with an almost forgotten aspect of the War of Liberation from 1813-1814 in a coherent form: the battle for the fortresses on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France, before the decision was made in Paris at the end of March 1814. Unlike the major land battles of the autumn campaign of 1813, the sieges decided the liberation of the Netherlands and Belgium. In a way, the campaign was the initial spark for the foundation of the modern Netherlands under the rule of the House of Orange.

This book is therefore the sequel to the book "The Forgotten War of Liberation - Besieged Fortresses between Memel and the Rhine in the Years 1813-1814" by the authors Hemmann and Klöffler.

The introduction begins by briefly outlining the basics of fortress warfare in the Napoleonic era and the situation at the end of 1813. The operations of the Allied armies against the French fortresses chronologically depict the campaign of the individual armies, making it easier to understand the context. Each army and its leaders are briefly described and evaluated. The campaign of Bülow and Wintzingerode also includes the sieges in northern France.

The fortresses and forts covered include: Antwerp, Arnhem, Bergen-op-Zoom, Bourtange, Breda, Breskens, Coevorden, Delfzijl, Deventer, Doesburg, Geertruidenberg, Gorinchem, Grave, Herzogenbosch, Jülich, La Fère, Loevestein, Maastricht, Maubeuge, Naarden, Sas van Gent, Venlo, Willemstad and several smaller fortifications. On the Allied side, the Bülow, Wintzigerode and Weimar corps, the Geismar, Benckendorf and Colomb patrol corps, the Swedish army and the British Expeditionary Corps took part, opposed on the French side by the Maison I Army Corps.

The concluding observations put some myths into perspective, such as the complete self-liberation from the French yoke and the role played by the Dutch "national character" in the campaign. Further considerations relate to the influence of the weather, the role of inundations, the character of the French fortress commanders and the role of Paris as a fortress, etc. The work concludes with the consequences of the campaign for the new Kingdom of the Netherlands and the fortification of the French northern border.

Many plans, maps, illustrations and extensive sources give a vivid picture of the siege war.

Table of contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction

Fortifications, siege and capitulation

Campaigns and sieges

Bülow's and Wintzingerode's campaigns in the Netherlands and northern France
The storming of Doesburg
The storming of Zutphen
The storming of Arnhem
The storming and defence of Fort St. André
The blockade of Deventer
The French attempt on Breda
The attempt on and storming of Herzogenbusch
The siege of Gorinchem
The three attacks on Soissons from February to March 1814
The formal attack on Soissons at the end of March 1814
The capture of La Fère
The two attempts on Compiègne

Prince William of Orange's sieges in the Netherlands
The blockade of Grave
The observation of Coevorden
The blockade of Delfzijl
The blockade of Den Helder
The capture of Fort Central on Texel
The blockade and bombardment of Naarden

Charles John's campaign on the middle Meuse and Rur
The blockade of Jülich
The blockade of Maastricht
The observation of Venlo

Graham's campaign on the Scheldt
The bombardment and observation of Antwerp
The defeated storming of Bergen-op-Zoom
The coastal defences on the Meuse and Lek estuaries
The coastal defences on the Westerschelde

Carl August's campaign in Flanders
The bombardment and blockade of Maubeuge
The attempt on Tournai

Geismar's foray into northern France

Observations
Appendices