FAMOUS BATTLE SECOND SIEGE OF NAMUR 1695

“LOUIS’S TALENTED ENGINEER SÉBASTIEN LE PRESTRE DE VAUBAN THEN IMPROVED NAMUR’S DEFENCES ONCE AGAIN, TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS CONSIDERED TO BE IMPREGNABLE”

Although William III was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, he had also been prince of Orange from birth and was the stadtholder (steward) of the majority of provinces within the Dutch Republic. His Dutch identity and territories were therefore at the heart of his fighting policies against Louis XIV, and Belgium (then known as the Spanish Netherlands) became a key buffer zone between the two kings’ forces.

The city of Namur lies on theLouis XIV knew its strategic importance. The Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn had considerably strengthened Namur’s fortifications, and it was known to be a very strong citadel. Nonetheless, the French (under the rare personal command of Louis XIV) had besieged and taken the city in only 27 days in 1692.