The siege of Bredevoort was a short siege by Münster troops, led by Bernhard von Galen to further initiate his invasion of the Dutch Republic. The siege itself lasted six days until the small garrison, led by Adriaen van Keppel was forced to surrender.[1]
And after capturing the Dutch-held fortresses among the Rhine, the French forces under Louis, Grand Condé would defeat a small Dutch force at Tolhuis in order to cross the Rhine. The battle resulted in a French victory and allowed the French army to invade the Dutch Republic through Gelderland. However, Condé was wounded in action and subsequently had to give up his title as supreme commander to Turenne, who would split the army in order to besiege and capture Doesburg and Nijmegen.
Bernhard von Galen arrived before the city with a force of 2,000 men. The fortress was surrounded by swamps, which made it difficult to invest in the forticifactions. The fortress had a garrison of 500 men led by Adriaen van Keppel. Just like in Groenlo, Bernhard von Galen would use grenades and artillery for his sieges, though these bombardments caused confusion and panic among the population. The women surrendered and fled the city, even though Bernhard von Galen didn't even begin to surround the city and no one had been wounded. The confusion and panic would spread throughout the city, who would step away from their weapons. This ultimately led to the defeat of the Dutch forces because the city would surrender on 18 June, leaving the city in the hands of Bernhard von Galen.[1]
The siege would be regarded as a 'weird' or 'odd' siege, because it did not entirely follow the rules of war.[4]
