Siege of Coevorden (1672)

After the city was captured, the inhabitants of Coevorden would flee their homes and Bernhard von Galen would plunder the city with his troops. Among these refugees was a teacher known as Mijndert van der Thijnen. After fleeing with his family to Groningen, he collaborated with Carl von Rabenhaupt to develop a plan for recapturing Coevorden, in which he played a crucial role.^[5][6]

The Dutch forces marched towards Coevorden on 27 December, with 1000 men, just a few months after Carl von Rabenhaupt successfully defended Groningen. The city was not well defended by the troops of von Galen, because a garrison was considered too costly. Almost none of the cities that von Galen captured had been properly defended after its capture. The city of Coevorden had only a poorly equipped garrison of 600 men.^[7]

On 29 December, the Dutch army under Carl von Rabenhaupt would set up camps near the city. The next morning, with dense fog, the Dutch would attack on 3 sides. One on the side of the castle, the second on the side of the Bastion, and the third on the side of the gate. Short but fierce fighting took place near the Ramparts, which resulted in the Münsterite troops fleeing afterwards. All attacks on each side succeeded. And the city was recaptured in just 1 hour.

The first siege would shatter Coevorden's reputation of being "invincible to capture". The siege would also be the height of Bernhard von Galen's campaign. And the capture of Coevorden allowed him to launch an invasion of Friesland and Groningen.^[3]

After the second siege, Carl von Rabenhaupt would be given the title of Drost of Drenthe. Commander van Eybergen would become the commander of the city, and van Thijnen would be given gold as reward.^[8] But Bernhard von Galen would return to the city just one year later and try to recapture it, but without success. The second siege marked a turning point when the war's momentum in the Northern and Eastern provinces shifted in favor of the Dutch Republic.^[9] The war between the Bishopric of Münster and the Dutch Republic ended in 1674 with the signing of the Treaty of Cologne.

• Fruin, Robert (1972). De oorlog van 1672 (E-book ed.). Wolters-Noordhof. ISBN 9789001324155.
• Elberts, W.A (1870). Beknopt overzigt van de geschiedenis des vaderlands, Volume 1 (E-book ed.). KB, Nationale Bibliotheek van Nederland.
• Handley, Christine (2014). War & Peat (E-book ed.). Wildtrack Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781904098553.
• Panhuysen, Luc (2009). Rampjaar 1672: Hoe de Republiek aan de ondergang ontsnapte. Uitgeverij Atlas. ISBN 9789045013282.
• Nimwegen, Olaf. van (2020). De veertigjarige Oorlog 1672-1712, de strijd van de Nederlanders tegen de Zonnekoning. Prometheus. ISBN 9044638718.