Upper Rhine France Southern Italy North Germany and Scandinavia Pyrenees Americas Naval battles The siege of Grave took place from 25 July to 27 October in 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War of 1672 to 1678, when a Dutch army captured the Dutch fortress town of Grave (De Graaf) in what is now North Brabant.

Grave, a strong fortress town, strategically placed along the Meuse river was captured by the French on 5 July 1672 without much difficulty.

[citation needed] After the Treaty of the Hague in 1673, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and the Lorraine joined the war in support of the Dutch.

[3] Cut off from other French possessions, the defenders of Grave under the command of Noël Bouton de Chamilly transformed the town into a hedgehog fortress.

Effective French artillery fire made it difficult for the Dutch to dig trenches close to the walls and the Meuse river formed an extra obstacle.

After more slow progress, Menno van Coehoorn, the renowned fortress construction expert, came to advise Rabenhaupt, but the old general (71 years old) ignored that advice.

William, assisted by his cousin Henry Casimir II, brought with him all his cavalry and a quantity of foot soldiers, bringing the amount of reinforcements to about 10,000.

Maintaining an isolated position like Grave therefore hardly made sense, and it was therefore not surprising that the French king himself advised his, still far from exhausted, commander to abandon the siege.

After a brief truce, during which negotiations were conducted, de Chamilly capitulated on 27 October on very favourable terms and in all-round honourable manner.

William of Orange had learned to appreciate his adversary, who had proven to be an excellent match for the besiegers, and his respect and sympathy made him decide to allow the defenders to leave the fortress with the honours of war.