Upper Rhine France Southern Italy North Germany and Scandinavia Pyrenees Americas Naval battles The 1676 siege of Maastricht was a failed attempt by William III of Orange to take the city, which had been occupied by the French since 1673.

In the 1667-1668 War of Devolution, France captured most of the Spanish Netherlands but the Triple Alliance of the Dutch Republic, England and Sweden forced them to relinquish most of these gains in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

[4] Louis XIV now moved to break up the Alliance; Sweden remained neutral in return for the payment of large subsidies, while England agreed to join the French against the Dutch in the 1670 Treaty of Dover.

[6] By late July, the Dutch position had stabilised, while concern at French gains brought them support from Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold and Charles II of Spain.

[9] Until the advent of railways in the 19th century, goods and supplies were largely transported by water, making rivers like the Lys, Sambre and Meuse vital for trade and military operations.

[10] In June 1673, the French took Maastricht, which controlled a key access point on the Meuse but the Dutch recaptured Naarden in September 1673, while Münster and Cologne left the war in November.

During one of the attacks in early August, Charles Florentine of Salm, the lieutenant general of the infantry, and right hand of William III, suffered fatal injuries.