The plan shows the area of Berg-op-Zoom between the Bastions Pucelle and Coehoorn

1746

Plan du front d’attaque de Berg-op-Zoom avec ses contremines

Europe Low Countries

Publication date: c.1746
Physical description: Manuscript plan, black and red ink.
Dimensions: 460 by 600mm. (18 by 23.5 inches).
Inventory reference: 2993

Notes

The plan shows the area of Berg-op-Zoom between the Bastions Pucelle and Coehoorn. Delineated in read are the subterranean passages within the fortifications.

At the time of the siege, the fortress town of Bergen-op-Zoom had ten bastions covered by five hornworks, or demi-bastions connected by a curtain wall. The intervals contained twenty one ravelins which were covered by stone lunettes. The environs were marshland.

The capture of the city would be a signal defeat for the Dutch during the Austrian War of Succession, and it would open the door for an invasion of the Dutch Netherlands.

Biography

Robert Dudley (1574–1649)

Dudley was the illegitimate son of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and brother-in-law of the celebrated circumnavigator Thomas Cavendish. Dudley joined the Royal Navy and led a privateering expedition to South America in 1594–1595. In 1596, he commanded the ship Nonpareil in the Earl of Essex’s successful attack on Cadiz, and was knighted for his services.

More about Robert Dudley