"O'er the hills and o'er the plains
In Rethem, Athul and Kanday,
Generals command and we obey
Over the hills and far away."
[British recruiting song for the army in the Netherlands]
The Republic as a major land power (1672 1714)
King Louis XIV of France attempted to extend his countrys territory. William III, stadhouder of Holland and, from 1688, King of England, was one of his greatest opponents. Frances attempts to extend its powers were mainly fought on the battlefields of Flanders. There the State Army fought side by side with the British army and that of the Austrian Hapsburgers. During this period the State Army grew to its greatest strength; never had so many victims of the State Army fallen as in the struggle against Louis XIV. There were many foreign soldiers in the State Army, press-ganged for money or forced to serve.
The museum has some unique trophies, booty captured by the State Army from the French and their allies during battles. They include two sets of drum colours, captured in 1704, and a cavalry ensign, captured during the battle at Oudenaarde in 1708.
William III died in 1702, but it was not until 1714 with the Treaty of Rijswijk that a long period of peace began.
