The French bombardment of Brussels on August…

The French bombardment of Brussels on August 13, 14 and 15, 1695 and the resulting fire are together the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels.

The Grand Place is destroyed, along with a third of the buildings in the city.

The reconstruction of the city center, effected during subsequent years, is to profoundly change the appearance of the city and leave numerous traces still visible today.

The bombardment is part of the Nine Years' War.

The French forces had hoped that by bombarding, or threatening to bombard Brussels, they would be able to divert Allied troops from the Siege of Namur.

The strategy is unsuccessful, and no military gain comes of the bombardment, although Louis's reputation suffers for such a barbarous act.

Throughout Europe, the destruction of Brussels causes indignation.

The event is a rupture from the tacit conventions which have regulated war until this era.

A bombardment targeting a purely civilian population not involved in the conflict with the goal of forcing the hand of the opposing army is unprecedented.

Until this point, bombardments had been used to smash a city's defenses, allowing it to be taken more or less intact, or alternatively to destroy military infrastructure and gates into and out of the city.

Moreover, the bombardment of Brussels has been useless from a military point of view, as it has not succeeded in diverting the allied forces from the Citadel of Namur.