To attack a superior force commanded by such a captain as Luxemburg was a bold, almost a desperate, enterprise.
Yet William was so sensible that the loss of Mons would be an almost irreparable disaster and disgrace that he made up his mind to run the hazard.

He was convinced that the event of the siege would determine the policy of the Courts of Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Those Courts had lately seemed inclined to join the coalition.

If Mons fell, they would certainly remain neutral; they might possibly become hostile.

"The risk," he wrote to Heinsius, "is great; yet I am not without hope.