In 1554, Henri II, successor to François I, sent in his troops against the Spanish Netherlands. They laid waste to everything they encountered and in particular the castles of Binche and Mariemont, residences of Maria of Hungary, sister of the emperor Charles V. Mariembourg fell on 26 June 1554 after four days of siege, Agimont castle was captured, and Givet and its region were devastated. As these conquests compromised the security of the Ardenne borders, Charles V resolved to protect them by building new strongholds, that of Charlemont at Givet and that of Philippeville at Echerennes. At that time, Givet point was not yet part of the kingdom of France, unlike the Rocroi site opposite it, which was born under the reigns of François I and Henri II.