Allied defeat at Melle blocked reinforcement of Ghent, which fell to French forces four days later, accelerating French control of West Flanders.
Key Facts
- Date
- 9 July 1745
- Allied force sent to Ghent
- 4,000 men
- Ghent surrender date
- 13 July 1745
- Allied commander in Flanders
- Duke of Cumberland
- French detachment commander
- Nicolas Joseph Balthazar de l'Anglade, vicomte du Chayla
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Allied defeat at Fontenoy in May 1745, the Duke of Cumberland faced pressure to defend Brussels while also protecting Ghent, a critical supply port threatened by the French advance into West Flanders. He dispatched 4,000 men under Austrian general Freiherr Philipp Ludwig von Moltke to reinforce the city.
On 9 July 1745, Moltke's Allied column encountered a French detachment under the vicomte du Chayla positioned near Melle specifically to intercept such a relief attempt. The engagement was an encounter battle in which the Allies suffered heavy losses and were driven off before reaching Ghent.
With the relief force repulsed, Ghent was left without reinforcement and surrendered to French forces on 13 July 1745, extending French dominance over West Flanders and compounding the strategic damage inflicted on the Pragmatic Allies at Fontenoy.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Freiherr Philipp Ludwig von Moltke, Duke of Cumberland.
Side B
1 belligerent
Nicolas Joseph Balthazar de l'Anglade, vicomte du Chayla.