The Fall of Ghent occurred on 15 July 1745 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

when a 5,000 strong

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

force under

Ulrich Frédéric Woldemar, Comte de Lowendal Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of A ...

surprised and captured the town of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

. The Allied garrison offered little resistance. Coming in the wake of the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

, the loss of Ghent proved a shock to the Allies. The town had been used as a major base for the

Pragmatic Army The Pragmatic Army was an army which served during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was formed in 1743 by George II, who was both King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and consisted of a mixture of British, Irish and German forces. I ...

since it had assembled in 1742. It was extremely important as a supply base as its stores had been reserved and not used. A British regiment, including

James Wolfe James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a Major-general (United Kingdom), major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the Kingdom of France, French ...

, had left shortly before the fall of the town and narrowly avoided becoming

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. A column of 4,000 to 5,000 British, Hanoverian, Dutch and Austrian reinforcements sent by the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...

was defeated by the French at the

Battle of Melle The Battle of Melle was an encounter battle fought on 9 July 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession, between forces of the Pragmatic Allies and the French. After their defeat at Fontenoy in May, the Duke of Cumberland, Allied commande ...

with only some 1,000 men getting through to Ghent. The city was fully invested and the town was seized on July 11. Lowendal opened the trenches and sapped towards the citadel. Without hope of relief or reinforcement and with Lowendal strengthened by 15,000 the garrison of the citadel was demoralised and fell to a

coup de main A ''coup de main'' (; plural: ''coups de main'', French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. Definition The United States Department of Defense defines it as ...

on July 15. Some 3,000 allied prisoners were taken as well as a vast quantity of military stores. The following year the town was used as a staging point for a French advance which culminated in the

Siege of Brussels The siege of Brussels took place between January and February 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. A French army under the overall command of Maurice de Saxe, in a bold and innovative winter campaign besieged and captured the city of ...

.Browning p.259-60

References

Bibliography

* Browning, Reed. ''The War of the Austrian Succession''. Alan Sutton Publishing, 1994. * Brumwell, Stephen (2007). ''Paths of Glory: The Life and Death of General James Wolfe'', Continuum International Publishing Group, 432 p.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghent, Fall of Battles involving France Battles involving Great Britain Battles involving Hanover Battles of the War of the Austrian Succession Battles in Flanders Conflicts in 1745 1745 in France 1745 in the Austrian Netherlands

Fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Souther ...