The siege of Mons was an engagement from 7 June to 23 July 1746 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 ...

. The town of

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, then part of 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 ...

, was

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

by a French army corps commanded by

Louis François, Prince of Conti Louis François de Bourbon, or Louis François I, Prince of Conti (13 August 1717 – 2 August 1776), was a French nobleman who became the Prince of Conti from 1727 to his death, succeeding his father, Louis Armand II, Prince of Conti, Louis Arman ...

. The

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and Dutch defenders surrendered the town of Mons on 10 July, while the citadel fell to the French on 23 July.

Background

Following the capture of Brussels by

Maurice de Saxe Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus I ...

in February 1746, a

council of war A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

was held in the city to determine the next French course of action. Against the advice of Saxe,

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

endorsed the plan of the Prince of Conti to continue operations by taking the towns of Mons and Charleroi. Saxe had advocated for open battle with the Austrians, rather than siege warfare.

Siege

Mons was defended by twelve battalions, at least half of which were Dutch. Conti, who arrived outside the town on 7 June, directed

Joseph Marie de Boufflers Joseph Marie de Boufflers, 2nd Duke of Boufflers (22 May 1706 – 2 July 1747) was a French nobleman and senior military officer. Early life Joseph Marie was the third, but only surviving, son of Louis-François de Boufflers and Catherine Charlo ...

and the Count of Estrées to lead the French siege force. The trench in front of Mons was opened during the night of 24 to 25 June. On the 10 July, a double attack, one at the Porte de Berthamont and one at the Porte de Nimy, forced the surrender of the town to Conti. The

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

(the fort-annex of Saint-Ghislain) was not included in the capitulation of the town. The siege continued until the citadel succumbed to French attacks on 23 July.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mons1746, Siege of 1746 in France 1746 in the Dutch Republic Conflicts in 1746 Sieges involving the Dutch Republic Sieges involving France Sieges involving the Holy Roman Empire Sieges of the War of the Austrian Succession