Battle of Melle

Battle of Melle
	Part of the War of the Austrian Succession
Date	9 July 1745
Location	Melle, Austrian Netherlands
Result	French victory
Belligerents
France	Austria; Great Britain; Hanover; Dutch Republic
Commanders and leaders
Nicholas Joseph Balthazar de l'Anglade, Vicomte du Chayla	Philipp Freiherr von Moltke
Strength
6,000 to 8,000	4,000 to 6,000
Casualties and losses
200 killed or wounded	500 killed or wounded; 1,500 captured

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 commander in Flanders, was under pressure from the Austrians to defend Brussels. He also wanted to protect the key port of Ghent, a major supply depot threatened by the French advance into West Flanders.

Cumberland compromised by employing his main force to cover Brussels, while sending 4,000 men under the Hanoverian general Moltke to reinforce Ghent. On the way, it ran into a French detachment under General du Chai, positioned near the town of Melle to prevent such an attempt; the Allies were driven off with heavy losses and Ghent surrendered on 13 July.

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