{{Short description|1745 siege}} {{Infobox military conflict |conflict=Fall of Ghent |partof=War of the Austrian Succession |image=Surprise de la ville de Gand.jpg |caption=''Surprise of the city of Ghent''<br>by Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe, 1787 |date= July 1745 |place= Ghent, Austrian Netherlands |casus= |territory= | coordinates = {{Coord|format=dms|display=it}} | map_type = Belgium | map_label = Fall of Ghent | map_relief = yes | alt = | map_caption = |result= French victory |combatant1= {{flagcountry|Kingdom of France}} |combatant2= {{flag|Habsburg Monarchy|name=Austria}} <br> {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}<br>{{flagicon|Hanover|1692}} Hanover<br>{{flag|Dutch Republic}} |commander1= {{flagicon|Kingdom of France}} Comte de Lowendal |commander2= Unknown |strength1= |strength2= |casualties1= |casualties2= |casualties3= |notes= }} {{Campaignbox War of the Austrian Succession}} The '''Fall of Ghent''' occurred on 15 July 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession when a 5,000 strong French force under Ulrich Frédéric Woldemar, Comte de Lowendal surprised and captured the town of Ghent in the Austrian Netherlands. The Allied garrison offered little resistance.<ref>Browning p.219</ref>
Coming in the wake of the Battle of Fontenoy, the loss of Ghent proved a shock to the Allies. The town had been used as a major base for the Pragmatic Army 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, had left shortly before the fall of the town and narrowly avoided becoming prisoners of war.<ref>Brumwell p.36-37</ref> A column of 4,000 to 5,000 British, Hanoverian, Dutch and Austrian reinforcements sent by the Duke of Cumberland was defeated by the French at the Battle of Melle 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<ref>Skrine, Francis Henry. ''Fontenoy and Great Britain's Share in the War of the Austrian Succession 1741-48''. London, Edinburgh, 1906, p. 229.</ref> and with Lowendal strengthened by 15,000 the garrison of the citadel was demoralised and fell to a coup de main on July 15.<ref>Screen, J.O.E., ''The Action at Melle 9 July 1745'', Society for Army Historical Research. ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research..., Volume 77, Issues 309-312'', London, 1999, p.95</ref> Some 3,000 allied prisoners were taken<ref>Chrystin, Jean-Baptiste. ''Les délices des Pays-Bas'', Paris, MDCCLXXXVI, Vol.II., p.324</ref> as well as a vast quantity of military stores.<ref>Fortescue, J. W. ''A History of the British Army'', MacMillan, London, 1899, Vol. II, p. 122.</ref> The following year the town was used as a staging point for a French advance which culminated in the Siege of Brussels.<ref>Browning p.259-60</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==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. {{ISBN|978-0-7735-3261-8}} ([https://books.google.com/books?id=92CBkB0estkC preview])
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghent, Fall of}} Category:Battles involving France Category:Battles involving the Kingdom of Great Britain Category:Battles involving Hanover Category:Battles of the War of the Austrian Succession Category:Conflicts in 1745 Category:1745 in France Category:1745 in the Habsburg monarchy Category:1745 in the Holy Roman Empire Category:Military history of the Austrian Netherlands Fall Category:Sieges involving the Dutch Republic Category:Prince William, Duke of Cumberland