Battle of Melle

Part of the War of the Austrian Succession

Date	9 July 1745
Location	Melle
Result	French victory

Belligerents

Austria

Great Britain

Hanover

Dutch Republic

France

Commanders and leaders

Philipp Freiherr von Moltke

Nicholas Joseph Balthazar de l'Anglade, Vicomte du Chayla

Strength

4,000 to 6,000

6,000 to 8,000

Casualties and losses

500 killed or wounded
1,500 captured

200 killed or wounded

The Battle of Melle was a small meeting engagement fought on 9 July 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession, between forces of the Pragmatic Allies and the French following the battle of Fontenoy that would have serious consequences for the Pragmatic Army of the allies and Flanders. The allies, under Lieutenant General Moltke, were attempting to send more troops to defend the city Ghent, one of their major supply depots. The French, commanded by Lieutenant General Du Chayla, had sent their force to establish a crossing and a post south of the river Scheldt around the town of Melle to begin isolating Ghent. The allied force was driven off with significant losses, allowing the French to capture Ghent.

After the French victory at the battle of Fontenoy and the capture of the city of Tournai, Marshal Saxe began to exploit the weakness of the allies and maneuvered so as to threaten Brussels and Brabant, Ghent and Flanders forcing Duke of Cumberland, over-all commander of the allies, to choose which places to defend. Of the allies' two major magazines, Ghent and Brussels, Ghent was of more value as the supplies there had been reserved while those in Brussels had been used. However, Cumberland decided to defend Brabant and Brussels with the field army while sending some troops to increase the garrison of Ghent and issuing orders to transport the supplies out of Ghent.

Saxe sent Du Chayla on a reconnaissance in force to Melle, a small town between Ghent and the town of Aalst. His command consisted of two infantry brigades, Normandie and Crillon, each consisting of four battalions; a detachment of Grassins, light infantry, and three brigades of cavalry: Berry, Royal Étranger and Du Roy, some twenty four squadrons. There were about twenty small battalion guns and twenty pontoons in a camp being established on and around the road that ran between the town of Aalst and Ghent. Parts of the Normandie brigade, some two battalions, were dispersed in various posts along the Scheldt and the road to Ghent as was the some of Crillon. Du Chayla sent his light troops, the Grassins, towards Aalst to reconnoitre.

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