Siege of Maastricht (1748)

For other uses, see Siege of Maastricht (disambiguation).

The siege of Maastricht took place in April–May 1748 during the War of the Austrian Succession. A French force under the overall command of Maurice de Saxe besieged and captured the Dutch barrier fortress of Maastricht in the final few months of the campaign in the Low Countries. After a relatively long siege the garrison of Maastricht capitulated and marched out with the honours of war. Maastricht was returned along with France's conquests in the Austrian Netherlands according to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle signed in 1748.

Siege of Maastricht
Part of the War of the Austrian Succession
Date 15 April – 7 May 1748 (1748-04-15 – 1748-05-07) Location Maastricht, Dutch Republic 50°52′0″N 5°40′0″E Result French victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	Dutch Republic Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Maurice de Saxe	Hobbe Esaias van Aylva
Strength
80,000 men	9,800 men 600 guns
Casualties and losses
2,000 casualties	839–2,000 casualties 600 guns captured
class=notpageimage| Location within Netherlands Siege of Maastricht (1748) (Europe)

Among the defenders were the Austro-Walloon Regiment of Los Rios, commanded by its Colonel Jean Charles Joseph, Count of Merode, Marquis of Deynze ; Charles, 5th Duke of Arenberg (Jean Charles' brother-in-law)

Sources

• Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
• Browning, Reed. The War of the Austrian Succession. Alan Sutton Publishing, 1994.
• Van Nimwegen, Olaf (2002). De Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden als grote mogendheid: Buitenlandse politiek en oorlogvoering in de eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw en in het bijzonder tijdens de Oostenrijkse Successieoorlog (1740–1748) (in Dutch). De Bataafsche Leeuw.