9.6

Fontenoy, Battle of

In the War of the Austrian Succession 1745, French victory under Marshal Maurice de Saxe over a combined British, Dutch, and Hanoverian army under the Duke of Cumberland on 11 May 1745 at a village in Hainaut province, Belgium, 8 km/5 mi southeast of Tournai.
The Allied army of about 50,000 troops was aiming to relieve Tournai, then under siege by the French, but at Fontenoy came up against a de Saxe holding a strong position with about 70,000 troops which blocked their advance. The attack opened with an abortive Dutch assault on the French centre. The British and Hanoverian infantry then advanced and a general melee ensued, culminating in a sudden attack by an Irish brigade under French command. The Allied square defence broke but they were able to retire in good order, although they lost some artillery.

The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, Helicon, © Helicon Publishing Limited 2001