Battle of Fontenoy
- When
- 1745
- Where
- Fontenoy
- Episodes
- 1
On 11 May 1745, Marshal Saxe's French army defeated the Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian Pragmatic Army led by the Duke of Cumberland near Fontenoy. The engagement resulted in a significant Allied withdrawal and the subsequent surrender of Tournai.
Episodes
Background and detail
Strategic Context. France, facing bankruptcy, sought a decisive victory to end the war. Marshal Saxe persuaded Louis XV that defeating the British, whose finances supported the Allies, was the optimal strategy for the 1745 campaign in the Austrian Netherlands.
Allied Command. In March 1745, the 24-year-old Duke of Cumberland replaced George Wade as Allied commander in Flanders. He was advised by the experienced Earl Ligonier and commanded a force including British, Hanoverian, Dutch, and Austrian troops.
People involved
- Marshal Saxe · French Commander
- Duke of Cumberland · Allied Commander
- Prince Waldeck · Dutch Commander
- Earl Ligonier · Allied Advisor
Sources
- Battle of Fontenoy Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-08
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.