Battle of Fontenoy

The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de Saxe, commander of King Louis XV's forces in the Low Countries. The battle was one of the most important in the war and considered the masterpiece of Marshal Saxe, serving France; King Louis XV, and his son, the Dauphin, were present at the battle. Napoleon I later declared that the victory at Fontenoy prolonged the Ancien Régime monarchy in France by 30 years.