May 11, 1745 · Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) Theater
May 11, 1745
Marshal Saxe, directing the battle from a wicker litter while dying of dropsy, constructed a masterful defensive system of redoubts anchoring the village of Fontenoy. A magnificent British-Dutch-Austrian column punched through the French center — and was then enveloped and destroyed by concentrated fire from three sides. The Irish Brigade's famous charge shattered the column's flank. Saxe won a complete victory.
Commanders