Battle of Fontenoy

On May 11, 1745, Marshal Maurice de Saxe commanded 50,000 French troops against 52,000 Allied forces near Tournai in the Austrian Netherlands. The Allies, led by the Duke of Cumberland, launched a frontal infantry assault that initially penetrated French lines before concentrated artillery and counterattacks forced their withdrawal. French casualties numbered approximately 7,000; Allied losses exceeded 7,500. The victory secured France's conquest of most of the Austrian Netherlands during the War of the Austrian Succession.