The Battle of Fontenoy (colour litho)

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 is notable for several reasons. It was one of the most important in the war, and for the French a famous victory and the masterpiece of Marshal Saxe; the French Monarch Louis XV and his son the Dauphin were present on the field. Napoleon I later declared that the victory at Fontenoy prolonged the Ancien Régime monarchy in France by 30 years.