FONTENOY SOUTHEAST OF TOURNAI AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 11 MAY 1745

The men of the British Guards Brigade advanced shoulder-to-shoulder towards the Gardes Francaises south of Tournai in western Flanders on 11 May 1745. The French fired a ragged volley that did little damage to the British, but in response the well-trained redcoats raised their muskets and fired a crashing volley of their own at the densely packed French unit. They then stepped through the thick smoke from their guns and fired two more thunderous volleys at close range.

The French line recoiled in the face of the devastating British musketry, falling back on the second line 300 paces behind it. The British resumed their advance across the wide field carpeted with fallen Frenchmen. It was late morning, and the British troops of the Pragmatic Army had just achieved their first major success of the day against their foe.

Opportunity for conquest

The Battle of Fontenoy occurred during the fifth year of a conflict known as the War of Austrian Succession. The war erupted when Habsburg Princess Maria Theresa ascended to the Austrian throne following the death of her father, Emperor Charles VI. Charles had introduced a provision known as the Pragmatic Sanction that signalled a break with established tradition by allowing his daughter to succeed him when he failed to produce a male heir.

Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, France, Spain and Sweden declared war on Austria over the matter, each hoping to profit by annexing Austrian territory or other means. Great Britain, Russia, Sardinia and the United Provinces allied themselves with Austria. Austria’s allies achieved a significant, if inconclusive, victory over the French in 1742