Fontenoy

Did you know that the famous battle "Battle of Fontenoy" was fought in Fontenoy? It was on May 11, 1745. The War of the Austrian Succession was in full swing. The plan of the French Marshal Maurice of Saxony (who received his orders from Louis XV) was quite simple: he would storm and capture Tournai in the spring and then march into the Austrian Netherlands. What was remarkable was that none other than Louis XV appeared on the battlefield to join the fight. The battlefield was the gently undulating plateau on the right bank of the Scheldt. On his left flank lay the village of Antoing, and at the center of the line, Fontenoy formed a strong and fortified center. His siege engineers ensured that the entire line up to the Bois de Barry (right flank) was developed into a tough and difficult-to-breach obstacle: the villages were filled with infantry (mostly dragoons) and artillery, the cavalry was stationed behind the line to intervene wherever necessary, and three more redoubts were constructed between the fortified strongholds. The French largely defeated the English and Dutch. France continued its conquest of the Southern Netherlands but would, after the battle of Lafelt (1747) and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, be unable to convert its victories into significant gains.

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