The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then part of the Austrian Netherlands, now in Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by the Duke of Cumberland.
Empress Maria Theresa, whose succession led to the war
The Gardes françaises and Grenadier Guards invite each other to fire first
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King George's War in North America, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the First Carnatic War, and the First and Second Silesian Wars.
Left to right: Capture of the Nuestra Señora de Covadonga (20 April 1743) Fontenoy (11 May 1745) Hohenfriedberg (4 June 1745) Siege of Bergen op Zoom (14 July – 18 September 1747)
Maria Theresa, whose succession was the proximate cause of the war
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, who entered the war by the September Treaty of Worms
Louis XV of France by Maurice Quentin de La Tour