ORDER OF BATTLE // May 11, 1745
Battle of Fontenoy
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 100,000 estimated
France
50,000
Medium-confidence figure
Great Britain
50,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Fontenoy, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in Belgium, was a French victory over the Pragmatic Army during the War of the Austrian Succession. Marshal Saxe commanded 50,000 French troops against a roughly equal Allied force under the Duke of Cumberland. French casualties of 8,000 against Allied losses of approximately 12,000 indicate the scale of the French success. The engagement formed part of the broader French strategic effort in the Austrian Netherlands, and the defeat of the Pragmatic Army — a coalition force drawing on British, Dutch, and allied contingents — strengthened France's position in that theater during the mid-point of the war.
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