Battle of Fontenoy - Background

Background

In 1744, France went over to the offensive in the Low Countries. King Louis XV and the Duke of Noailles scored early successes with the capture of the frontier fortresses of western Flanders: Menin, Ypres, and Knocke fell in June, while Furnes was taken in July. The whole southern sector of maritime Flanders was soon in French hands, but the strategic situation abruptly changed when Prince Charles of Lorraine led 70,000 Imperial troops across the Rhine and into Alsace. To counter this threat, Louis XV and Noailles led large reinforcements south, while Maurice de Saxe, illegitimate son of Augustus II the Strong and, since March, a Marshal of France, was left in charge in Flanders with a reduced army of between 50,000 to 60,000 men facing an allied army of 96,000. Opposing Saxe was the Pragmatic Army, the bulk of which was made up of British and Hanoverian troops under General George Wade, and Dutch troops under Prince Maurice of Nassau. Much had been expected of the Allies in 1744 but the timidity of their generals had produced nothing against a numerically inferior enemy. Although Wade eventually advanced towards Lille, he did little more than bicker with the Austrians about the cost of moving his siege train from Antwerp. Saxe was able to maintain his position at Courtrai and along the lines of the Lys, and remained relatively untroubled throughout. In part, the risible results of the Allied campaign in the Low Countries had led to the fall of the Carteret government in Britain, leading to a new administration led by Henry Pelham and his brother, the Duke of Newcastle.

Elsewhere, the Pragmatic Allies had scored considerable success in late 1744. A joint Austro-Saxon force under Charles of Lorraine and Count Traun drove Frederick II's Prussian army from Bohemia; and Piedmont-Sardinia had expelled the Bourbons from northern Italy. Further success followed with the death in January 1745 of the French puppet, Emperor Charles VII. When his successor, Maximilian III Joseph, hesitated over peace proposals, the Austrians launched a rapid campaign, culminating in April with the Franco-Bavarian defeat at the decisive Battle of Pfaffenhofen. Max Joseph sued for peace and gave his support for the candidacy of Maria Theresa's husband, Francis Stephen, in the coming Imperial election for the vacant throne. With Bavaria out of the war the Austrians could now try to win back Silesia from Frederick II. Likewise, Bavarian repudiation of its French ties meant France was freed of its German involvement, and could now concentrate on its own military efforts in Italy and the Low Countries.

As early as December 1744, Saxe had prepared plans for a spring offensive in the Low Countries. He had made up his mind not only what he would do, but what he would compel his enemy to do, correctly calculating the operational and political difficulties that such a diverse opponent would face. This opponent comprised Britain, the Dutch Republic, Austria, and Saxony, who had concluded the defensive Treaty of Warsaw in January 1745 – the Quadruple Alliance – by which all contractants committed themselves to uphold the Pragmatic Sanction and the House of Austria's claim to the Imperial crown. To the Low Countries, the British sent the son of King George II, the 24 year old Duke of Cumberland, as the new Captain General of Britain's army, while Maria Theresa sent the experienced Count Königsegg to command Austrian forces. The trio of generals was completed by Prince Waldeck, commander of the Dutch contingent in theatre. They hoped to gain the initiative by the establishment of forward magazines and an early opening of the campaign season. Major supply and ammunition depot magazines were set up for the British by General Ligonier at Ghent, Oudenarde and Tournai, while the Dutch General Vander – Duyn placed theirs at Mons, Charleroi and Tournai.