But the French were not reinforced from their right wing as Villars expected. The prince of Orange, far from merely observing the hostile right as he had been ordered to do, committed his corps, very early in the battle, to a serious assault upon it, which Boufflers repulsed with enormous loss. The Dutch infantry never recovered from its casualties on this day, and the memory of Malplaquet was strong even at Fontenoy nearly forty years after wards. The only advantage to the Allies was that Boufflers did not dare send reinforcements to the hard-pressed left wing. Thanks to this the attackers made steady progress in the wood of Taisniere. Villars launched the "Irish brigade" to check the advance of the Allies, and this famous corps charged into the forest. Villars, Eugene and Marlborough personally led their troops in the encounter which followed. Eugene was wounded, but refused to quit the field. Villars was more seriously hurt, and after trying in vain to direct the fighting from a chair was carried insensible from the field. At this crisis General Withers, who commanded the force that had been ordered to turn the French extreme left, appeared on the scene. The British i8th regiment (Royal Irish), encountering the French Royal Irlandais, put it to the rout, and Villars's counterstroke was at an end. The French maintained themselves on this side only by the aid of troops drawn from the centre and right, and this gave the Allied centre the opportunity which the prince of Orange had so rashly antici pated. The great attack over the open was carried out, in spite
of the previous repulse, with the greatest determination. Preceded by forty guns, the corps of the prince of Orange and Lord Orkney swiftly carried the first line of works. The Allied cavalry then pushed out to the front, and horse, foot and artillery were com bined in the last advance. Boufflers's cavalry masses, coming into play for the first time, fought hard, and the struggle fluctuated with the arrival of successive reserves on either side, but in the end, shortly bef ore 3 P.M., Boufflers (who had been in command since Villars's fall) decided to retreat. The Allies had no troops left intact for the pursuit, and those engaged had expended their last efforts. Moreover Boufflers, experienced soldier as he was, drew off his men before they had lost their order and discipline.
Thus this "very murdering battle" as Marlborough called it— the last and greatest pitched battle of the war—was almost barren of results. The Allies lost not less than twenty thousand men, or nearly a quarter of the whole force, the thirty battalions of the Dutch infantry losing half their numbers. On the French side there were some twelve thousand casualties.