The Battle of Denain, 24 July 1712

This painting by Raymond Monvoisin, completed in 1835, depicts Marshal de Villars leading his troops at the Battle of Denain on 24 July 1712. While Prince Eugene of Savoy, at the head of 135,000 men, was besieging Landrecies, the last stronghold before the road to Paris, Villars feigned an attack and then seized the entrenched camp of Denain by surprise, cutting the enemy off from its supply depots. This unexpected victory saved France from an invasion that had seemed inevitable and hastened the opening of negotiations that would lead to the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt.