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Battle of Dettingen
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The Battle of Dettingen took place on June 16, 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch, George II, personally led his troops into battle. The British forces, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeated a French army under the duc de Noailles although France and England had not yet declared war. The allied army was known as the Pragmatic Army because it was a confederation of states that supported the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 agreements to recognize Maria-Theresa as Empress of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Pragmatic Army, some 44,000 strong at the start of the campaign, contained 16,000 British and 16,000 Hanoverians with the balance made up of Austrians, Hessians and Dutch. The French had cut the allies' line of supply and the Pragmatic Army had suffered severely from a lack of supplies and, in a reduced state, was falling back on Hanau as a result of skillfull maneuvering and harassment by the French army of some 45,000 led by Noailles.
The battleThe Pragmatic Army marched up from the town of Aschaffenburg, along the line of the north bank of the Main river and into a trap set by Noailles at the village of Dettingen.
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The Battle of Dettingen took place on June 16, 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch, George II, personally led his troops into battle. The British forces, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeated a French army under the duc de Noailles although France and England had not yet declared war. The allied army was known as the Pragmatic Army because it was a confederation of states that supported the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 agreements to recognize Maria-Theresa as Empress of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Pragmatic Army, some 44,000 strong at the start of the campaign, contained 16,000 British and 16,000 Hanoverians with the balance made up of Austrians, Hessians and Dutch. The French had cut the allies' line of supply and the Pragmatic Army had suffered severely from a lack of supplies and, in a reduced state, was falling back on Hanau as a result of skillfull maneuvering and harassment by the French army of some 45,000 led by Noailles.
The battleThe Pragmatic Army marched up from the town of Aschaffenburg, along the line of the north bank of the Main river and into a trap set by Noailles at the village of Dettingen. There, behind a stream running into the Main, Noailles had stationed the Duc of Gramont with a blocking force of some 23,000 troops and had lined the south bank of the Main with artillery that could fire without interference on the Pragmatic army's left flank while about 12,000 French troops marched south on Aschaffenburg crossing the Main behind the allied army. Thickly wooded hills to the Pragmatic Army's right flank prevented it from turning Gramont's position.
Some six hours passed with the British trying to form an advance in this confined position during which, at one point, George II's horse ran off with him; it was halted by Ensign Cyrus Trapaud, who received a promotion as a reward. Finally, against orders,Gramont impatiently attacked the allies with the Maison du Roi cavalry, initially with some success breaking through the English front lines. The French infantry followed. However, the charge forced the French artillery to stop firing and with the attack spent and the French out of their defenses, the allies counter-attacked driving Gramont's force across and into the river, opening the road to Hanau for continuing the allies' retreat and resupply.
QuotationsDuring the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw warned his Regiment The Royal Scots Fusiliers not to fire until they could “see the white’s of their e’en.” A noted wit, Sir Andrew is also quoted as addressing his regiment thus: "Lads, you see they loons (young men) on yon' hill. Better kill them afore they kill you." And to George II after the battle, who had (humorously) chided him for letting a French cavalry charge break into his Regiment's square: "An' it please Your Majesty, but they didna' gang oot again."
LegacyIn memory of this victory, Handel composed his Dettingen Te Deum and Dettingen Anthem.
Dettingen has since 1947 been the name of one of the training companies at the British Army's officer training academy. In recent years it has been the training unit for short courses (for example the Territorial Army Officers' Commissioning Courses) run at the Academy. Additionally, it is the name of 4 (Dettingen) Troop at Army Training Regiment Winchester.
External links- French Fleur-De-Lis:Prior to the French Revolution, there was no national flag which represented France. A variety of flags were used by troops, different types of ships and for other purposes. From 1590-1790 this flag is one of four that was used on warships and fortresses.
- of the battle
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