Battle of Dettingen (1743): George II Leads His Army to Victory

The Battle of Dettingen was fought on 27 June 1743 on the north bank of the River Main in Germany, during the War of the Austrian Succession. An allied army under King George II of Great Britain fought its way out of a French trap and defeated a force under the Duke of Gramont. It is remembered above all as the last battle in which a reigning British monarch commanded troops in person.

Background

Britain supported Maria Theresa of Austria against France and its allies. In 1742–1743 it assembled the “Pragmatic Army”, named after the Pragmatic Sanction that guaranteed her inheritance, made up of British, Hanoverian and Austrian troops, at first under the elderly Earl of Stair. Britain and France were not yet formally at war; their troops fought as auxiliaries of Austria and Bavaria.

In June 1743 the army, around 35,000–40,000 men, advanced up the Main to Aschaffenburg. There it ran short of supplies. A larger French army under Marshal Adrien-Maurice, Duke of Noailles, held the south bank and threatened its communications. George II, who had arrived from Hanover to take command, decided to march back downstream to the supply base at Hanau.

The trap

Noailles saw his chance. He placed artillery on the south bank to fire across the river into the allied column and sent his nephew, Louis, Duke of Gramont, with around 23,000–28,000 men across the Main to block the road at the village of Dettingen. Gramont took up a strong position behind a stream and marshy ground. A second French force moved to close the road behind the allies at Aschaffenburg.

The battle

On the morning of 27 June the allied army found its way blocked. Instead of waiting in his strong position, Gramont crossed the stream and attacked, masking the fire of his own guns across the river. The French household cavalry and infantry pressed hard, and some allied units were pushed back.

George II, aged 59, rode forward to rally his men. When his horse bolted, he dismounted and led the British and Hanoverian infantry on foot, sword in hand. Steady allied musket volleys broke the French attacks. His son, the young Duke of Cumberland, was wounded in the leg.

By early afternoon the French were in retreat. Many tried to escape across pontoon bridges over the Main, and a large number drowned. The allies then continued their march to Hanau, while Noailles withdrew.

Key people

• George II (1683–1760): king of Great Britain and elector of Hanover, who had fought as a young prince at Oudenarde in 1708 and was keen to prove himself again as a soldier.
• Adrien-Maurice, Duke of Noailles (1678–1766): the French marshal whose plan to trap the allies came close to success.
• Louis, Duke of Gramont (1689–1745): Noailles’s nephew, whose premature attack threw away the French advantage; he was killed two years later at Fontenoy.
• John Dalrymple, Earl of Stair (1673–1747): the veteran Scottish general who commanded the army before the King arrived and resigned soon after the battle.
• Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765): the King’s 22-year-old son, wounded in his first battle.

Casualties and aftermath

Figures vary. The allies are usually reckoned to have lost around 2,000–2,500 killed and wounded, and the French about 4,000–5,000, including those drowned. The allies did not follow up their success, and the strategic result was modest.

In Britain the victory was celebrated, but it also caused controversy. Critics claimed the King favoured his Hanoverian troops, and he was reported to have worn the yellow sash of Hanover during the battle. France formally declared war on Britain in March 1744. Cumberland, wounded at Dettingen, would later command at Fontenoy and at the Battle of Culloden.

George Frideric Handel celebrated the victory with his Dettingen Te Deum and Dettingen Anthem, first performed in November 1743. Several British regiments still carry Dettingen as a battle honour.

Myths and facts

“George II fought in the front line throughout.” He did ride and walk among his troops under fire and showed real courage, but tactical control lay largely with his generals. The image of him leading on foot comes from reliable eyewitness accounts of a key moment in the battle.

“Dettingen was a crushing defeat for France.” The French lost heavily, but Noailles’s army survived and the war continued for five more years, with major French victories in the Low Countries.

Timeline

• 1742: Britain begins assembling the Pragmatic Army in the Low Countries.
• 1743, spring: The army advances into Germany towards the River Main.
• 1743, June: The allies, short of supplies at Aschaffenburg, are threatened by Noailles.
• 1743, 27 June: Battle of Dettingen; the French are defeated and retreat across the Main.
• 1743, November: Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum is first performed in London.
• 1744, March: France formally declares war on Britain.

Why it matters

Dettingen saved the Pragmatic Army from disaster and lifted British morale early in the War of the Austrian Succession. Its lasting fame comes from George II’s personal leadership, which closed a long tradition of English and British kings riding into battle.