Battle of Hastenbeck
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Hastenbeck (26 July 1757) was fought as part of the Invasion of Hanover
during the Seven Year's War between the allied forces of Hanover
, Hesse-Kassel
(or Hesse-Cassel) and Brunswick and the French. The allies were defeated by the French army near Hamelin
in the Electorate of Hanover
.
The French, who were allied with Austria
, Russia
, Sweden
and Saxony
during the Seven Years' War
, invaded Germany in April 1757 with two armies, altogether about 100,000 soldiers. The French hoped to draw the attention of the Kingdom of Prussia
, which was allied with Britain and Hanover, away from the Bohemian theatre where Prussia and Austria fought several battles (Lobositz
, Prague, Kolin
).
One of the two French armies under command of Prince de Soubise marched through central Germany. They joined the Imperial Army, or "Reichsarmee", commanded by Prinz von Hildburghausen. This coalition army later met a Prussian army at the Battle of Rossbach
on 5 November 1757 with disaster.
The other French army commanded by Marshal Louis Charles d'Estrées consisted of about 50,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 68 cannons. The army advanced towards the Electorate of Hanover
. Prussia was heavily involved with its enemies Austria, Russia and Sweden and therefore was not able to help on the western front. This task was given to the Hanoverian Army of Observation which only had little support from Prussia, namely six Prussian battalions. The main part of the "Hanoverian Army of Observation" came from Hanover (about 60%) and Hesse (about 25%), smaller additional forces from Brunswick and Prussia. The total strength of the Hanoverian Army of Observation consisted of about 30,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 28 guns. The army was commanded by William Augustus the Duke of Cumberland who was a son of King George II of Great Britain
.
Hanover refused to defend the river Rhine which is farther to the west than the river Weser. This left the Prussians no choice than to abandon their fortress in Wesel and to give up the line of the Lippe
river in April. Cumberland's main objective was preventing the occupation of Hanover. He first concentrated his army at Bielefeld
, and then after a brief stand in Brackwede, Cumberland decided to cross the Weser south of Minden
. The main idea was to use the Weser as a natural defense line and to make it impossible for the French troops to cross the river. The Duke of Cumberland deployed his main forces at Hamelin which is a couple of kilometers to the northwest from Hastenbeck and left the Prussian battalions as garrison forces to Minden. He also deployed small patrols all along the Weser. Meanwhile the French sent a detachment to the North to capture Emden
on 3 July, which was an important access point for Britain to Europe. Later they sent another detachment to the south which took Kassel
on 15 July.
During the night of 7 July a strong French advance guard crossed the river Weser close to the town Beverungen. While the river Weser normally cannot be easily forded, during the summer the water level drops down to a low of 80 cm (~3 feet) between Münden and Hameln, making it possible for infantry and cavalry to cross. The French advance troops then marched to the north and established a bridgehead at Höxter
. The main army crossed the river Weser on 16 July leaving the Duke of Cumberland no choice than to deploy his troops south of Hamelin and to engage d'Estrées. The Prussian battalions were then recalled by Frederick the Great
, after losing the Battle of Kolin against Austria.
, was ordered to engage Hanoverian troops at the village of Voremberg, but failed to drive them out. As the French left under general Duc de Broglie
was still crossing the Weser near Hameln, d'Estrées decided to postpone the battle until all his troops were up.
The next day saw the Hanoverian army holding on a line from Hamelin to Voremberg. Their right flank was anchored on the Hamel river and the Hastenbach creek. The center of the Hanoverian front was deployed north of the town of Hastenbeck and an artillery battery was situated on high ground behind the town. The Hanoverian left consisted of two entrenched batteries with grenadier battalions protecting the guns. The left flank was anchored on the Obensburg. Cumberland made the mistake in assuming the hill to be impassable to formed troops and deployed a meagre three Jäger companies on its summit, effectively leaving the Hanoverian left flank in the air.
General Chevert was ordered to flank the Hanoverian position with four brigades containing troops from Picardy
, la Marine, Navarre and Eu
. At 09.00 hours this force advanced toward the Obensburg in three battalion columns and quickly overwhelmed the Jägers. The Duke of Cumberland, seeing his position threatened from the rear, ordered his reserves and the grenadier battalions protecting the guns to recapture the Obensburg. The use of these grenadier battalions in the counterattack on the Obensburg meant they were no longer available in the center when the main French attacks went in against the Hanoverian center.
The French main attack consisted out of general d'Armentieres' attack against Voremberg with five brigades of infantry plus four regiments of dismounted dragoons. At the same time, the French center assaulted the battery immediately north of it. The Hanoverian grand battery was able to repulse several of the French attacks but eventually the guns were overrun. When the Hanoverian reserve infantry arrived on the Obensburg, they were able to turn the tide momentarily, but as the Duke of Cumberland had begun to withdraw his army, they were unable to maintain the now isolated position for long.
and the occupation of Hanover
. During the battle Hastenbeck was almost completely destroyed, only the church, the manse and the farm house were not destroyed.
Invasion of Hanover (1757)
The Invasion of Hanover took place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War when a French army under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées advanced into Electorate of Hanover and neighbouring German states following the Battle of Hastenbeck. French forces overran most of Hanover forcing the Army...
during the Seven Year's War between the allied forces of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
, Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
(or Hesse-Cassel) and Brunswick and the French. The allies were defeated by the French army near Hamelin
Hamelin
Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 ....
in the Electorate of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
.
Prelude
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Sweden
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
and Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, invaded Germany in April 1757 with two armies, altogether about 100,000 soldiers. The French hoped to draw the attention of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, which was allied with Britain and Hanover, away from the Bohemian theatre where Prussia and Austria fought several battles (Lobositz
Battle of Lobositz
The Battle of Lobositz or Lovosice also Lowositz on 1 October 1756 was the opening land battle of the Seven Years' War. Frederick the Great's 29,000 Prussians prevented Field Marshal Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne 34,500 Austrians from relieving their besieged Saxon allies during the Siege of...
, Prague, Kolin
Battle of Kolin
-Results:The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war. This disaster forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice...
).
One of the two French armies under command of Prince de Soubise marched through central Germany. They joined the Imperial Army, or "Reichsarmee", commanded by Prinz von Hildburghausen. This coalition army later met a Prussian army at the Battle of Rossbach
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place during the Seven Years' War near the village of Roßbach, in the Electorate of Saxony. Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire...
on 5 November 1757 with disaster.
The other French army commanded by Marshal Louis Charles d'Estrées consisted of about 50,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 68 cannons. The army advanced towards the Electorate of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. Prussia was heavily involved with its enemies Austria, Russia and Sweden and therefore was not able to help on the western front. This task was given to the Hanoverian Army of Observation which only had little support from Prussia, namely six Prussian battalions. The main part of the "Hanoverian Army of Observation" came from Hanover (about 60%) and Hesse (about 25%), smaller additional forces from Brunswick and Prussia. The total strength of the Hanoverian Army of Observation consisted of about 30,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 28 guns. The army was commanded by William Augustus the Duke of Cumberland who was a son of King George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
.
Hanover refused to defend the river Rhine which is farther to the west than the river Weser. This left the Prussians no choice than to abandon their fortress in Wesel and to give up the line of the Lippe
Lippe
Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe....
river in April. Cumberland's main objective was preventing the occupation of Hanover. He first concentrated his army at Bielefeld
Bielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
, and then after a brief stand in Brackwede, Cumberland decided to cross the Weser south of Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
. The main idea was to use the Weser as a natural defense line and to make it impossible for the French troops to cross the river. The Duke of Cumberland deployed his main forces at Hamelin which is a couple of kilometers to the northwest from Hastenbeck and left the Prussian battalions as garrison forces to Minden. He also deployed small patrols all along the Weser. Meanwhile the French sent a detachment to the North to capture Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
on 3 July, which was an important access point for Britain to Europe. Later they sent another detachment to the south which took Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
on 15 July.
During the night of 7 July a strong French advance guard crossed the river Weser close to the town Beverungen. While the river Weser normally cannot be easily forded, during the summer the water level drops down to a low of 80 cm (~3 feet) between Münden and Hameln, making it possible for infantry and cavalry to cross. The French advance troops then marched to the north and established a bridgehead at Höxter
Höxter
Höxter is the seat of the Höxter district, and a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands...
. The main army crossed the river Weser on 16 July leaving the Duke of Cumberland no choice than to deploy his troops south of Hamelin and to engage d'Estrées. The Prussian battalions were then recalled by Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, after losing the Battle of Kolin against Austria.
The battle
The armies finally met on the morning of 25 July at the village of Hastenbeck. The commander of the French right flank, general François de ChevertFrançois de Chevert
François de Chevert was a French general.Chevert entered service in 1706, became major in Beauce's regiment in Toul in 1728, later in 1739 lieutenant-colonel. He distinguished himself in Flanders, Piemont and Germany and herefore rewarded by a more important command...
, was ordered to engage Hanoverian troops at the village of Voremberg, but failed to drive them out. As the French left under general Duc de Broglie
Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie
Victor François de Broglie, 2nd duc de Broglie was a French aristocrat and soldier and a marshal of France...
was still crossing the Weser near Hameln, d'Estrées decided to postpone the battle until all his troops were up.
The next day saw the Hanoverian army holding on a line from Hamelin to Voremberg. Their right flank was anchored on the Hamel river and the Hastenbach creek. The center of the Hanoverian front was deployed north of the town of Hastenbeck and an artillery battery was situated on high ground behind the town. The Hanoverian left consisted of two entrenched batteries with grenadier battalions protecting the guns. The left flank was anchored on the Obensburg. Cumberland made the mistake in assuming the hill to be impassable to formed troops and deployed a meagre three Jäger companies on its summit, effectively leaving the Hanoverian left flank in the air.
General Chevert was ordered to flank the Hanoverian position with four brigades containing troops from Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
, la Marine, Navarre and Eu
Eu, Seine-Maritime
Eu is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.Eu is located near the coast in the eastern part of the department, near the border with Picardie.Its inhabitants are known as the Eudois.-Geography:...
. At 09.00 hours this force advanced toward the Obensburg in three battalion columns and quickly overwhelmed the Jägers. The Duke of Cumberland, seeing his position threatened from the rear, ordered his reserves and the grenadier battalions protecting the guns to recapture the Obensburg. The use of these grenadier battalions in the counterattack on the Obensburg meant they were no longer available in the center when the main French attacks went in against the Hanoverian center.
The French main attack consisted out of general d'Armentieres' attack against Voremberg with five brigades of infantry plus four regiments of dismounted dragoons. At the same time, the French center assaulted the battery immediately north of it. The Hanoverian grand battery was able to repulse several of the French attacks but eventually the guns were overrun. When the Hanoverian reserve infantry arrived on the Obensburg, they were able to turn the tide momentarily, but as the Duke of Cumberland had begun to withdraw his army, they were unable to maintain the now isolated position for long.
Outcome
The Battle of Hastenbeck is one of the most curious battles in history, since both commanders-in-chief thought that they lost the battle and were already starting to withdraw from the battlefield. The battle eventually resulted in the Convention of KlosterzevenConvention of Klosterzeven
The Convention of Klosterzeven was a 1757 convention signed at Klosterzeven between France and the Electorate of Hanover during the Seven Years' War that led to Hanover's withdrawal from the war and partial occupation by French forces. It came in the wake of the Battle of Hastenbeck in which...
and the occupation of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. During the battle Hastenbeck was almost completely destroyed, only the church, the manse and the farm house were not destroyed.