Minden and the Seven Years War

During the Seven Years War, British troops had been committed sparingly to continental Europe, the English war effort being made overseas in conjunction with the preeminent Royal Navy. However in 1759 the British troops under Ferdinand of Brunswick would achieve a remarkable victory against the French army at the battle of Minden.

The battle began with a duel of guns on the wings of the battleline; after an indecisive battering Ferdinand ordered the division containing the British regiments to advance. In a misunderstanding of their orders the British regiments advanced swiftly on the centre of the French army, which was held by cavalry. Battered at close range by French guns the British soldiers grimly held on despite repeated French cavalry charges; in an echo of Cressey the flower of French chivalry was laid low by dogged British vollies. Once Ferdinand saw the penetration of the French lines and the wrecked French cavalry he ordered a general advance which rapidly put the French army to flight earning one the greatest victories of the entire war.

In this short volume written by the renowned historian Sir Lees Knowles, are recounted the valiant deeds of the six British regiments that smashed all before them, a victory that is commemorated to this day.