Battle near Emsdorf
Course of operations in the western theater of war in 1760
| date | July 16, 1760 |
|---|---|
| place | Emsdorf (between Hatzbach and Niederklein ) |
| output | Allied army victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 5000 men | 4600 men |
| losses | |
|
186 dead and wounded |
500 dead and 600 wounded |
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Western theater of war
Hastenbeck - Krefeld - Sandershausen - Lutterberg 1758 - Bergen - Minden - Gohfeld - Fulda - Korbach - Emsdorf - Warburg - Rhadern - Kampen Monastery - Langensalza - Saalfeld - Vellinghausen - Arnsberg - Wilhelmsthal - Lutterberg 1762
The battle at Emsdorf took place during the Seven Years' War on July 16, 1760 between the French and an Allied army consisting of Hessians, British and Hanoverians and ended with a defeat for the French.
course
On July 16, 1760, approx. 4,600 French soldiers camped under the command of General von Glaubitz between Stadtallendorf , Erksdorf and Emsdorf .
An association consisting of British, Hanoverian and Hessians with a strength of over 5,000 men under the Hereditary Prince of Braunschweig came across the French in an attempt to destroy the French field bakeries in Marburg .
Completely unnoticed by the French, only 2 km away, the Hereditary Prince at Speckswinkel divided his troops and marched with the infantry through the forests north of Hatzbach to the edge of the forest near Emsdorf. Here he surprisingly attacked the French between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. when they were serving food. After the cavalry remaining at Speckswinkel heard the noise of the battle, they too sat up and attacked the French field camp near Erksdorf. Although the French resistance quickly collapsed at Emsdorf and Erksdorf, the fight dragged on for a total of six hours, as fighting flared up again and again when the French withdrew via Langenstein and the Herrenwald to Niederklein . At Niederklein the French were then completely exhausted and surrendered to the British light dragoons.
| Country | regiment | units | commander |
| Kurhannover | Behr Infantry Regiment (No. 5-B) | k. A. | n / a |
| Kurhannover | Marschalk Infantry Regiment (No. 4-B) | k. A. | k. A. |
| Kurhannover | Luckner's Hussar Corps | k. A. | Luckner |
| Hessen-Kassel | 2nd Guard Infantry Regiment (No. 6) | k. A. | k. A. |
| Hessen-Kassel | Mansbach Infantry Regiment (No. 8) | k. A. | k. A. |
| Hessen-Kassel | Hessian hunters | k. A. | Colonel von Freytag |
| Great Britain | Elliot Dragoon Regiment | k. A. | k. A. |
| Country | regiment | units | commander |
| France | German Infantry Regiment Anhalt | 2 bags | n / a |
| France | German Royal Bavière Infantry Regiment | 3 bags | k. A. |
| France | Bercheny Hussar Regiment | k. A. | k. A. |
Others
- The English light dragoon regiment Elliot, which received its baptism of fire near Emsdorf, suffered the heaviest losses. The regiment still exists today as part of the Light Dragoons regiment with garrison in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On the flags of the regiment, the name Emsdorf is still at the top of a number of other famous battles. In the 18th century, the dragoons wore a helmet with the inscription Emsdorf.
- General von Glaubitz's war chest was lost in the battle. In 1762 two residents of Langenstein were arrested for embezzling a treasure found on the Emsdorf battlefield.
- In Emsdorf there is the legend of the French tree based on this battle.
- The battle attracted a lot of attention, especially in Great Britain, because of the bravery of the Eliott Dragoons, who could be described as poorly trained recruits.
literature
- Eike Erdel: The battle near Emsdorf on July 16, 1760, Verlag Joachim Stickler, Kirchhain 2019.
- Eike Erdel: The battle near Emsdorf on July 16, 1760. In: Journal of the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies 2004. Volume 109, pp. 115–140. vhghessen.de (PDF; 207 kB)
- B. von Linsingen-Gestorff: From Hanover's military past . Arnold Weichelt Publishing House, Hanover 1880.