Skirmish near Rhadern

Skirmish near Rhadern

Part of: Seven Years War

date	September 13, 1760
place	Rhadern
output	French victory

Parties to the conflict
France	Electoral Hanover Prussia
Commander
Comte de Stainville Comte de Scey Comte de Melfort	Colonel Count Reinhold Johann von Fersen Major von Bülow
Troop strength
approx. 4000 infantry approx. 6000 riders ? artillery	about 6,000 to 10,000 men
losses
50 dead and wounded	400 dead and wounded, 400 prisoners - 8 cannons

The battle near Rhadern was an episode of the Seven Years' War . It took place on September 13, 1760 west and southwest of the Hessian village of Rhadern . The French commander was the Lieutenant général des armées Comte de Stainville , the Allies were commanded by the Electorate of Hanover Colonel von Fersen and the Prussian Major August Christian von Bülow . It ended with a victory for the French.

prehistory

While the Prussian King Frederick II tried to repel the Austrians and Russians on his eastern borders, the French again took the initiative to conquer the Electorate of Hanover , whose ruler was also the King of England. It was an attempt to make up for the defeats in Canada and India .

On September 12, 1760, the French commander-in-chief, the Maréchal de Broglie , learned of the concentration of enemy forces near Marburg and went with his corps to Marienhagen . On September 13, the Comte de Stainville's department encountered an Allied, Prussian-Hanoverian army department, partly consisting of the Légion Britannique , while marching towards Frankenberg between Rhadern and Münden (Lichtenfels) .

Forces involved

The Détachement des Comte de Stainville consisted of the Régiment d'Auvergne and the Régiment de Bouillon and the Brigade des Comte de Scey with the Régiment du Roi dragons and the Régiment de La Ferronnaye dragons . Furthermore, Louis Drummond, comte de Melfort , was at the head of a cavalry brigade with the Régiment Royal-Pologne cavalerie , the Régiment de Poly cavalerie and the Régiment de Toustain cavalerie .

The Prussian-Hanoverian troops were commanded by Colonel Graf von Fersen. He was assisted by Major August Christian von Bülow , who was also the commander of the Légion Britannique involved.

The battle

The two opponents were initially separated from each other by the Wilde Aar , which flows into the Orke . The Allies stood on the front slope of a hill.

At the beginning, the French "Régiment d'Auvergne" stayed in place, while the "Régiment de Bouillon" deployed two battalions to occupy Lichtenfels Castle in order to cover the left flank. After occupying the starting positions, the Comte de Stainville gave the order to attack at 10:00 a.m. The hunters of the "Régiment d'Auvergne" crossed the stream and the small ravine that separated the two parties and attacked the enemy positions on the slope with the bayonet . At the same time, the dragoons of the regiments "du Roi" and "de La Ferronaye" under the Comte de Scey and the heavy cavalry from "Royal Pologne" attacked the hill from another direction and repulsed the Allied cavalry there. It was Colonel killed Count Fersen.

The grenadiers and hunters of the "d'Auvergne" regiment, commanded by the Marquis de Rochambeau , then pursued the retreating Prussians and Hanoverians, supported by the "Régiment Royal Pologne cavalerie". The fight continued, the deployed eight squadrons of the French cavalry forced the enemy to leave the height and thereby give up three cannons. The allies withdrew towards Münden to occupy another hill there. During this action three more cannons had to be left behind.

The French artillery maintained heavy fire, while the infantry, accompanied by the dragoons, continued to pursue the retreating enemy in difficult terrain marked by hills, ditches and ravines. Two cannons were found in the forest.

Effects

The French captured eight cannons with all their accessories, 40 ammunition carts and 1,200 cavalry and draft horses.

The Hanoverians had to mourn the death of their commander, Colonel Count von Fersen; Major von Bülow was taken prisoner seriously wounded and died a few days later.

Stainville did not derive any decisive advantage from the action and had to carry out a winter campaign against the Prussian-Hanoverian troops, which led to the defeat in the battle near Langensalza in February 1761.

literature

• Antoine-Henri, baron de Jomini: Histoire critique et militaire des guerres de Frédéric II, comparées au système moderne. Avec un recueil des principes les plus importans de l'art de la guerre. 3 volumes. Librairie militaire J.-B. Petit, Brussels 1841. First edition: Magimel, Anselin et Pochard, Paris 1818 ( full text volume 1 on Google Books , full text volume 2 on Google Books, full text volume 3 on Google Books). New edition: Nabu Press, 2010 (Volume 1: ISBN 978-1-278-46174-8 , Volume 2: ISBN 978-1-277-68750-7 , Volume 3: ISBN 978-1-149-39655-1 ).
• MLRDB: Journal de la Campagne de MDCCLX. Frankfurt 1761. New edition: Wentworth, 2018, ISBN 978-0-270-18030-5 .
• Franz von Kausler: Atlas des plus mémorables batailles, combats et sièges des temps anciens, du moyen age et de l'age modern. Herder'schen Kunst- und Buchhandlung, Karlsruhe / Freiburg 1831 ( full text in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek ; full text in the Google book search; full text in the Internet Archive ).
• Charles-Pierre-Victor Pajol: Les guerres sous Louis XV. Volume 5: 1759-1760: Fin de la campagne. Firmin-Didot, Paris 1896 ( limited preview in Google book search). New edition: Adegi Graphics LLC, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-543-94431-3 .

Footnotes

1. ^ Relation de l'affaire du 13 septembre. In: Correspondance inédite de Victor-François duc de Broglie, maréchal de France, avec le prince Xavier de Saxe, comte de Lusace. Volume 2: Juin-Oct. 1760. A. Michel, Paris 1760, p. 615 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
2. ^ De Francfort, le 17 September 1760. In: Gazette. No. 39, September 27, 1760, p. 156 ( limited preview in Google book search).
3. ↑ Nothing further is known about Graf von Fersen.
4. ↑ Armée de Broglie - 1760. In: Guerre de Sept Ans. Praetiriti Fides website , Exemplumque Futuri (PFEF).
5. ^ Relation de l'affaire du 13 septembre. In: Correspondance inédite de Victor-François duc de Broglie, maréchal de France, avec le prince Xavier de Saxe, comte de Lusace. Volume 2: Juin-Oct. 1760. A. Michel, Paris 1760, p. 616 ( limited preview in the Google book search).