The army of the Pragmatic forces marched from Flanders to Aschaffenburg in May 1743 at the insistence of King George II of Great Britain, who hoped thereby to influence the election of the Archbishop of Mainz, an elector of the Holy Roman Empire.
King George II of Great Britain joined the pragmatic army shortly before the Battle of Dettingen, at which he became the last British monarch to lead his troops into battle.
The Battle of Dettingen was fought between the French on one side and the army of the Pragmatic Alliance (Britain, Austria, Hanover, Netherlands) on the other. The result was a victory for the Pragmatic army. King George II of Great Britain was present on the Pragmatic side; it was the last time that British troops were led into battle by their monarch.
During the day of the battle, 12,000 French troops under the Duc de Noailles headed towards Aschaffenburg to cut off any retreat towards the rear by the Pragmatic army.
The French cavalry were stationed on the bank of the Main, opposite their British numbers
The French batteries were stationed on the west bank of the Main. Their potential effectiveness was severely hampered, first by the Duc de Noailles's march, and second by the attack of the Maison du Roi. Due to these factors, they never achieved the effect that they could have.
See the position of the infantry for a description of the situation
The Pragmatic army was retreating north from Klein Ostheim when it discovered 23,000 French troops positioned behind a stream near Dettingen blocking their route of retreat. Upon discovering the obstacle, the Pragmatic troops halted their movement. They were hemmed in to the west by the Main, and to the east by the wooded Spessart Hills.
The British and Hanoverian Foot Guards were dispatched to hold the French flanking maneuver at Aschaffenburg.
When the main French force crossed the river, the Duc de Noailles remained behind with 12,000 men in preparation for an attempt to cut off the Pragmatic rear.
The French army had cut off the Pragmatic retreat by crossing the river at Dettingen on a bridge of boats. They held a position behind a stream that ran from the Spessart Hills to the Main. At last, growing impatient, they ventured out from their position as the day wore on to bring the Pragmatic forces to battle.
Growing impatient of waiting, the French army left their defensive position and attack the Pragmatic troops as the afternoon drew on.
The first close action of the battle came when the elite French cavalry unit, the Maison du Roi, engaged the British cavalry by the riverbank. Though initially successful, they were eventually repulsed. More importantly, their advance blocked the line of fire for the French batteries on the west bank.
The French infantry soon followed the cavalry and attacked. The attack was more enthusiastic than organized, and was soon repelled with heavy losses.
After their attack was repelled, the French forces fled back to Dettingen and across the Main. During their crossing, one of the boat bridges collapsed, drowning many. There was no pursuit from the Pragmatic forces, for whom the breaking of the French army cleared the way for their continued withdrawal towards Flanders.
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