Now the British Army was in a very tight corner indeed; no sooner had they marched than the Marquis de Noailles, perfectly alive to the situation, sent twelve thousand men to occupy Aschaffenberg in their rear; thus with twenty-three thousand men in a strong entrenched position in their front between them and their stores of food, the river on their left, and a force of twelve thousand in their rear, the position of the British looked pretty hopeless, hemmed in as they were in addition by hills on the right. Across the river a strong force of artillery was posted, which commenced a heavy fire into the left flank of our regiments, mowing down whole ranks. It was a position which at any moment might have been turned into a panic. That it was not turned into a panic and a rout is entirely owing to the courage and military skill of George the Second.
As far as courage was concerned, he was ably seconded by his son the Duke of Cumberland, but as this was his first fight, his military knowledge was nil, and it never shone particularly at any time after.
With all his faults and frailties and “foiblesses,” little King George on this day showed himself to be a skilled soldier, and a brave man. His previous reputation gained at Oudenarde had not been forgotten by our own poets when he came to England and became Prince of Wales; one of them had thus addressed him on a birthday:—
“Let Oudenarde’s field your courage tell
Who looked so martial, or who fought so well?
Who charg’d the foe with greater fire or force?
Who felt unmoved the trembling falling horse?
Sound, sound, O Fame, the trumpet loud and true,
All, all, this blaze to my Prince George is due.
In early life such deeds in arms were done