In 1742 King George II. sent sixteen thousand men to Flanders, under Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair, to support the interests of the house of Austria; and the Inniskilling dragoons were selected for this service. After landing at Ostend, the regiment marched to Ghent, where it was quartered several weeks, and subsequently proceeded to Brussels.
1743
From Brabant, the Inniskilling dragoons marched, in the beginning of 1743, for Germany, and in May they formed, with the Third dragoons, three battalions of foot guards, and two regiments of the line, a detached camp below the town of Hochst.
While in Germany, the lieutenant-colonel, James Gardiner, was promoted to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth dragoons[13].
Lord Cadogan, having been removed to the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards, was succeeded in the colonelcy by Field-marshal the Earl of Stair, by commission dated the 25th of April, 1743.
In the early part of June the Inniskilling dragoons crossed the Maine and encamped at Aschaffenberg, where King George II. and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland joined the army.
Leaving Aschaffenberg on the morning of the 16th of June, the army moved in columns along the banks of the Maine to join the Hanoverians and Hessians at Hanau. The French under Marshal Noailles crossed the river, and taking up a formidable position between the Maine and the mountains near Dettingen, prepared to oppose the march of the allies: at the same time the French commander seized the bridge at Aschaffenberg, to cut off the retreat of his opponents. These movements brought on a general engagement, and the Inniskilling dragoons had an opportunity of signalizing themselves under the eye of their sovereign.
While the allied army was forming for battle, the Inniskilling dragoons and other cavalry covered the operation, and were exposed to the enemy's cannon. The French household troops, headed by the princes of the blood, became impatient of inactivity, and quitting their advantageous position, galloped forward to commence the action. The British cavalry advanced to meet their antagonists, and were repulsed; but a volley from the British infantry destroyed several French squadrons, and the English troopers returning to the charge, drove back their opponents. The battle extended along the line, and the British, Austrian, and Hanoverian infantry, fiercely encountering the French battalions, gained advantage after advantage, until the fortune of the day was so evidently in their favour that the result was no longer doubtful. Meanwhile the charges of the cavalry were frequent and sanguinary. Bland's (third) dragoons, and the Inniskilling troopers charged and overpowered a superior body of horse, then rushed sword in hand upon a line of French cuirassiers, whose polished armour proved ineffectual against the prowess and resolution of the British dragoons fighting in the presence of their King. The life-guards, blues, King's horse (now first dragoon guards), and Ligonier's troopers (now seventh dragoon guards), behaved nobly; the royals and greys captured each a standard[14]; and Rich's (fourth) and Cope's (seventh) dragoons had their share in the combat. Unable to withstand the fury of the charging Britons, the French gave way, and were driven across the Maine with such precipitation, that many men were drowned in the river.