In the spring of 1760 the enemy brought into the field an army of 100,000 men, commanded by the Duke of Broglio, with a separate corps under the Count de St. Germain; and so far outnumbered the allies, that the latter were obliged to act on the defensive. The Third Dragoon Guards left their cantonments in the early part of May, arrived at Paderborn on the 12th, and on the 20th encamped on the heights near Fritzlar, where they were formed in brigade with the First and Second Dragoon Guards, under the command of Major-General Webb. The enemy, superior in numbers and situation, advanced against the allies, some skirmishing occurred, but Prince Ferdinand was ultimately obliged to retire. Leaving Fritzlar on the 24th of June, the allies proceeded in the direction of the Dymel, and on the 9th of July the main army took post on the heights of Brannau. On the same day the First and Third Dragoon Guards were sent forward to Saxenhausen, to reinforce a separate body of troops commanded by the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick.
On the 10th of July the Hereditary Prince marched towards Corbach, and when he approached that place he discovered a body of French troops formed upon the heights near the town. Imagining it was only the advanced guard of the Count de St. Germain's corps, his Highness determined to endeavour to dislodge them. The attack was accordingly made, and the intrepidity and firmness of the troops were conspicuous; but the enemy proved more numerous than was anticipated, and, being reinforced with fresh troops, it was found impossible to drive them from the advantageous post which they occupied, and a retreat was ordered. This was, however, rendered of difficult execution by the pressure of the enemy's advanced corps. Some disorder occurred. Several German regiments of infantry and cavalry were thrown into confusion, and the enemy, following up this advantage with a large body of dragoons and a numerous artillery, threatened the entire destruction of this portion of the allied army. At this critical moment the First and Third Dragoon Guards were brought forward to undertake a service of great magnitude,—no less than to confront a torrent of superior and increasing numbers, and to drive back the victorious legions that were pouring down upon the allies,—a service which would at once attest the intrinsic worth of these corps; and their conduct proved their genuine bravery, and showed that the same valour, for which the corps had often been distinguished as the Fourth Horse, also glowed in the bosoms of the Third Dragoon Guards. The two regiments instantly confronted the foe, and conscious of their own power they dashed forward upon the foaming ranks of the enemy, and used their broad swords with dreadful execution. The torrent of battle was arrested. The pursuing squadrons were driven back, 'mangled with many a ghastly wound,' and the remainder of the army was enabled to make an undisturbed retreat.[47] After driving back the enemy's squadrons the Third Dragoon Guards retired, and joined the main army, encamped at Saxenhausen, on the same evening.
The loss of the regiment on this proud occasion was thirty-five men and thirty-four horses; with one man and two horses wounded.[48]
In consequence of some movements of the enemy Prince Ferdinand proceeded with the main body of the army towards Cassel, and on the 27th of July the troops encamped near Kalle. At the same time the Chevalier de Muy, who had succeeded the Count de St. Germain, having crossed the river Dymel with 35,000 men, and taken post on the heights near Warbourg, with a view of cutting off the communication of the allies with Westphalia, Prince Ferdinand resolved to attack him in this post. The attack commenced on the morning of the 31st of July, and the brigade of Dragoon Guards had another opportunity, which it did not suffer to pass, of distinguishing itself. The action had been maintained for a short time, although only a part of the allied army had reached the scene of conflict, and the English cavalry were a distance of five miles in the rear, but they advanced at great speed, at the same time preserving such order and regularity as enabled them to charge successfully the instant they arrived on the ground; and after driving the enemy's cavalry out of the field, they attacked the French infantry and chased them from the heights with prodigious slaughter. The town of Warbourg was carried. The Dragoon Guards, led by the Marquis of Granby,[49] pressed forward in the pursuit, crossed the Dymel, and the Third Dragoon Guards, after acquiring great honour in the fight and in the pursuit, encamped that night on the heights of Wilda.
The regiment only lost one man and five horses in this engagement, with eight men and three horses wounded.
Notwithstanding the signal bravery of the British troops, the enemy, by superior numbers, was enabled to gain possession of several important towns; and, on the advance of the main army under the Duke de Broglio, the Dragoon Guards left their advanced post at Wilda, repassed the Dymel, and joined the lines near Warbourg on the 3rd of August. During the remainder of the campaign many brilliant services were performed by the British troops and their allies. By secret and expeditious movements, by daring and rapid advances, and by sudden and unexpected attacks, the enemy was kept in constant alarm; and this warfare of detachments, in which the Third Dragoon Guards took an active part, prevented the French from deriving that advantage from their superior numbers which had been anticipated. At the conclusion of the campaign the British troops went into quarters in the bishopric of Paderborn, where they suffered great hardship from a scarcity of forage and provision.
1761
The French having, by their superior numbers, gained possession of Hesse and the Lower Rhine, amassed immense magazines of provision and forage in convenient situations; and having secured the communications necessary for their subsistence, they possessed great advantages over the allies, whose numbers were daily diminishing in consequence of privations.
Prince Ferdinand, conscious of the difficulties of his situation, formed one of those daring schemes which he knew the innate ardour of his troops would execute. In the most severe season of the year, when military operations were least expected, he made a sudden, extensive, and vigorous attack upon the enemy's cantonments, threw the French into the utmost consternation, and drove a superior army before him for many miles. Having taken several strong towns, and captured many of the enemy's magazines, the allies returned to their former quarters, and the Third Dragoon Guards went into cantonments in the villages near the banks of the Dymel.
On the advance of the French army in the middle of June, 1761, the allies, having assembled from their cantonments, marched in several columns to Gesecke, and subsequently took post with their left on the river Lippe, the left centre under the Marquis of Granby at Kirch-Denkern, and the right extending towards the village of Werle; at the same time the Third Dragoon Guards were posted on the heights of Wambeln.