The Twelfth regiment was thanked in orders, in common with the other British regiments, on the following day; and its distinguished conduct on this occasion was afterwards honoured with the King's authority to bear the word "Minden" on its colours and appointments in commemoration of its gallantry.[12]
Minden was taken possession of on the following day, and the French army was forced to make a precipitate retreat to a distance of about two hundred miles. The allies followed the retiring enemy with great energy, ascending precipices, passing morasses, overcoming numerous difficulties, and pressing upon and attacking the retreating army, with so much resolution, that several French corps were nearly annihilated, and many prisoners, with a great quantity of baggage, were captured. The Twelfth foot shared in the hazards, toils and conflicts of this brilliant success, and when the weather became too severe for the troops to remain in the field, the regiment went into cantonments in the bishopric of Osnaburg in Westphalia.
1760
The regiment left its quarters on the 5th of May, 1760, to take the field, and on the 12th of that month it arrived in the vicinity of Paderborn; it was joined by a numerous body of recruits from England, to replace the losses of the preceding campaign.
A hundred thousand French troops took the field under the Duke of Broglio, with a separate corps under the Count de St. Germain, and so far outnumbered the allied army, that the latter was obliged to act on the defensive. The Twelfth took part in numerous operations. Towards the end of May they were encamped on the heights near Fritzlar; in July they proceeded to the vicinity of Saxenhausen, from whence they retreated towards Cassel, and encamped near Kalle.
Upwards of thirty thousand French troops crossed the river Dymel, and took post near Warbourg, to cut off the communication of the allies with Westphalia, when Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick quitted the camp at Kalle, and crossed the river to attack this portion of the French army. The battle commenced on the morning of the 31st of July, at which time the Twelfth, and other British infantry corps, were several miles from the scene of conflict. The soldiers hurried forward to share in the action with extraordinary zeal: it was a hot summer's day; they had a rugged country to traverse, morasses to pass, and numerous difficulties to overcome, and they exerted themselves with so much energy, that several men dropped on the road;[13] but before they arrived at Warbourg, the French troops had retreated across the river.
During the remainder of the campaign, the regiment was employed upon the Dymel; and the allied army, by secret and expeditious movements, by daring and rapid advances, and by sudden and unexpected attacks, kept the enemy in constant alarm. In the winter, the regiment went into quarters in the bishopric of Paderborn.
1761
The enemy having amassed immense magazines in the country of Hesse, and on the Lower Rhine, the allied army made a sudden advance into the enemy's cantonments, in February, 1761, captured several strong towns, and seized on numerous stores of provision. The Twelfth shared in this enterprise, advancing through a deep snow, and taking part in several important captures: when this service was performed, they retired to their former quarters.
In June, 1761, the regiment again took the field, and was employed in several operations; it was formed in brigade with the fifth, twenty-fourth, and thirty-seventh regiments, under the command of Brigadier-General Sandford, and was posted in the Marquis of Granby's division. After several harassing marches, the regiment was stationed in front of the village of Kirch Denkern, and near to Vellinghausen, in the bishopric of Paderborn. The French, commanded by Marshals Soubise and the Duke of Broglio, attacked this post on the 15th of July; but the ground was maintained with firmness and resolution by the British infantry, and the enemy was repulsed with loss. The fire of the skirmishers was continued during the night, and on the following day the attack was repeated with fresh troops, when the Twelfth evinced great gallantry in the defence of the position. After five hours' sharp fighting, some disorder appeared in the enemy's ranks, when the brigade charged and routed the opposing battalions with great slaughter. The loss of the regiment, on this occasion, was limited to three private soldiers killed, and nine wounded.