"[We] attacked the French with great fury, and after a terrible firing of near half an hour, the French ran away. Then they brought up their second line, which, after we had given them a huzza, we fell on and beat back in about half an hour. After this they presented us their third line in most beautiful order; when My Lord Stair came to the head of our regiment and commended the bravery of the whole line, and said he would himself see us make the third attack, upon which, after giving him three huzzas, the English march'd up with surprising resolution; but such a panick run thro' the French, at seeing our first line still able to oppose their third, that they turn'd about and retreated over the river with great expedition."

-John Hughes, on the Battle of Dettingen (Black 63).

(Barnett 191

War, you find out quickly, is a lot about marching. March, march, march. When are you going to see any action? Your British regiment is met by Hanoverian and Austrian troops in a march that takes you deep into the Rhine valley. On the 19th of June, 1743, you are excited to hear that King George II himself has come to take control of the British forces. (Paget 53) A week later, with provisions running extremely low, you hear that the decision has been made to strike quickly at the French. (Black 62) You find yourself marching toward the village of Dettingen with thick woods to one side and the daunting River Main on the other. (Paget 53)

Suddenly, you hear the roaring of cannons. You can see the French waiting in the plains ahead, and to your sides men are falling with every burst of fire. The French seem to far outnumber your side, and you wonder why no one is giving the orders to retreat (Black 62). You look behind you, and you can see French forces advancing and firing onto the flanks. They've trapped us between the forest and the river! You hear the voice of a Scotch officer yelling to his troops. "Do ye see yon loons on yon grey hill? well, if ye dinna kill them, they'll kill you.' (Chandler 42)

Instead of holding their positions, though, the French soldiers to your front begin to charge, and from where you're standing it seems like a pretty disorganized charge. The marshes separating the British and the French seem to be making it difficult for the French ahead of you to regroup and attack together. You hear the call to fire, and you and your fellows raise your rifles, but the range is too far and the bullets have little effect on the disorganized yet quickly approaching French troops (Chandler 42).

You hear cheers to your front and it seems your fellow Brits are being rallied up despite the grim outlook. The French attack, several times, but each time are driven back. As you fire and reload, fire and reload, you suddenly realize that the French are beginning to retreat, even though no French officer has even given such a call! (Chandler 43) Many escape over a bridge on the other side of the village, but thousands were lost and even more drown in the River Main trying to escape (Paget 54)

Next: Prisoner of War!