Lauffeld, 2 July 1747
Another battle in which the Regiment distinguished itself during the War of the Austrian Succession was at Lauffeld, near Maastricht in Belgium. The famous Marshal Saxe commanded the French and was opposed by an army composed of British, Dutch and Austrians under the Duke of Cumberland, a son of George II.
The Battle of Lauffeld, 1747
The British troops were centred about Lauffeld with its right, the cavalry, resting on Val, the line being continued westward by the Dutch and Austrians. In this position, they faced the French on the morning of 2nd July 1747.
Saxe sent the bulk of this force against the British at Lauffeld, and here the fighting was very desperate. In spite of the superior numbers of the French, their first two assaults were brilliantly repulsed. Saxe threw more and more regiments into the attack at this point and eventually the British were borne back, taking a heavy toll on the enemy as they did so.
The Duke of Cumberland then gave the order for the whole line to advance and the French were once again being borne back, when some of the Dutch cavalry in the centre were seized with panic and galloped wildly into the British line, sweeping away some cavalry and crashing into two infantry regiments. This was most unfortunate for us because before the line could be restored the French sent more troops against Lauffeld and captured it.
In order to save the situation, General Ligonier put himself at the head of the British cavalry and charged the great masses of French cavalry. He broke through their first line but was fired on from all sides by French infantry in the rear.
The conduct of the British cavalry saved the day and “Rich’s Dragoons,” together with other dragoon regiments, behaved splendidly, but suffered heavily.
General Ligonier was overthrown and taken prisoner. The remnant of this great charge rejoined the main body with difficulty and the whole retreated, having dealt a severe blow against an enemy much superior in numbers.
