Seven Years War (1756-63)
Warburg
(Honour Awarded in 1909)
Although the British were still the opponents of the French, their allies in this war were the armies of Frederick the Great of Prussia. In 1758 a series of amphibious landings took place on the French soil. Consisting of nine infantry battalions and Light troops from nine cavalry regiments, including that of the King’s Dragoon Guards, this force was commanded by Colonel Elliott, later commander of the Gibraltar garrison during the great siege of 1779-83. Their first operation was the occupation of St Malo where shipping and stores were burnt. In August the same force made a more daring raid in which they seized the naval base of Cherbourg, destroying most of the fortifications there, as well as blowing up shipping in the harbour. In the main theatre of war the King’s Dragoon Guards were present at Minden in 1759 when the cavalry under Lord George Sackville, were prevented from joining the fighting, despite orders to the contrary From the Commander-in Chief. The following year the Queen’s Bays joined the King’s Dragoon Guards and both fought at Corbach which was memorable for a desperate charge by the KDG’s in which they and another regiment helped save the army which was in full retreat from the French: the regiment lost 47 killed. Soon after this the two regiments served for the first time in the same brigade at the battle of Warburg.
Although a minor victory Warburg, was important in that the British cavalry, under the dashing Marquis of Granby, restored their reputation, which had been tarnished by Sackville’s behaviour two years previously. The main feature of this battle was the two-hour approach march by which Granby surprised the French. Only pausing to draw up the brigades into two lines. In the first line from left to right were the first (KDG) Third And Second Dragoon Guards (Bays) in one brigade, the Blues, Seventh and Sixth Dragoon Guards in another; in the second line were the Greys, Tenth, Sixth, and Eleventh Dragoons then the advance was resumed, Granby riding at the head of the Blues, his own regiment and well in front. Granby led the charge at gallop, overthrowing the enemy who fled across a nearby river with the British still in pursuit.
The war dragged on for another three years and the regiments took part in many more encounters of which one was Groesbenstein in 1764.
Here again Granby met the French, but this time they retreated rather than risk a battle. The prize as at Warburg, was the great fortress of Cassell and after some more skirmishing in which the cavalry played a major role, it surrendered at he end of the year.
