Hastenbeck 1757

The outbreak of the Seven Years War saw the formation of new alliances and led to the conduct of military operations in several theatres simultaneously. The campaign of 1757 saw large-scale manoeuvres, with their necessary operational corollaries of supply and logistics, as France put an army of 100,000 men into the field. The conduct of the campaign also testifies to the difficulty of exercising command in the face of a court and a government for which short-term results took precedence over means. Notwithstanding such difficulties, the campaign of the French armies in Westphalia saw its climax play out around the village of Hastenbeck on 26 July 1757, where the forces of Maréchal d'Estrées gained a victory that came close to knocking Hanover out of the war.

The story of the campaign can be told from the human perspective thanks to the large body of memoirs and letters from officers, both general and subordinate, of cavalry and infantry regiments. Having left their garrisons four months earlier, they had come to battle at the gates of Hanover after having travelled more than 600 kilometres through the Low Countries and into Germany.

"...Certain to find a deserved place on the shelves of both professionals and amateurs interested in the Seven Years War and eighteenth century European warfare in general." Journal of the Seven Years’ War Association

"...A very pleasant to read." Vae Victus Magazine 161

"The French perspective was always going to be of great interest and this book does not disappoint. Well structured, it is a well-presented and detailed analysis of the battle and certainly a book that anyone interested in the Seven Years War should find useful." carryingsonupthedale.com