The Army of Observation was a British-led German army whose aim was to protect Hanover from invasion by French forces during the early years of the Seven Years War. It was placed under the command of Duke of Cumberland, younger son of George II the King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover. Although no British troop formations were sent to join the army, a number of its staff officers were drawn from the British army.
It was defeated at the Battle of Hastenbeck in July 1757 and forced to disband entirely following the Convention of Klosterzeven. It was subsequently reformed under the leadership of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick and successfully fought French forces until the armistice that ended the war in late 1762.
Background
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After British and French forces had clashed in North America in 1754-55, it became increasingly likely that a war was to break out between the two states. Aware that their military position in Canada was potentially weaker than the British and their more populous American Colonies France's leadership planned to secure a victory in Europe to offset any potential losses in North America. The French hoped to capture Hanover, which shared its ruler with Britain, and then use it is a bargaining counter to extract concessions from Britain in the ongoing dispute in North America which had brought them to the brink of war.[1] To counter this Britain had originally considered hiring 50,000 Russian troops to defend Hanover and then decided to sign an agreement with a former enemy, Prussia, who agreed to uphold the neutrality of Hanover and surrounding territories.[2]
The British initially hoped that the agreement with Prussia would be enough to deter France from attacking Hanover, but it soon became apparent this was not the case. Under the 1756 Convention of Westminster Britain was obliged to garuntee the security of Hanover and Prussia. As the Hanoverian army numbered only 27,000[3] - insufficient to match the much larger armies France could put in the field - a larger force of German troops, raised from neighbouring states would need to be organised and financed by Britain. This was a well-established practice - which had previously been used in the War of the Austrian Succession and the War of the Spanish Succession. However it often drew criticism as some British taxpayers resented having to subsidise Hanover's defence, which they felt was not in Britain's national interest.
Establishment
editIn late 1755 the British began making enquires amongst various German rulers about the possibillity of hiring troops. The two major contributors were Hesse-Kassel, which was well-known in the eighteenth century for its supply of its soldiers as mercanries, and Brunswick. The largest component of the force was the Hanoverian army. By agreement the Hanoverian troops were to be funded by their own government while all other contingents would be paid for by Britain.[4] A number of British officers came to serve with the force, including Guy Carleton and Jeffrey Amherst. Command was given to the Duke of Cumberland, the younger son of George II of Great Britain. During the War of the Austrian Succession Cumberland had led a similar multinational force, known as the Pragmatic Army, which had been formed to face the French threat against the Austrian Netherlands, Hanover and the Dutch Republic.
By ----- the force numbered around --------. The failure of Britain to persuade either the Dutch Republic or Denmark to supply troops to the army weakened it. Cumberland was also critical of the quality of some of the German troops under his command. The army was boosted by the arrival of six battalions of Prussians who arrived from the Fortress of Wesel which they had abandoned.[5] The army was known as the Army of Observation, as a gesture towards its intended role merely as as a deterrent to the French to discourage them from making a move into Germany.
Move to Britain
editAs Britain and France edged closer to war in early 1756, it began to appear that France intended to launch a large invasion of the British Isles. A decision was made to ship the troops to Southern England, the likeliest target of any French invasion. Historically the presence of German troops had been connected with absolutism by the British public, who associated them with Hanover which was not a democracy. However, despite attempts by opposition politicians such as William Pitt to arouse anti-German sentiment, they were generally well received by the British population who were more concerned about an impending French attack than the prospect of a German dictatorship.[6] Following the French decision in Spring 1756 not to immediatly invade Britain, but instead to launch an attack on Minorca in the Meditaranean, the threat of a French invasion gradually decreased, and the British government began the process of returning the Army of Observation to Germany. In part they were replaced by the formation of a new British Militia.
Combat operations
editInitially the French did not attack Germany, concentrating on other theatres of conflict even after they had declared war on Britain and Hanover in May 1756. However, a large army began to mass in northern France. In April 1757 France invaded Germany, recognising the vulnerability of Hanover and the potential of either annexing the Electorate or more likely using it as a bargaining counter in future peace negotations with the British. Louis Charles d'Estrées and Prince de Soubise commanded combined forces of 100,000 comfortably outnumbering Cumberland's forces. Soubise led his army towards -----, through Westphalia.
Battle of Hastenbeck
editthe battle was scrappy, and fought over three days. Cumberlands' attempt to
Retreat to Stade
editCumberland was finally forced to break off combat and withdraw northwards in the direction of Stade, closely followed by the victorious French forces. The failure to prevent the French for occupying, and looting, parts of Hanover proved humiliating for Cumberland and his force but they lacked the strength to fight another major battle. The army slowly began to disentagrate as many of the troops returned to their homelands.
Stade was a fortified port, which potentially was defensible during the winter.
The Duke of Newcastle, in particular, urged that the large expedition against Rochefort on the French coast be redirected to reinforce Cumberland in Germany. However, this was rejected and the Rochefort raid went ahead as planned.[7]
Klosterzeven and disbandment
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Cumberland was severely treated by his father when he returned to Britain, and resigned his commision, never holding military command again. The end of the Army of Observation received a mixed reception with the British public - while many resented the commitment to Hanover and the vast resources being expended by Britain on the Electorate's behalf - others saw the French victory at Kloster-Zeven as a direct threat to Britain's own security and the latest in a series of defeats that had seen Minorca lost and British forces defeated in America.
Aftermath
editUnder intense pressure from Frederick the Great, who did not want Prussia's western flank exposed, and from William Pitt the Elder, who wanted French forces to be tied down in Germany rather than sent elsewhere, George II revoked the Convention of Klosterzeven on a technicality and brought the Electorate of Hanover back into war. Hanover's forces were reformed and redeployed. The French had also been unhappy with the Convention, perceiving its terms as far too lenient - as they hoped to annexe Hanover entirely, and were happy to resume fighting.
A fresh Allied army was created, reformed out of the Army of Observation, and command given to the experienced Duke of Brunswick. He immediatly rallied his forces and drove the French from Hanover by early 1758. From 17258 until 1762 there was heavy fighting in Western Germany as France tried unsuccessfully to defeat Brunswick's forces and retake Hanover.
See also
editReferences
editBibliography
edit- Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. Faber and Faber, 2001
- Black, Jeremy. The Hanoverians: The History of a Dynasty. Hambledon, 2004.
- Corbett, Julian Stafford. England in the Seven Years' War: A study in Combined Operations. Volume I. London, 1907.
- Dull, Jonathan R. The French Navy and the Seven Years' War. University of Nebraska, 2005.
- Middleton, Richard. The Bells of Victory: The Pitt-Newcastle Ministry and the Conduct of the Seven Years' War, 1757-1762. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
- Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008.
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