Battle of Vellinghausen: Lessons Learnt?
A Study of the British army in the closing stages of the Seven Years War in Western Europe as studied through the Battle of Vellinghausen
This is a study of the British military actions in Western Germany during the Seven Years War, investigating the army’s ability in combat and analysing its improvements through the case study of the Battle of Vellinghausen. This will provide a more concentrated scope of the conflict centred on the Western theatre, rather than the general study upon the British army in America or the academic’s attraction with the Battle of Minden. With this in mind the research will be significant as it will open up discussions on how the British army fought in the European style during the mid-eighteenth century, as well as aiming to explore whether the British army learnt from its lessons early in the war to become an efficient fighting machine.
The purpose of this thesis is to identify the actions of the British army during the Seven Years War in Western Germany, breaking the army down into its component parts to highlight how the army fought on a European battlefield. By addressing the campaigns during 1758-61, this gives me several key battles with which to analyse whether the army improved its performance. The mid-eighteenth century was a period of shifting tactics in the way European war was fought, with new tactics and doctrine altering warfare, such as the adoption of irregular forces, or the advancement in artillery science. This thesis will identify any changes that were absorbed and whether these improved the army.
It is to be noted that Western Europe is important to study, as the historiography studied within the Seven Years War focuses on other theatres of the conflict, chiefly America and Frederick the Greats campaigns in Central Europe. This lack of interest by British historians could possibly be due to the fact that the army in Western Europe was not chiefly a British one; nor was the theatre considered particularly important by the British government or featured any monumental battles such as Leuthen, Kolin or Kunersdorf. These features could be contributing to the lack of academic study within this area, a situation I would like to address. Coupled with this is the fact that enough has already been written on the analyses of the political, social and economic areas of this period in the Age of Enlightenment. Thus I believe it is necessary to return to traditional military history, which has long been neglected, and bring to light the successful actions of the British Army in Western Europe back into study
