Battle of Bergen

Battle context

The Battle of Bergen on 13 April 1759 was fought between a British-led force of 35,000 under the Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and a French force of 28,000 under Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, within the Western European theater of the Seven Years' War. British-led casualties of 2,500 exceeded French losses of 1,800, suggesting Ferdinand's force came off worse in the engagement. Bergen falls within the sequence of operations in which France and Britain contested control of Hanover and the western German states, a secondary front tied directly to Britain's strategic interest in protecting the Hanoverian territories of George II. The engagement between two experienced commanders — Ferdinand, who had distinguished himself in the Prussian service, and Broglie, who was building his reputation in the French army — reflects the professional character of mid-eighteenth-century European warfare in this theater.