Battle Of Blenheim

I was recently away at a Team Meeting in Noerdlingen, Bavaria. A very interesting town, some 30Kms (19 miles) away from Blindheim, better known in English as Blenheim. Noerdlingen is interesting because although in Bavaria, it is actually a Protestant town. During the 30 years war, it was the site of two battles.

On a guided tour of the town, we were shown the Sankt Georg (St. George) church. Although a Protestant town, it was the first church I've stepped foot in Germany, and for it to still feel like a church! (Being "Anglican", Lutheran churches here in Niedersachsen are NOT churches...!). Anyway, within the church, I found a memorial to three guys:



Looking closer, they all died on the 13th August, 1704... The date of the Battle of Blenheim. So, I looked closer... (Fraktur is hard to read, and my German is bad, so bear with me)



Carol Heinrich von... Hauptmann, under the Emperor. He fell in a "hartem treffen" against the "Franzossen"...



Christian Rudolf von Haatz... Lieutenant, under the Emperor. Also fell in "hartem treffen" against the "Franzossen"...



... Hard to read name (sorry, my camera work is terrible I know!)... Captain, under the "Kron Prinz in Preuessen" (I think). Also fell in the "hartem treffen" against the "Franzossen"...

So, what we have, is a memorial to three guys, fighting on the side of the Habsburgs, presumably under Prince Eugene of Savoy, on the side against the French.

A great surprise. I am only sorry I couldn't get to the battlefield myself; although only 30kms away, I had to travel by train (the curse of the Dienstreise!). With luck, I'll go another time.

If anyone has any ideas of other battlefield areas I should visit here in Germany (other than the obvious WWII), then let me know!

Well, the Old German writing is difficult to read even for us germans.