The French, who were allied with Austria, Russia, Sweden and Saxony during the Seven Years' War, invaded Germany in April 1757 with two armies, altogether about 100,000 soldiers.

While the river Weser normally cannot easily be forded, during the summer the water level drops down to a low of 80 cm (~3 feet) between Münden and Hameln, making it possible for infantry and cavalry to cross.

The main army crossed the Weser on 16 July, leaving the Duke of Cumberland no choice but to deploy his troops south of Hamelin and to engage d'Estrées.

The commander of the French right flank, general François de Chevert, was ordered to engage Hanoverian troops at the village of Voremberg, but failed to drive them out.

As the French left under general Duc de Broglie was still crossing the Weser near Hameln, d'Estrées decided to postpone the battle until all his troops were up.

Cumberland made the mistake of assuming the hill to be impassable to formed troops and deployed a meagre three Jäger companies on its summit, effectively leaving the Hanoverian left flank in the air.

General Chevert was ordered to flank the Hanoverian position with four brigades of troops from Picardy, la Marine, Navarre, and Eu.

At 9 AM, this force advanced toward the Obensburg in three battalion columns and quickly overwhelmed the Jäger (German light infantry – derived from hunters).

When the Hanoverian reserve infantry arrived on the Obensburg, they were able to turn the tide momentarily, but as the Duke of Cumberland had begun to withdraw his army, they were unable to maintain the now-isolated position for long.