The battle involved the British attacking a dug in French army It was the bloodiest fight of the war, with over 3,000 casualties suffered, of which over 2,000 were British.
The 42nd Regiment, known as the Black Watch, paid dearly with the loss of many lives and many severely wounded. More than 300 men (including 8 officers) were killed, and a similar number were wounded, representing a significant fraction of the total casualties suffered by the British.