<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Commanders </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Notable commanders </Th> <Td> Wilhelm von Knyphausen Johann Rall † </Td> </Tr> <P> Hessians / ˈhɛʃən / were the 18th century German auxiliaries contracted for military service by the British government . They took their name from the German state of Hesse - Kassel . The British hired Hessian troops for combat duty in several eighteenth century conflicts, but they are most widely associated with combat operations in the American Revolutionary War (1775--1783). </P> <P> About 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War, making up a quarter of the troops the British sent to America . They entered the British service as entire units, fighting under their own German flags, commanded by their usual officers, and wearing their existing uniforms . The largest contingent came from the state of Hesse, which supplied about 40% of the German troops who fought for the British . A large number of troops from Hesse - Kassel led to the use of the term Hessians to refer to all German troops fighting on the British side, a form of synecdoche . The others were rented from other small German states . </P>

Who were mercenaries who fought for the british