Austria, threw off the mask, and marching with his army joined
that of the emperor in Franconia. Thus the whole Imperial forces
were posted between the French and the Swedes.

Turenne saw that his only hope of success would be to effect a
juncture with the Swedes, and wrote to the cardinal to that effect;
then, without waiting for an answer, he set his army in motion.
A tremendous circuit had to be made. He forded the Moselle six
leagues above Coblenz, the bridges over the Rhine being all in
possession of the enemy, marched up into Holland, and obtained
permission from the king to cross at Wesel, which he reached after
fourteen days' march. Crossing the Rhine on the 15th of July he
marched through the country of La Mark, and through Westphalia,
and on the 10th of August joined the Swedes under General Wrangel,
who had received news of his coming, and had intrenched himself
so strongly that the enemy, who had arrived before him, did not
venture to attack him. The enemy now fell back at once and encamped
near Freiburg. Their army was superior in force to that of the
allies, they having fourteen thousand horse and ten thousand foot,
while the allies had but ten thousand horse and seven thousand
foot. The allies had, however, sixty pieces of cannon against fifty
of the Imperialists. The allies advanced to Freiburg and offered
battle, but the Archduke Leopold, who commanded the Imperialists,
declined to come out of the great intrenchments he had thrown up
round his camp.

Turenne then marched towards the Maine, and, halting ten leagues
from Mayence, sent for the infantry, of which he had left a portion
there, to join him. The whole force of the allies was now united,
and took many towns. As, however, they were still inferior in