hours. In the beginning of the action the left wing of the Swedes gave way; but that division being supported in time, the battle was restored, and Torstenson charged the Imperialists with such fury, as to break their cavalry, and destroy a considerable part of their infantry. General Götz, and about three thousand men, were left dead on the field; twenty-six pieces of caanon were taken, with sixty-three pairs of colours, and four thousand prisoners, among whom were Hasfeld and other officers of distinction. The pursuit was no less bloody than the battle. Twelve hundred of the imperial infantry were slain in one body, and a great number taken prisoners, together with three thousand horse'.

Struck with terror by these repeated misfortunes, Ferdinand pressed the elector of Bavaria to assist him with troops; and that prince sent four thousand men to Vienna, excusing himself from furnishing a greater number, as he was obliged to protect his own dominions against the insults of the French, who threatened the Upper Palatinate. Galas, at the same time, collected the broken remains of the imperial army in Bohemia; set on foot new levies; and having formed a respectable body of troops, encamped under the cannon of Pilsen, in order to observe the motions of Torstenson; who, in consequence of his late victory, had reduced Pilgran, Iglaw, and several other places. Krems, Stein, and the fort of Tyrenstein, also submitted to the conquerors; so that the Swedes were now masters of the Danube on the side of Moravia; and all the towns in that province surrendered at discretion, except Brinn, which Torstenson besieged, as the reduction of it seemed necessary to facilitate his junction with Ragotski, on which was supposed to depend the fate of Hungary and Austria.

This enterprise occasioned such alarm at the court of Vienna, that the emperor retired to Ratisbon, and the empress and her attendants fled for refuge to Gratz in Stiria. The most valuable articles of furniture were removed from the capital, the suburbs were pulled down, and the bastions and ramparts repaired. Some old regiments threw themselves into the city; the inhabitants were armed; the magazines filled, and preparations made for supporting a long siege. Torstenson, however, had no thoughts of such an enterprise. He found sufficient employment at Brinn; which, by its gallant defence, afforded Ferdinand leisure to put his affairs in some order. Leopold was

1 Heiss, liv. iii. chap. x-Barre, tome ix.

declared commander-in-chief of the imperial forces; and Galas assembled the militia from all quarters to augment the army, that he might be able to prevent the Swedes from crossing the Danube. Nor was the elector of Bavaria less busy in taking measures to oppose the progress of the French.

General Merci, having received intelligence that the marechal de Turenne, after quitting his winter quarters at Spire, had established his head post at Mariendal, and that his troops were dispersed in the neighbouring towns for the conveniency of subsistence, resolved to attack him by surprise, in hopes of defeating him before he could assemble his forces. Extending himself, with this view, in the plain of Mariendal, he drew up his army in order of battle. He placed his foot in the centre, and his cavalry on the two wings. After cannonading the French for some time, he put himself at the head of his infantry, and marched to the attack of a small wood that covered their front; a post which it was absolutely necessary for him to possess, before his left wing, commanded by John de Weert, could act to advantage. Turenne, at the same time, with his cavalry, charged the right wing of the Imperialists, which he broke and penetrated as far as the second line. But, during these efforts, three thousand French, under the command of general Rose, were routed and dispersed by the Bavarians; and De Weert, perceiving their confusion, advanced with his left wing in order to take Turenne in the rear. Sensible of the danger of being surrounded, the marechal ordered his cavalry to wheel about, and retire across the wood; at the other side of which, being joined by three fresh regiments of foot, and fifteen hundred horse that had been already engaged, he ranged them in order of battle, with a view of attacking the enemy, should they pass the wood. Merci, however, did not think proper to try the experiment; so that the French general, having collected his broken troops, retired in the face of the enemy; crossed the Maine in their despite, and reached the frontier of Hesse, where he found that he had lost great part of his infantry, twelve hundred horse, and his whole baggage'.

Elate with this advantage, the elector of Bavaria made very lofty proposals of peace to France; and Mazarine, without regard to them, sent a reinforcement of eight thousand men to Turenne, under the conduct of the duke d'Enghien. These two commanders resolved to bring the Bavarians to a general action.

1 Puffend, lib. xvi.-Barre, tome ix.

With this view Turenne, whose day it was to lead, advanced at the head of his cavalry, to engage the enemy. But they had taken post upon a rising ground so difficult of access, that it seemed hazardous to attack them. The duke, having afterwards the chief command, resolved to advance towards the Danube, and was prosecuting his march to Nordlingen, when he received intelligence that the Bavarians were come up with him. He immediately ranged his army in order of battle, upon the same plain where the Swedes had suffered a melancholy defeat soon after the death of Gustavus, giving the command of the right wing to the marechal de Gramont, and that of the left to Turenne. Marsin, an officer of reputation, was placed at the head of the first line of infantry; the second, composed chiefly of Hessians, was commanded by major-general Geiss; and the sieur de Chabot conducted the corps de

reserve.

The Bavarian right wing, composed solely of infantry, was posted upon high ground, and the main body entrenched below. Still lower lay a village, and on the left wing, commanded by John de Weert, stood a fortress. The action was begun by the duke d'Enghien, who ordered Marsin to attack the village; but he being dangerously wounded, and the troops under his command giving way, the French general sent in his room the marquis de Moussau with a reinforcement. This body also was broken, and would have been utterly destroyed, had not the duke in person led on the whole French infantry to the assistance of the marquis. Nor could their utmost efforts turn the tide of battle, until the count de Merci was slain at the head of his conquering troops. Even after the death of that great captain, all the intrepidity of the duke d'Enghien, who displayed the most heroic valour, could not prevent the destruction of great part of the French infantry. And to increase the misfortunes of the future Condé, the left wing of the Bavarians fell with such fury upon the French cavalry, that they were totally routed, and the marechal de Gramont made prisoner; while John de Weert, attacking the corps de reserve, defeated Chabot, and penetrated as far as the baggage. During these disasters, Turenne assailed the right wing of the enemy; and when he had reached the summit of the eminence in good order, a terrible conflict ensued, in which he broke the first line of the Bavarians; but general Gleen advancing with the second, the French were ready to give way in their turn, when the duke d'Enghien came seasonably to the support of his left wing. He obliged the Bavarians to retire, and leave their cannon, which were pointed against the

part of their right wing drawn up near the village. Turenne now charged the enemy in flank, and drove them beyond the village, after having taken general Gleen prisoner. Meantime John de Weert, partly informed of what had passed upon the hill, hastened thither with his victorious left wing; but he came too late to retrieve the honour of the day, every thing being already in confusion. All that he could do, therefore, was to lead off the remains of the Bavarian army to Donawert, whither they escaped under cover of night, though pursued as far as the banks of the Danube'.

The victory, if such it may be called, was dearly purchased by the French, four thousand of their best soldiers being left dead upon the spot. Nordlingen and some neighbouring places, indeed, opened their gates to the conquerors; but they were soon recovered by the Bavarians, who received a strong reinforcement under Leopold. Turenne, however, after the departure of the duke d'Enghien, who went to Paris to receive the applause due to his valour, had the honour of closing the campaign with reestablishing the elector of Treves in his dominions. That prince, after a captivity of ten years, had obtained his liberty, in consequence of a second treaty with Ferdinand, by which he submitted to the articles of the peace of Prague, and other rigorous conditions. But as he signed this treaty with no other view than to deliver himself from a tedious and grievous imprisonment, he threw himself upon the protection of France, as soon as he was liberated; and cardinal Mazarine ordered Turenne to effect his restoration. The marechal accordingly invested Treves; the garrison was obliged to capitulate, and the elector entered his capital amidst the acclamations of his subjects'.

The elector of Saxony, finding himself unable to stop the progress of the Swedes under Köningsmark, who had reduced a number of towns in Thuringia and Misnia, had recourse to a negotiation, and concluded a truce with that general for six months, as a prelude to a peace with Sweden. This treaty was the more disagreeable to the house of Austria, as it enabled Köningsmark, after laying Bohemia under contribution, to form a junction with Torstenson, who had carried his depredations to the very gates of Vienna, in spite of all the efforts of the archduke. The emperor, however, in some degree counterbalanced the defection of the elector of Saxony, by a peace with Ragotski.

1 Barre, tome ix.-Heiss, liv. iii. chap. x. Hist. du Prince de Condé.
Barre, tome ix.

He acknowledged that prince sovereign of Transylvania, and restored to him certain possessions in Hungary, which had belonged to his predecessor, Bethlem Gabor 1.

Torstenson, after his junction with Köningsmark, proposed to undertake the siege of Prague; but Leopold, being joined by A.D. the count de Bouchain, took such effectual measures for 1646. securing that city, as rendered the attempt impracticable. Chagrined at this disappointment, and greatly afflicted with the gout, Torstenson retired to his own country. He was succeeded in the chief command by general Wrangel, who supported the reputation of the Swedish arms, and, in conjunction with Turenne, ravaged Franconia, Silesia, and Moravia.

In order to secure his dominions against these ravages, the elector of Bavaria withdrew his troops from the service of the emperor, and concluded a separate peace with France. His

A.D. example was followed by the archbishop of Cologne; 1647. and the archbishop of Mentz, and the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, were reduced by the victorious Turenne to the necessity of taking the same step. He laid waste their dominions, and struck all Germany with the terror of his arms. Nor were the Swedes inactive. Having garrisoned the towns they possessed in Westphalia and Upper Suabia, they made themselves masters of Schweinfort, which had cut off the communication between those provinces; and again entering Bohemia, reduced Egra in presence of the imperial army'.

The confederates were less successful in other quarters. Nothing of consequence had been effected either in Italy or the Low Countries during the last two campaigns; and in Spain the reputation of two celebrated French generals had been tarnished. In 1646 the count d'Harcourt, viceroy of Catalonia, besieged Lerida. The garrison was not strong, nor was the place in a state of defence. But Don Antonio de Brito, the governor, had the address to make the French believe that his condition was yet more desperate than he found it; so that they did not press the siege so vigorously as they otherwise might, from a persuasion that he would surrender at discretion. Meanwhile the marquis de Leganez, the Spanish general, who knew exactly the state of the garrison, caused a great convoy to be provided. When it was nearly ready, he advanced towards Lerida, seemingly with an intention of relieving the place; but,

1 Annal. de l'Emp. tome ii.

2 Barre, tome ix.-Heiss, liv. iii. chap. 10.