On the side of the allies the following were the arrangements for
the opening of the campaign. A German army under Louis, Margrave of
Baden, was to be collected on the upper Rhine to threaten France on
the side of Alsace. A second corps, 25,000 strong, composed of
Prussian troops and Dutch, under the Prince of Saarbruck, were to
undertake the siege of Kaiserwerth, a small but very important
fortress on the right bank of the Rhine, two leagues below
Dusseldorf. The main army, 35,000 strong, under the Earl of
Athlone, was destined to cover the frontier of Holland, from the
Rhine to the Vecun, and also to cover the siege of Kaiserwerth;
while a fourth body, of 10,000 men, under General Cohorn, were
collected near the mouth of the Scheldt, and threatened the
district of Bruges.
Upon the other side the French had been equally active. On the
Lower Rhine a force was stationed to keep that of Cohorn in check.
Marshal Tallard, with 15,000 men, came down from the Upper Rhine to
interrupt the siege of Kaiserwerth, while the main army, 45,000
strong, under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Boufflers, was
posted in the Bishopric of Liege, resting on the tremendous chain
of fortresses of Flanders, all of which were in French possession,
and strongly garrisoned by French and Spanish soldiers.
At the time, however, when the vessel containing Rupert Holliday
and Hugh Parsons sailed up the Scheldt, early in the month of May,
these arrangements were not completed, but both armies were waiting
for the conflict.
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