within a small distance of the allies, who ever fince the battle continued to occupy Warbourg, the Dymel running between the two armies. In this fituation they continued for about a month,

The hereditary prince, who was ever in motion, and continually hovering now on one fide, now on the other of the French camp, in one of his excurfions had perceived that the French, according to their ufual negligence, were not very exact in their out-pofts and patroles. He had alfo received intelligence, that they had thrown a corps of horfe and foot, confifting of fomething more than two thousand men, into the town of Zirenberg, a place furrounded with fome dama ged walls.

From thefe lights, he refolved upon the furprife of this body, and accordingly made his difpofitions for this bold attempt, in the manner following. Firft, he ordered a body of his light troops to turn the town of Zirenberg, and to take poft between it and Dierenberg, in order to intercept any that thould at tempt paffing to the camp of the enemy. Next he posted at proper diftances eight fquadrons of dragoons, two battalions of grenadiers, and one regiment of foot, on the road between his own camp and the place which was to be at tacked, with a view to cover his retreat, in cafe he fhould be repulfed and purfued. With the reft of his foot, confifting for the greater part of English, he marched with the utmoft caution and diligence towards the town.

When they had ar5th Sept. rived within two miles, they divided into three bodies, VOL. III.

which took three different routes, by which the place was completely furrounded, At eight in the evening they fet out from Warbourg, and came before this place at two the following morning. Notwith-" ftanding the precautions taken,. the trampling of the troops over the gardens gave the alarm to a guard of the enemy's dragoons, who immediately began to fire. Strict orders had been given to proceed with as little alarm as poffible, and referve their fire; and fuch was the deliberate courage, fuch the perfect difcipline of the English grenadiers, that they fustained this fire, puthed on with bayonets, drove back the enemies picquets, killed the guard at the gates, and entered the town along with the fugitives, without the leaft noise, hurry, or confufion, Never was furprife more complete.

The column of the English grenadiers having forced the gate, advanced regularly with their bayonets fixed, and without firing a mufquet, by the two ftreets that led to the church-yard (which, being the only open part of the town, ferved the French as a place of arms) killing or taking a great number of those who ran from the houfes towards this rendezvous; and thus they advanced with the greateft order and the moft profound filence, until they reached the church-yard. The night was fo dark that they formed by the fide of the French, who for a while took them to be their own picquets that had affembled; but they were foon undeceived; a fierce encounter with bayonets enfued, in which the French were quickly obliged to give way.

Two regiments of the enemies dragoons

d

goons endeavoured to fly to the gate that led to their camp; but they found it occupied by 400 grenadiers, who drove them back with their bayonets; forced from hence, they fled to another gate; there they were repulfed with a tharp fire of fmall arms. Then they were compelled to feparate; and flying at random as fortune and the night directed, made their escape at the feveral breaches of the wall. The prince was mafter of the place in about an hour; but the nearness of the French camp and the approach of day prevented as long a continuance in the place as he withed for reaping the full fruits of his victory; therefore about three o'clock he began his retreat, carrying off two pieces of cannon, 36 officers, and between 4 and 500 private men. The flaughter alfo of the enemy was confiderable. The prince reached his camp without the leaft moleftation in his retreat.

If we confider the difficulty of this attempt, very few have been bolder; if we examine the difpofition, none could be conducted with greater wifdom; if we attend to the behaviour of the troops, we ball no where find an example of more exact obedience, difcipline, and courage. To attack fo large a body of the enemy, fo ftrongly potted, within a little league of their grand camp, to march so far in that critical fituation, and in a very dark night to divide into fo many parts, yet to act with fo much order and fo entire a concert, was certainly an exploit of the very firft rank; and though not of any great importance in its confequences, is fo admirable in its conduct and execution, that it well deferves to be told at the length we have given it. This added greatly to the reputa

tion of the British foldiers as troops, and no lefs to their honour as men, by the humanity they thewed to their prifoners, and the generous fentiments of the common fort with regard to money; as there were feveral noble inftances that night of their refusing to take any thing from their prifoners who had offered them their puries. They loft but ten men.

From this time the operations of the two armies, which for a time feemed to languish, were renewed with fresh vigour. Prince Ferdinand perceived, that whilft the French communication with the Rhine and with Franckort on the Maine continued open, it must prove to little purpofe to attempt any thing either for the relief of Gottingen or Caffel. Their progrefs indeed into Hanover had been checked; but whilft ever they continued in fo advanced a pofition, it was evidently impoffible to prevent their making very ruinous inroads into that country. To force them to a battle against their inclination would be difficult, and the attempt itself dangerous. There remained but one method, which was to make frequent and strong detachments into the fouthern parts of Helfe and Wetteravia, and thus render precarious the French communication with the Rhine and Maine, from whence they drew the greatest part of their fupplies of all kinds.

With this intention, he detached general Bulow at the head of a ftrong corps, who pushed forward toward Marpurg,furprised the town, deftroyed the French ovens, with feveral hundred waggons of flour, and carried off a confiderable quantity of cloathing and military stores. In the mean time, his light troops fcoured the country in fuch a manner as

for

for a while answered the great end of the expedition in breaking the French communication with Frankfort. Proceeding on this plan he made a further movement towards Frankenau, which, at length, neceflitated the French general Stainville, who commanded in thofe parts, to quit his pofition, and endeavour to ftop the progrefs of this detachment. He came up 13 Sept. with their rear as they were paffing the river Orcke, and falling upon them at this difadvantage with fuperior numbers and great fury, he entirely routed the rear, and took fome men and a very great number of horses.

It was to be apprehended that he might have purfued this advantage, to the entire ruin of M. Bulow's detachment, if the hereditary prince by a forced march of five German miles had not arrived time enough to fupport him. On the prince's arrival M. Stainville fell back, and took poffeffion of a strong poft, in which it was in vain to attack him.

Whilft these measures were taking with mixed fuccefs for difquieting the French, and interrupting their communication to the fouthward of their quarters, like movements were made to the northward, to oblige them, if poffible, to relinquith their hold on Gottingen. But gen. Wangenheim, who with that defign had croffed the Wefer, and in the beginning had proceeded with no fmall expectations, at length received a fevere check, 19 Sept. which forced him to repafs the river with fome precipitation. However thefe frequent detachments anfwered fo well the end of haraffing the French, that on the 20th they retired from Immenbaufen, and fell back upon Caffel,

where they began to entrench themfelves. Prince Ferdinand followed them clofe; and the better to obferve their motions, fixed his quarters as near as he could to thofe of the enemy.

But whilft the grand armies thus watched each other, the eyes of Europe were drawn to a different quarter, by a movement equally aftonishing for its rapidity and myfterious for its defign. The hereditary prince of Brunswick, whom we have feen but a few days before in the furtheft part of Heffe, fuddenly appeared on the frontiers of the United Provinces, with an army of twenty battalions and ten fquadrons. One detachment of his troops which had proceeded on the fide of Duffeldorp, paffes the Rhine above Roeroot; another which had marched through Munfier pafles it nearly about the fame time, but a great diftance below, at Rhees; these two detachments move to meet each other, and as they proceed, feize all the French pofts along the Rhine: the enemy's guards are every where taken or abandon their redoubts. This puts into their poffeffion a number of boats, by which they are enabled to tranfport all the reft of the troops which are intended to act upon the left of the Rhine. Then they proceed without delay or oppofition directly to Cleves;

the garrifon takes refuge 3d O&.

in the caftle, which is vigorously attacked, and in three days furrenders 500 men prifoners of war. Whilt this was performed by one body, another had laid fiege to Wefel, and battered the place with fo much fury, that the reduction of it appeared certain; and with it the entire poffeffion of the Lower Rhine almoft from Duffeldorp to Cleves.

The fecrecy, and the rapidity of the march, together with the vigour of the fubfequent operations, were fuch as might be expected from the character of the hereditary prince; but on what defign this rapid march was made, and thefe vigorous fteps taken at that particular time, gave room for a great deal of reafoning. During a good part of the fummer, very great preparations had been made in England for a conjun& expedition; a powerful fleet was in readiness; and they had embarked a large train of field and battering artillery, a confiderable body of foot, and a regiment of light horfe.

As this armament was fuppofed in readiness to fail about the time of the hereditary prince's march to the Rhine, conjecture united thefe two defigns together, and fuppofed the fleet at Portfmouth and the army in Weftphalia were to act on the fame plan. On this fuppofition it was judged that the ftorm would probably fall on the Auftrian Netherlands; and that Oftend, which the emprefs fo unpolitically for herself, and fo ungratefully to her former friends, had given into the hands of France, would be the first object of thofe forces which were to unite from fuch a distance.

This defign of the expedition from Portsmouth has, we underfland, been formally difavowed. Whether in ftrictnefs, not being a principal in the war with her Imperial majefty, England ought to have made fuch an attempt, though Ofiend was defended by a French garrison, we shall not take upon us to determine; but without the aid of fuch confiderations it is evident there were fufficient objections to it from the fide of merc prudence. Almoft infuperable difficulties oc

curred in fuch a fcheme; and it would fcarcely appear to moft men advifcable to add a Flemish to our German war.

But we think it poffible to give fome reasonable account of the expedition of the hereditary prince, independent of any connection with the British armament. For a confiderable time the French had feemed refolved to refume their former plan of an army on the Lower Rhine; fuch motions were made as ftrongly indicated that this defign would thortly be put in execution; and the allied army had every thing to fear from it. For as the French were checked from proceeding to the complete conqueft of the electorate by the allied army on the Dymel, if this army fhould itself be fo checked, by one of the enemy advancing from the Lower Rhine, there would be then nothing to hinder M. Broglio from fending forward fo ftrong a referve as might finally reduce Hanover. In thefe circumftances nothing but a very decifive victory could poffibly fave the allied army, thus furrounded and deprived of its fubfiftence, from perithing in the mofi miferable, or furrendering in the moft fhameful manner.

There was one step only which might with certainty prevent this defign, and even in fome measure turn it upon the enemy; the taking Cleves and Wefel into the hands of the allies. This would not only defeat the fcheme of the French for acting upon the Lower Rhine, but greatly embarrals their operations in every other quarter. Even the attempt, though it fhould not be attended with fuccefs, would neceffarily draw the attention of the French that way, and thus fave Hanover at leaft for one campaign.

This

This alone had been a fufficient reafon for the march. But had the British armament at the fame time been intended for fome part of the coaft of France, or had England politically kept up fuch a rumour, when the had in reality a more remote object for her armament; in either of thefe cafes it would undoubtedly have co-operated with the hereditary prince's defigns, by detaining a greater body of the French troops at home to defend their own coasts.

We do not pretend to penetrate into all the motives. But it is evident that in the German enterprise every thing depended on the celerity of the operations. The fiege of Wefel was carried on with great vigour, by that part of the prince's army which was on the right of the Rhine, whilft the prince covered it on the left. But before the enemy could disturb him, nature declared against his fuccefs by the fall of immenfe rains, which fwelled the Rhine and Lippe to fuch a degree as greatly interrupted the progrefs of the fiege, having rendered the roads of Weftphalia impatiable, and therefore prevented the arrival of the reinforcements which were intended to push the fiege with the greater effect. Thefe rains alfo made it very difficult for the prince to preferve his communication with the befiegers, which, however, he made thift to keep open by one bridge above, and another below the town.

In the mean time, the French, with all the expedition they could ufe, had collected an ariny under M. de Caftries, of thirty battalions and thirty-eight fquadrons, partly from the great army in Heffe, partly from the Low Countries. This body advanced as far as Rheinberg, and

after a ftrenuous refiftance drove out a detachment of the allies which had been pofted there. From thence they marched by their left, and encamped behind the convent of Campen. The hereditary prince now faw at the fame time the feafon, and a fuperior army acting against him; to fight this enemy, fully prepared to receive him, with the troops which he could fpare from the fiege, might be a defperate attempt. To break up the fiege would have of itself anfwered the intention of the enemies march. There was no medium but a surprife; which was refolved, and all the difpofitions for it made with the judgment by which the great prince who commanded is distinguished upon fuch difficult occafions. This attempt became the more neceffary, and the lefs time was to be loft in making it, as intelligence had been received that the French army was fhortly to be augmented by powerful reinforcements. The prince began his march at ten in the evening.

To reach the enemies camp, it was neceffary to diflodge Fifcher's corps of irregulars, who had occupied the convent of Campen in their front. This produced fome shot, 16th Oct. and this thot alarmed the whole French army, which immediately got under arms, and posted themfelves in a wood. The allied troops pushed forward, twice repulfed the French, and with the most noble perfeverance reiterated their attacks on the wood, and kept up a terrible and well-fupplied fire for 16 hours without intermiflion, that is, from five in the morning to the fame evening at nine. There have been few examples of fo obitirate a combat. But at length finding night approach, the troops haratled, their 43

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