or the armies of France and Sweden in Germany acting
together, since while they were acting separately, and at great
distances apart, the Austrians and Bavarians could unite and crush the
one, while the other could offer it no assistance. It was owing to
this that the conquests made by the troop of France and Weimar had been
repeatedly wrested from them. The cardinal listened to his advice,
and determined to bring about a union between the two armies of the
confederation. In the meantime a conference was going on at Munster
between the representatives of the various conflicting powers, but each
put forward such exorbitant demands that no progress was made.

The Duke of Bavaria, indignant at the small support that Austria had
given him, was playing off France against the latter power. Mazarin
was persuaded that he was only waiting for an opportunity to desert the
Imperialist cause, and therefore ordered Turenne not to cross the Rhine,
as the duke had promised that he would remain neutral unless the French
advanced into Germany, when the feelings of his subjects might force him
to take the field again on the side of Austria.

Turenne was therefore ordered to besiege Luxembourg. The marshal,
however, had no belief in the Bavarian promises, and on arriving on the
Rhine early in April, and seeing that were he to march with his army
away to Luxembourg the cause of France and Germany would be lost, he
continued to make various excuses for not moving, until the Duke of
Bavaria, having obtained many concessions from 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 arrive