nvade the Austrian Netherlands, and took
Menin and Ypres. His presumed opponent was the allied army previously under
King George and now composed of English, Dutch, Germans and Austrians. On
the Rhine, Coigny was to make head against Prince Charles, and a fresh army
under the prince de Conti was to assist the Spaniards in Piedmont and
Lombardy. This plan was, however, at once dislocated by the advance of
Charles, who, assisted by the veteran Traun, skilfully manoeuvred his army
over the Rhine near Philipsburg (July 1), captured the lines of
Weissenburg, and cut off the French marshal from Alsace. Coigny, however,
cut his way through the enemy at Weissenburg and posted himself near
Strassburg. Louis XV. now abandoned the invasion of Flanders, and his army
moved down to take a decisive part [v.03 p.0042] in the war in Alsace and
Lorraine. At the same time Frederick crossed the Austrian frontier
(August).

The attention and resources of Austria were fully occupied, and the
Prussians were almost unopposed. One column passed through Saxony, another
through Lusatia, while a third advanced from Silesia. Prague, the
objective, was reached on the 2nd of September. Six days later the Austrian
garrison was compelled to surrender, and the Prussians advanced to Budweis.
Maria Theresa once again rose to the emergency, a new "insurrection" took
the field in Hungary, and a corps of regulars was assembled to cover
Vienna, while the diplomatists won over Saxony to the Austrian side. Prince
Charles withdrew from Alsace, unmolested by the French, who had been thrown
into confusion by the sudden and dangerous illness of Louis XV. at Metz.
Only Seckendorf with the Bavarians pursued him. No move was made by the
French, and Frederick thus found himself after all isolated and exposed to
the combined attack of the Austrians and Saxons. Marshal Traun, summoned
from the Rhine, held the king in check in Bohemia, the Hungarian irregulars
inflicted numerous minor reverses on the Prussians, and finally Prince
Charles arrived with the main army. The campaign resembled that of 1742;
the Prussian retreat was closely watched, and the rearguard pressed hard.
Prague fell, and Frederick, completely outmanoeuvred by the united forces
of Prince Charles and Traun, regained Silesia with heavy losses. At the
same time, the Austrians gained no foothold in Silesia itself. On the
Rhine, Louis, now recovered, had besieged and taken Freiburg, after which
the forces lef