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ALTHOUGH General Nadafti had encamped CHAP, with his huffars very advantageously, on the other II. fide the Rhine near Leimerfheim; having placed the pandours and other irregular troops, in 1744 a more advanced poft in an adjacent wood, to get near to, and fall upon, the Bavarian infantry, which lay behind the wood, in a camp, entrenched amongst the marshes; nevertheless, upon advice that the lines of Lauterburg were. but weakly provided, Prince Charles thought proper to order this general to march with the huffars, pandours, and other irregular troops, reinforced with the Hungarian regiments of Forgatsch and Efterhafi, towards thefe lines, with a view to endeavour to take poffeffion of the town and lines of Lauterburg. This general, immediately after his arrival, on the 3d of July, fent to fummon the town to furrender, where was a garrison of 1,700 men; Count de Genfac, the commandant, having refufed, Count Nadafti fent to Prince Charles for fome cannon and a reinforcement, without which he could not fucceed in taking the lines. His highness immediately fent the Prince of Wolfenbuttle, and General Preifing, with four regiments of foot and three of horse, and marched with them himfelf, on the 4th; but before their arrival the town demanded to capitulate; and, as this poft was of great confequence, his highnefs ordered that the capitulation fhould be granted, without ftanding upon trifles: on which the capitulation was figned by the Prince of Waldeck; whereby the garrifon obtained the military honours, upon condition, not to ferve, neither against the Queen of Hungary or her allies, during one year and a day; and, in confequence of the capitulation, the garrifon marched out, on the 5th, and pro

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PART ceeded to Landau and Fort Louis.

Soon after V. Prince Charles arrived at Lauterburg, and reinforced the 200 men, which General Nadafti had 1744. ordered to enter it, to the number of 800; and, hearing that the French were in march to gain the lines on the fide of Weiffenburg, he detached General Nadafti towards that town, with a body of 6,000 men.

PRINCE CHARLES, being returned on the 5th at night to the army, received advice that the main body of the French and Bavarians was ranged in order of battle behind a wood, in front of the Auftrians; and, as it was then dufkish, his highness fent out patrols, on every fide, to obferve what paffed; but they not returning till fix in the morning, the army could not march till eight; when they proceeded to Lauterburg, and arriving there, in the evening, poffeffed themfelves of the advantageous camp, marked out on the declivity of a hill, very near the gates of the town, behind the lines; where they continued above a week.

PRINCE CHARLES, on his arrival at Lauterburg, received advice that General Bernklau was in full march to join his highness, having in his way feized several magazines, and defeated two regiments of French horfe on the fide of Spire. The prince alfo received intelligence from General Nadafti, that he had taken poffeffion of Weiffenburg, in fight of the avant guard of the French, the garrifon of which, confifting of 350 men, had capitulated on the 5th of July, and obtained the military honours, on condition of not ferving, against the Queen of Hungary or her allies, for the space of twelve months General Nadafti took a booty of 112 carriages, laden with provifions, but giving no

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II.

tice to Prince Charles that the whole body of the CHAP. French and imperial army was preparing to pour in upon him, and that he could not long main-n tain his poft, his highness came himself, with a 1744. reinforcement of 6,000 men, and gave immediate orders for the French garrifon of Weiffenburg to march out; and General Nadafti, having made them lay down their arms, caused four regiments of infantry to enter into the place, to fupport his detachment, till the army had paffed the lines. At the fame time Prince Charles ordered four regiments of cavalry to advance, and fent to the army to haften their march, fearing that the French, coming to push General Nadafti, might get into his lines, and hinder the paffage of the Auftrians; and within an hour after the infantry began to come up, when the whole army, filed off immediately. In the mean time the Marthals Coigni and Seckendorff, appeared before Weiffenburg, at the head of 40,000 men; and General Nadafti, though he faw the fuperiority he had to engage with, refolved to make a vigorous ftand; which he gallantly executed, and repulfed three regiments of horfe, which formed the van-guard of the French, with confiderable lofs: but the French, being fustained by their whole force, and the two marfhals renewing their attack in different places, gave the Austrian commander a very fingular opportunity of exerting his bravery and experience, where he would have made a defperate refiftance, if he had not received orders, from Prince Charles, to abandon the place; who detached 500 German horfe to facilitate his retreat; which he executed, with his whole corps, excepting one battalion of the regiment of Forgatch; who, notwithstanding every thing that could

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PART be faid, would not quit their poft, in which they maintained themfelves till nine at night, when the French retook the town, having affaulted it 1744 three feveral times. The whole corps under General Nadafti performed wonders, 12,000 men having held out, the whole day, against 40,000, and given the Auftrian army time to eftablifh themfelves in the lines. This action lafted from fun-rife to fun-fet, and was rather a burchery than a battle; being one of the moft ob ftinate and fanguinary engagements that ever happened; the fire continuing, on both fides, without intermiffion, for feven hours, with a moft terrible flaughter: after which, the powder being fired away on both fides, the troops attacked with fword and bayonet, hand to hand, with incredible fury; the Bavarians refusing quarter from the Auftrians, as the pandours did from the French; who had above 2,000 men killed, wounded, or taken prifoners; they loft four standards, one pair of colours, and the kettle drums of a whole regiment that was entirely deftroyed: but the Auftrians loft only about 700 men, including the flain, and those made prifoners of the battalion of Forgatsch, and 200 wounded.

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THE French on the 7th, were joined by General Montal, who had been detached, with 20,000 men, towards Worms, to cut off the communication of General Bernklau with Prince Charles, but had been difappointed by the vigilance of the Auftrian general; who, after defeating the avant guard of the French, effected his junction, on the 8th, with Prince Charles; his highness being then posted in the camp and lines of Lauterburg, having declined to attack the French on the arrival of General Montal.

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SCARCE had the French repoffeffed themselves CHAP. of Weiffenburg, but they perceived the difficulty of maintaining themselves in it, after the n junction of General Bernklau with the main ar- 1744. my of the Auftrians; and from the neceffity of covering Alface, which lay entirely open to the incurfions of the invaders, they abandoned the town, on the 8th of July, to retire under Haguenau, behind the Motern. The next morning General Nadafti was fent, with 6,000 men, to obferve the motions of the French who sent a detachment of 8,000 men against him: upon which the Auftrian general feized the most advantageous eminencies, which obliged the French detachment to retire without attempting any thing. The Auftrian General afterwards received orders to continue at Sultz, halfway between Weiffenburg and Haguenau, and immediately to detach 1,000 horfe to obferve the French; who, on the 11th, returned with advice that the French and Bavarian marshals were entrenching their troops, not only in the lines of Haguenau, but that they poffeffed those lines from the Rhine as far as Ingweiler: upon this intelligence Baron, Trenck was commanded to poft himself, with 1,000. pandours, in the forest of Haguenau, to obferve and alarm the enemy: and, to get certain advices of the motions made by the French, who it was imagined were to come from the Meufe and Mofelle, Baron Schwaben, Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment of Ghylany, was detached with 300 horfe towards Sarlowiz in Lorrain.

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ALL Lower Alface now felt the; severity of the Auftrians, who exacted very large contribu tions, to retaliate the injuries committed by the French in the hereditary dominions of her Hun

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