Some fresh
reinforcements arrived during their stay here, and the vacancies
which battle and disease had made in the ranks were filled up.
But although the Green Brigade did not march from Maintz till the
5th of March, 1632, the whole army did not enjoy so long a rest. In
February Gustavus despatched three hundred of Ramsay's regiment under
Lieutenant Colonel George Douglas against the town of Creutzenach,
together with a small party of English volunteers under Lord Craven.
Forty-seven of the men were killed while opening the trenches, but
the next day they stormed one of the gates and drove the garrison,
which was composed of six hundred Walloons and Burgundians, out
of the town into the castle of Kausemberg, which commanded it. Its
position was extremely strong, its walls and bastions rising one
behind another, and their aspect was so formidable that they were
popularly known as the "Devil's Works." From these the garrison
opened a very heavy fire into the town, killing many of the Scots.
Douglas, however, gave them but short respite, for gathering his
men he attacked the castle and carried bastion after bastion by
storm until the whole were taken.
About the same time the important town of Ulm on the Danube opened
its gates to the Swedes, and Sir Patrick Ruthven was appointed
commandant with 1200 Swedes as garrison, Colonel Munro with two
companies of musketeers marched to Coblentz and aided Otto Louis
the Rhinegrave, who with a brigade of twenty troops of horse was
expecting to be attacked by 10,000 Spaniards and Walloons from
Spires.
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