For four days the artillery duel continued, and while it was going
on a considerable number of troops were at work in the village of
Oberndorf, which lay in a declivity near the river, hidden from
the sight of the Imperialists, constructing a bridge. For that
purpose a number of strong wooden trestles of various heights and
with feet of unequal length for standing in the bed of the river
were prepared, together with a quantity of piles to be driven in
among and beside them to enable them to resist the force of the
current.
On the night of the fourth day the king caused a number of fires
to be lighted near the river, fed with green wood and damp straw.
A favourable wind blew the smoke towards the enemy, and thus concealed
the ground from them. At daybreak on the 5th of April, a thousand
picked men crossed the river in two boats, and having reached the
other side at once proceeded to throw up intrenchments to cover
the head of the bridge, while at the same time the workmen began
to place the trestles in position.
As soon as day broke Tilly became aware of what was being done, and
two batteries opened fire upon the work at the head of the bridge
and against the bridge itself; but the low and swampy nature of the
ground on the Imperialist side of the river prevented his placing
the batteries in a position from which they could command the works,
and their fire proved ineffective in preventing the construction
of the bridge.
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