The duke,
heartbroken at seeing the conquests, which had been effected at so
great a loss of life and treasure, wrested from his hands while he
was unable to strike a blow to save them, in despair marched away
to Swabia to meet the slowly advancing army of Marshal Horn.
No sooner was the junction effected than he turned quickly back and
reached the vicinity of Nordlingen, only to find the enemy already
there before him, and posted on the more advanced of the two heights
which dominate the plain. By a skillful manoeuvre, however, he was
enabled to throw within its walls a reinforcement to the garrison
of eight hundred men.
Nordlingen, an important free town, stands on the south bank of
the Ries, some 18 miles to the northeast of Donauworth. It was
surrounded by a wall, interspersed with numerous towers, sufficiently
strong to guard it against any surprise, but not to defend it against
a regular siege by a numerous army. The vast plain on which the
town stands is broken near its centre by two heights rising at a
distance of three thousand yards from each other.
The height nearest to the town, which is very steep and craggy, is
known as the Weinberg, the other is called Allersheim; a village
stands some three hundred yards in advance of the valley between the
heights, and is nearer to the town than either of the two eminences.
The Scotch brigade formed part of Duke Bernhard's command.
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