GENEEAL IMHOFF TAKES MUNSTER.

Prince Ferdinand having garrisoned Minden, marched to Hervorden; and the hereditary prince passed the Weser at Hamelen, in order to pursue the enemy, who retreated to Cassel, and from thence by the way of Marburg as far as Giessen. In a word, they were continually harassed by that enterprising prince, who seized every opportunity of making an impression upon their army, took the greatest part of their baggage, and compelled them to abandon every place they possessed in Westphalia. The number of his prisoners amounted to fifteen hundred men, besides the garrison left at Cassel, which surrendered at discretion. He likewise surprised a whole battalion, and defeated a considerable detachment under the command of M. d’Armentieres. In the meantime, the allied army advanced in regular marches; and prince Ferdinand, having taken possession of Cassel, detached general Imhoff with a body of troops to reduce the city of Munster, which he accordingly began to bombard and cannonade; but d’Armentieres being joined by a fresh body of troops from the Lower Rhine, advanced to its relief, and compelled Imhoff to raise the siege. It was not long, however, before this general was also reinforced; then he measured back his march to Munster, and the French commander withdrew in his turn. The place was immediately shut up by a close blockade, which, however, did not prevent the introduction of supplies. The city of Munster being an object of importance, was disputed with great obstinacy. Armentieres received reinforcements, and the body commanded by Imhoff was occasionally augmented; But the siege was not formally undertaken till November, when some heavy artillery being brought from England, the place was regularly invested, and the operations carried on with such vigour, that in a few days the city surrendered on capitulation.

Prince Ferdinand having possessed himself of the town and castle of Marburg, proceeded with the army to Neidar-Weimar, and there encamped; while Contades remained at Giessen, on the south side of the river Lahn, where he was joined by a colleague in the person of the mareschal d’Etrées. By this time he was become very unpopular among the troops, on account of the defeat at Minden, which he is said to have charged on the misconduct of Broglio, who recriminated on him in his turn, and seemed to gain credit at the court of Versailles. While the two armies lay encamped in the neighbourhood of each other, nothing passed but skirmishes among the light troops, and little excursive expeditions. The French army was employed in removing their magazines, and fortifying Giessen, as if their intention was to retreat to Franckfort-on-the-Maine, after having consumed all the forage, and made a military desert between the Lahn and that river. In the beginning of November, the duke de Broglio returned from Paris, and assumed the command of the army, from whence Contades and d’Etrêes immediately retired, with several other general officers that were senior to the new commander.

The duke of Wirtemberg having taken possession of Fulda, the hereditary prince of Brunswick resolved to beat up his quarters. For this purpose he selected a body of troops, and began his march from Marburg early in the morning on the twenty-eighth day of November. Next night they lay at Augerbauch, where they defeated the volunteers of Nassau; and at one o’clock in the morning of the thirtieth they marched directly to Fulda: where the duke of Wirtemberg, far from expecting such a visit, had invited all the fashionable people in Fulda to a sumptuous entertainment. The hereditary prince having reconnoitred the avenues in person, took such measures, that the troops of Wirtemberg, who were scattered in small bodies, would have been cut off if they had not hastily retired into the town, where however they found no shelter. The prince forced open the gates, and they retreated to the other side of the town, where four battalions of them were defeated and taken; while the duke himself, with the rest of his forces, filed off on the other side of the Fulda. Two pieces of cannon, two pair of colours, and all their baggage, fell into the hands of the victors; and the hereditary prince advanced as far as Rupertenrade, a place situated on the right flank of the French army. Perhaps this motion hastened the resolution of the duke de Broglio to abandon Giessen, and fall back to Friedberg, where he established his head-quarters. The allied army immediately took possession of his camp at Kleinlinnes and Heuchelam, and seemed to make preparations for the siege of Giessen.