ment and good hold over his troops,
made Marlborough's decisions fruitful.

Upon the 14th of June the passage of Marlborough's column over the hills
between the Rhine and the Danube began. Baden went back to the command of
his army, which already lay in the plain of the Upper Danube, and awaited
the arrival of Marlborough's command, and the junction of it with his own
force before Ulm.

A heavy rain, drenched and bad roads, marked Marlborough's crossing of the
range. It was not until the 20th that the cavalry reached the foot of the
final ascent, but in two days the whole body had passed over. It was thus
upon the 22nd of June that the junction between Marlborough and Baden was
effected. From that day on their combined forces were prepared to operate
as one army upon the plain of the Upper Danube. They stood joined at the
gates of Ulm, and in their united force far superior to the
Franco-Bavarians, who had but just escaped Baden's army, and who lay in
the neighbourhood watching this fatal junction of their rivals.

I say, "who had but just escaped Baden's army," for it was part of the
general plan (and a part most ably executed) that not only should the seat
of war be brought into the valley of the Upper Danube by Marlborough's
march to join Baden, but, as a preparation for this, that the army of the
Elector, with his French allies under Marcin, should be driven eastward
out of the mountains and cut off from the main French forces upon the
Rhine.

This chasing of the Franco-Bavarians down on to the Danube and out of the
Black Forest was begun just after the spirited piece of generalship by
which Tallard had, as we have seen, reinforced the Elector of Bavaria in
the middle of May. That rapid and brilliant piece of work had been
effected only just in time. Hardly was it accomplished when Baden's force
in the mountains marched, as part of Marlborough's general plan, against
the Elector, with the object of forcing him back into the Danube valley at
full speed.

It was on the 18th of May that the British regiments were crossing the
Meuse, and the advance upon the Danube had begun.

It was on the 18th of May that Louis of Baden appeared at the head of his
army in the Black Forest and initiated that separation of the Bavarian
forces from the French which was a necessary part of the general plan we
have spoken of. It was but a few hours since Tallard had stretched out his
hand and passed the recruits and the provisions ov