Background
The Hanoverian army led by Ferdinand, brother of the duke of Brunswick, had driven the French led by the Comte de Clermont back across the Rhine. Ferdinand's own army had crossed to the left bank of the Rhine and was now in a position to threaten the frontier of France itself. The Battle of Rheinberg fought on 12 June proved indecisive. Clermont, who had recently replaced the Duc de Richelieu in command of the French army, was attempting to stem Ferdinand's advance. He chose a defensive line on the south side of a walled canal running roughly east and west. Thus the walled canal constituted a sort of natural fortification that Clermont thought would be easy to defend.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Krefeld
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