...another corps under Lieutenant General François de…

...another corps under Lieutenant General François de Créquy, marquis de Marines, takes over the protection of the main army on the right flank.

All three armies are to enter the Spanish territories at the same time, in order to take advantage of the French numerical superiority and not allow the Spanish to concentrate their defense against a single French force.

French forces on May 24, 1667, cross the border into the Spanish Netherlands.

The latter are badly prepared for war and cannot expect reinforcement from the mother country in the foreseeable future.

Indeed, the military forces in the Spanish Netherlands are not centrally organized.

Every large town has its own area of responsibility and went about the maintenance of its own defense arrangements, which in practice however means that they are badly prepared for a siege.

Their commanders are relatively independent and responsible only to the Statthalter Marquis of Castel Rodrigo, who also commands the few regular Spanish troops.

Apart from this, he only has militias at his disposal, which are however only available in the utmost emergency.

Thus the small number of available troops does not permit the establishment of a field army.

Therefore, the few available forces are posted in the strongholds of the country, to hold out as long as possible.

For this reason, during the whole war, not one large battle will be fought; instead, small skirmishes and sieges ensue.

Maréchal de Turenne had on May 10, 1667, taken over the supreme command over the French forces .

The first objective is the stronghold of Charleroi, which, due to its location on the Sambre, dominates the connection between the northern and southern Spanish possessions.

The Marquis de Castel-Rodrigo does not have the means to hold this important position, and abandons the fortress, after destroying all the fortifications.