For the 1674 campaign, Turenne was ordered to prevent Imperial troops entering the contested area of Alsace; facing a number of separate forces which outnumbered his in total, he sought to defeat his opponents piecemeal.

On 16 June 1674, Turenne intercepted a slightly larger Imperial detachment of around 8,500 men, on its way to join Alexander von Bournonville and their main army near Heidelberg.

De Caprara managed to repulse the first two French assaults before withdrawing; although unable to prevent him linking up with von Bournonville, Turenne inflicted heavy casualties, and thereafter gained the strategic initiative in the campaign.

In addition, the unexpected success of his offensive encouraged Louis to make excessive demands, while concern at French gains brought the Dutch support from Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold, and Charles II of Spain.

In August 1673, the French army in the Rhineland under Turenne was faced by Imperial forces under Raimondo Montecuccoli who outmanoeuvred his opponent and helped the Dutch capture Bonn.

[6] Facing war on multiple fronts, Louis relinquished most of his earlier gains to consolidate his position along the French border with the Spanish Netherlands and in the Rhineland.

He was helped in this since French armies of the period held significant advantages over their opponents; undivided command, talented generals, and vastly superior logistics.