cutting off the French from the Lower Rhine. Meanwhile an attack had been made upon France from the Upper Rhine. The Margrave Louis of Baden, having crossed the river with the German forces, found himself opposed by Catinat, who did not show his usual ability, and suffered the Margrave to besiege and take Landau and to overrun Alsace. The success of the German army was marred by the defection of Bavaria, which, throwing aside its neutrality, declared in favour of France. Villars was detached from Catinat's army to join the Elector of Bavaria; and as an access was thus opened to the French into the heart of Germany, Louis of Baden had to withdraw from his conquests, and, turning to meet the new danger, suffered a heavy defeat at Friedlingen. [Sidenote: The war in Italy.] [Sidenote: The war at sea.] While such was the course of the war in Germany and Flanders, in Italy, Prince Eugene of Savoy, the general of the allies, had, even in the winter, been carrying on operations against Marshal Villeroi. That Marshal had been taken prisoner at Cremona, and had been succeeded by Vendome. A great but indecisive battle had been fought in August at Luzara, after which the armies were left facing each other, the French still occupying the Milanese. The maritime war had been as indecisive as that upon the Continent; an English expedition under the Duke of Ormond had been sent against Cadiz; it had failed in its original object, but on the way home had succeeded in destroying a Spanish treasure fleet in the Bay of Vigo. In the West Indies, an event occurred almost unprecedented in English history. The English fleet had been defeated in a great battle, not by the superiority of the enemy, but by the treason of its own commanders. Admiral Benbow, who had engaged a superior force of the enemy, after a fight of several days, was deserted by some of his captains. Wounded and dying, he was forced to withdraw. He lived long enough to have his captains condemned to death by court martial. [Sidenote: Savoy and Portugal join the coalition.]