his blockade of Mainz. With his now superior numbers, Jourdan decided to defend the line of the Lahn in the hope that he could keep the Archduke's army occupied, and prevent him from turning south to attack Jean Victor Moreau's army in the Black Forest. With some kind of luck, he himself might be able to slip away to the south and join with Moreau as he defiled from the Black Forest. After pausing in Würzburg only long enough to capture the fortress, the Archduke arrived at the Lahn on 11 September. His determined pursuit prevented the French from turning south to join with Moreau's sizable force crossing the Black Forest. Recognizing Jourdan's established position and superior numbers, Charles decided to feint toward the French left, at Paul Grenier's division at Giessen and Lefebvre's division at Wetzlar, creating a distraction; he would actually attack at the French right flank. To achieve this goal, he ordered Paul Kray’s and Anton Sztaray’s divisions to create as much noise and confusion as possible to convince Jourdan that the Austrian main army was on its left flank and the attack would come from the left. The divisions were so successful that, by 15 September, the French had concentrated most of their strength on their left. Marceau was posted between the Rhine and Limburg, with his advance guard at Mensfelden, southeast of the city. Bernadotte was to the east, at Runkel, Jean Étienne Championnet was further to the northeast, at Weilburg. Jourdan's troops were stationed at the eastern shore of the Rhine. Moreau, considerably further to the south, could be of no use to him, nor he to Moreau. Battle On the morning of 16 September, the Archduke drove Marceau's outposts out of Mensfelden and captured Diez and Limburg. For the moment, Marceau retained control of Limburg's suburb on the north bank of the Lahn. The Archduke brought up his artillery, captured Limburg Bridge, and drove Marceau and his men from the suburb. Marceau was able to prevent the Habsburg army from advancing any further, and the Austrian attack stalled there. The French then counterattacked, and drove the Austrians back across the Lahn. The suburb changed hands two more times that day, but when night fell, it was in French hands. During the night, the Archduke prepared for a renewed attack across the Lahn, in four columns, and in greater numbers than he had sent