retain control of this region, Louis sent Vendôme to replace Villeroi, along with substantial reinforcements. On 12 July, Vendôme was joined by Philip V, who had been visiting Spanish possessions in Italy, including Naples, Sicily, and Milan. This brought their combined army up to 30,000 – 35,000, including 10,000 Savoyards and five regiments of the Irish Brigade. In July, Vendôme captured Modena, then turned north to take Guastalla; on 26 July, he clashed with Imperial cavalry under Visconti at Santa Vittoria. In early August, a detachment under Vendôme besieged Luzzara, a small town held by an Austrian garrison of 500, that controlled a bridge over the Po River. Prince Eugene now faced being cut off from his supply base at Mirandola; he abandoned his blockade of Mantua, and marched on Luzzara, telling its governor to hold on until he arrived. Many of his troops were tied up in garrisons at Mirandola, Bersello and Borgoforte, leaving him with a field army of 26,000. On 14 August, he reached Riva, a village north of Luzzara; here he learned the town had already surrendered, and the rest of Vendôme's army was moving into a camp just outside. Battle Between Luzzara and the Po River, there were two earth embankments, built to prevent the river flooding the countryside; a high one just outside the town, and a smaller one close to the river (see Map). Prince Eugene planned to conceal his troops behind these, and take the French-Savoyard army by surprise; since their first task would be to collect forage, and water the horses, he hoped to take them unarmed. He split his forces into two lines, the left under Visconti and the Prince de Commerci, the right under Vaudémont, while he commanded the centre. During the morning and early afternoon of 15 August, the Imperialists crossed the Po and moved into position, but were discovered by a French patrol. They quickly formed up, and around 5:00 pm, Prince Eugene ordered a general assault. His right wing was repulsed four times, with heavy losses on both sides, particularly among the Irish units and Albemarle's Regiment holding the French left. The struggle on the other wing was equally bloody; Commerci and his Danish infantry nearly broke through on several occasions, although he and several senior commanders were killed. The broken ground meant cavalry played little part in the battle, which meant casualties were even higher