These successes made the Dutch statesmen at the Hague the more anxious to conclude peace.  D’Argenson had always been averse to an actual invasion of Dutch territory; and it was arranged between him and the Dutch envoys, Wassenaer and Gilles, at Paris, and between the council-pensionary Van der Heim and the Abbe de la Ville at the Hague, that a congress should meet at Breda in August, in which England consented to take part.  Before it met, however, Van der Heim had died (August 15).  He was succeeded by Jacob Gilles.  The congress was destined to make little progress, for several of the provinces resented the way in which a small handful of men had secretly been committing the Republic to the acceptance of disadvantageous and humiliating terms of peace, without obtaining the consent of the States-General to their proposals.  The congress did not actually assemble till October, and never got further than the discussion of preliminaries, for the war party won possession of power at Paris, and Louis XV dismissed D’Argenson.  Moderate counsels were thrown to the winds; and it was determined in the coming campaign to carry the war into Dutch territory.

Alarm at the threatening attitude of the French roused the allies to collect an army of 90,000 men, of whom more than half were Austrian; but, instead of Charles of Lorraine, the Duke of Cumberland was placed in command.  Marshal Saxe, at the head of the main French force, held Cumberland in check, while he despatched Count Loewenthal with 20,000 to enter Dutch Flanders.  His advance was a triumphal progress.  Sluis, Cadsand and Axel surrendered almost without opposition.  Only the timely arrival of an English squadron in the Scheldt saved Zeeland from invasion.

The news of these events caused an immense sensation.  For some time popular resentment against the feebleness and jobbery of the stadholderless government had been deep and strong.  Indignation knew no bounds; and the revolutionary movement to which it gave rise was as sudden and complete in 1747 as in 1672.  All eyes were speedily turned to the Prince of Orange as the saviour of the country.  The movement began on April 25 at Veere and Middelburg in the island of Walcheren.  Three days later the Estates of the Province proclaimed the prince stadholder and captain-and admiral-general of Zeeland.  The province of Holland, where the stadholderless form of government was so deeply rooted and had its most stubborn and determined supporters, followed the example of Zeeland on May 3, Utrecht on May 5, and Overyssel on May 10.  The States-General appointed him captain-and admiral-general of the Union.  Thus without bloodshed or disturbance of any kind or any personal effort on the part of the prince, he found himself by general consent invested with all the posts of dignity and authority which had been held by Frederick Henry and William III.  It was amidst scenes of general popular rejoicing that William visited Amsterdam, the Hague and Middelburg, and prepared to set about the difficult task to which he had been called.