The winter passed quietly, but as soon as spring set in and the roads were sufficiently good for the passage of wagons, d’Harcourt prepared to attempt to raise the siege of Casale, before which Leganez with twenty thousand men had intrenched himself.  The roads were still, however, far too heavy for cannon, and as the garrison were becoming hardly pressed he left his guns behind him and started at the end of April with seven thousand foot and three thousand horse.  The position occupied by the Spaniards was a strong one, and their general did not for a moment think that the French, with a force half the strength of his own, would venture to attack him.  D’Harcourt, however, resolved upon doing so.  He divided his force into three parts; two of these were composed of French soldiers, the third comprised the forces of the Duchess of Savoy.  The attack was successful on all sides —­ although d’Harcourt for a time could make no way, and Turenne was repulsed three times before he entered the intrenchments —­ the Spaniards were completely defeated, and lost their guns, ammunition, and baggage, three thousand killed, two thousand prisoners, and great numbers were drowned in endeavouring to cross the river.

A council of war was held, and Turenne’s advice that Turin should be besieged was after much debate accepted, although it seemed a desperate enterprise for an army of ten thousand men to besiege a town garrisoned by twelve thousand, while the Spaniards, after recovering from their defeat and drawing men from their various garrisons, could march to relieve the town with eighteen thousand men.  No time was lost in carrying Turenne’s advice into effect.  The army marched upon Turin, seized the positions round the town, threw up lines facing the city to prevent sorties being made by the enemy, and surrounded themselves by similar lines to enable them to resist attack by the Spaniards, who were not long in approaching them.  Thus there were now four bodies of combatants —­ the garrison of the citadel, which was surrounded and besieged by that of the town; the town was besieged by Turenne, and he himself was surrounded by the Spaniards.  Each relied rather upon starving the others out than upon storming their positions, but Leganez managed to send a messenger into Turin telling Prince Thomas that he intended to attack the French and calling upon him to fall upon them with his troops at the same time.

In pursuance of this design he retired some distance up the Po, and proceeded to cross the river at Moncalieri.  D’Harcourt despatched Turenne to oppose the passage, but before he could arrive there some five thousand men had crossed the bridge.  Without hesitating a moment, although his force was a much smaller one than that of the Spaniards, Turenne attacked them at once, carried the intrenchments they had begun to throw up, killed a large number, and drove the rest into the river, where hundreds were drowned.