Tilly has been reinforced by 17,000 men under the Duke of Lorraine, and is marching with all speed against me.

Were my whole army collected here he would outnumber us by two to one, but many columns are away, and the position is well nigh desperate.
"I have resolved to hold Ochsenfurt.

The place is not strong, but it lies in a sharp bend of the river and may be defended for a time.

If any can do so it is surely you and your Scots.

Tilly is already close to the town; indeed the man who brought me the news said that when he left it his advanced pickets were just entering, hence the need for this haste.
"You must hold it to the last, Hepburn, and then, if you can, fall back to Wurtzburg; even a day's delay will enable me to call in some of the detachments and to prepare to receive Tilly." Without halting, the little column marched sixteen miles, and then, crossing the bridge over the Maine, entered Ochsenfurt.
It was occupied by a party of fifty Imperialist arquebusiers, but these were driven headlong from it.