Consisting of troops from Habsburg Austria, Hesse-Kassel and Electoral Bavaria, plus French Royalists, the Coalition army broke through the French frontier defenses in the First Battle of Wissembourg on 13 October 1793 and overran Alsace as far as the Zorn River. The French government reacted to the emergency by appointing Pichegru to lead the "Army of the Rhine" and urging it to attack. Beginning on 18 November, Pichegru ordered continual attacks on the Coalition lines which slowly forced Wurmser's army back. The Battle of Berstheim was a notable action during the French offensive. Unfortunately for Wurmser, a Prussian army failed to pin down Lazare Hoche's "Army of the Moselle" to the west. When Hoche began to put pressure on the Coalition right wing, Wurmser was unable to spare sufficient troops to resist the new threat because of Pichegru's relentless frontal attacks. The next combat was the Second Battle of Wissembourg on 25–26 December.