 Poised at the edge of Hollands Diep, Dumouriez planned to cross and march through Rotterdam, Delft, The Hague and Leiden to seize Amsterdam. After capturing Maastricht, Miranda would join him by advancing through Nijmegen and Utrecht. Preoccupied with the Dutch Republic, the French commander had given the Austrians too much time to recover. Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld massed an Austrian army on the west bank of the Rhine. He was assisted by a promising staff officer named Karl Mack von Leiberich. On 1 March, Coburg swept aside René Joseph de Lanoue's covering army at the Battle of Aldenhoven. The French abandoned the siege of Maastricht on 3 March. Coburg pursued slowly and the French forces regrouped at Leuven on the 9th. Dumouriez was slow to give up his Dutch project but the French government insisted that he take charge in Belgium. Leaving Louis-Charles de Flers in command of the Army of Holland, Dumouriez arrived at Leuven on 11 March.
