The question whether William had a hand in the murder of the De Witt brothers will always remain unanswered, like his exact role in the later Massacre of Glencoe. The fact that he ordered the withdrawal of a federal cavalry detachment that otherwise might have prevented the lynching has always raised eyebrows; neither did he prosecute well-known ringleaders like Johan van Banchem, Cornelis Tromp and his relative, Johan Kievit, even advancing their careers. But maybe firm measures against the conspirators were not feasible in the political climate of autumn 1672. In any case, the political turmoil did not enable the allies an opportunity to finish the Republic off. The French were effectively stymied by the water defenses. Only when the inundations froze over in the following winter was there, briefly, a chance for Marshal Luxembourg, who had taken over command of the invading army from Louis, to make an incursion with 10,000 troops on skates. This almost ended in disaster, when they were ambushed. Meanwhile, the States General managed to conclude alliances with the German emperor and Brandenburg, which helped relieve the French pressure in the East.