In the city a rumour circulated that Louis was in haste to end the siege in order to celebrate mass in its St Janskerk on the nativity of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June. At 17:00, five cannon shots were fired to mark the start of the assault. As a diversionary attack, first Wijck was assaulted, on the other side of the river, to draw away the defenders. The assault force at the Tongeren Gate was divided into three separate parts. The Marquis de Montbrun commanded the main effort against the lunette. There were two diversionary attacks. The one on the right was led by Charles de Montsaulnin, Comte de Montal, against the Groene Halve Maan. The Duke of Monmouth commanded that on the left, which included some fifty English volunteers and a company of "Mousquetaires du roi" under Captain-Lieutenant D'Artagnan, directed against the hornwork. Louis had tried to dissuade Monmouth from participating, fearing that his death might deteriorate relations with England, but ultimately the king felt obliged to give his permission. De Vauban had ordered that the secondary attacks had to be only feints, but to his disgust Monmouth attempted to scale the hornwork and was beaten off with heavy losses, over a hundred casualties. At the first contre-escarpe, an artificial escarpment offering the defenders a forward covered transverse communication line, and the Groene Halve Maen, the French too suffered many losses, especially among their officers. The lunette was taken, quickly recaptured by a counterattack and then taken again. In the late evening, French engineers connected the lunette to the third parallel via a provisional communication trench.