In May, a French army of 27,000 advanced into the Spanish Netherlands, defeating a smaller Spanish force at Les Avins, before linking up with the Dutch. The Cardinal-Infante retreated to Leuven but French logistics could not support so many and fewer than 17,000 remained when the siege began on 24 June. The Spanish took the offensive elsewhere, capturing Diest, Goch, Gennep, and Limbourg, while the French withdrew in early July, as did the Dutch after the loss of Schenkenschans on 28 July.