The Austrians had spent the last few months placing their artillery, seizing Bourbon outposts, and gathering food supplies. In the Austrian camp, the mood was one of confident victory. The Austrian plan was much more simple than the Bourbon one. They would let Gages waste his troops against their position. Once the attack had run out of steam, they would counter-attack. On the morning of the 15th, they began to deploy their forces to the north of Piacenza. Unfortunately for the French, Count Browne realised what Maillebois was up to and moved his units to block the French advance. The Marquis of Botta d'Adorno commanded the Austrian right and simply put his troops on the alert that evening. The Austrians then only had to wait for the Franco-Spanish attack.