Arcis-sur-Aube

town in France (department of Aube) in the region where a battle took place between French and Allied troops (Russian, Austrian, and Bavarian) on March 8–9 (20–21), 1814. Napoleon, attempting to save Paris and destroy the forces of the Allies piecemeal, concentrated nearly 20,000 men (the corps of M. Ney and H. F. Sébastiani) against the Allied troops (25,000 to 30,000) under the general command of the Austrian field marshal K. Schwarzenberg. On March 8 (20), Napoleon unsuccessfully attacked their right flank. With the arrival of reinforcements on March 9 (21), the French army numbered nearly 30,000 men, whereas the Allies (the Austrian corps of General I. Gyulai and the Russian corps of General N. N. Raevskii and Prince von Würtemberg) numbered 70,000. Napoleon was forced to begin a retreat covered by C. L. Oudinot’s rear guard. Schwarzenberg, however, acted indecisively and let the opportunity to destroy the French army slip by.