As we have seen, the French army now assembled about Le Mans had been acting on the offensive on January 6th, when General Jouffroy had advanced on Vendôme, and de Curten on St. Amand. But so early as the 7th the French found themselves reduced to the defensive along their whole front, some 50 miles in length. General Rousseau, on the left wing, had evacuated Nogent le Rotrou, and, without being pressed, began his retreat by a night march to Connerré. In the centre, the trough of the Braye was wrested from General Jouffroy; he quitted St. Calais, not rearward on Le Mans, but southward to join General Barry. On the right, General Curten had abandoned Château Renault, and set out, unpursued, on the line through Château du Loir. To effect some concert in the operations of the three Divisions of his right wing, General Chanzy placed them under the superior orders of Admiral Jauréguiberry. He pushed forward the Division Paris on Ardenay by the high road General Jouffroy had uncovered, and on the left wing he reinforced General Rousseau by stationing three Divisions more on either side of his line of retreat. General Jouffroy was to retire to Parigné l'Evêque, and a Division was sent to meet him there and at Changé.
General de Curten succeeded on the 9th in checking the progress of the German left wing for some time about Chahaignes; but the Division Paris was driven back through Ardenay, and General Rousseau, thus beset in Connerré, evacuated that village the same evening. The two Divisions of the right wing were behind as far as Jupilles and Neuillé Pont Pierre.
Under these circumstances General Chanzy ordered that on the 10th the Division Jouffroy should fall back on Parigné l'Evêque, but that the Division Paris should once more move forward on Ardenay. He sent the remaining three Divisions of the XXIst Corps to meet General Rousseau, with instructions that he was to retake Connerré and Thorigné.
The offensive movements thus planned by both sides developed into the fierce battle which, on the German side, was fought out single-handed by the IIIrd Corps.
[64] Lieut.-General Alvensleben II, commanding IIIrd Army Corps, not to be confounded with Infantry-General Alvensleben I, commanding IVth Corps.