The French XVth Corps had continued its retreat to Salbris and Pierrefitte, behind the Sauldre.
It was certainly to be wished that its pursuit could have been followed up to Vierzon and Tours, so that the vast arsenals at the first-named town might have been destroyed, and the Government Delegation driven away from the other. But it must not be forgotten that though the French forces had been discomfited at Artenay, favoured by the nature of the locality they had escaped utter defeat by retreat. General von der Tann was disproportionately weak in the infantry arm, and hostile masses were disclosing themselves on all sides. A new French Army Corps, the XVIth, appeared at Blois, below Orleans, and at Gien, above that city; the German cavalry met with resistance in the forest of Marchénoir and before Châteaudun; and everywhere the inhabitants and volunteers appeared so full of confidence that the proximity of reinforcements was to be presumed.
So it behoved the Germans to restrict themselves to the occupation of Orleans and the line of the Loire; and for this purpose the Bavarian Corps, with the 2nd Cavalry Division, seemed a sufficient force. The 22nd Infantry and 4th Cavalry Divisions were recalled to the IIIrd Army; on their return march they were charged to disperse the volunteers who had made their appearance at Châteaudun and Chartres.
General von der Tann had the bridges over the Loiret and the Loire prepared for destruction, an Etappen-line was established to Longjumeau, and the Bavarian Railway Detachment set to work to restore the line to Villeneuve.
Soissons still hindered the further utilization of the railway, which had been re-opened at the time of the fall of Toul as far as Rheims. This fortress had been bombarded by field artillery without success when the Army of the Meuse passed by it on the march to Paris, and since then it had only been kept under observation until on October 6th eight Landwehr battalions, four squadrons, two batteries, two companies of pioneers, and four of fortress artillery made good the investment.
Soissons, with its walls about 26 feet high, had complete immunity from escalade, and the damming of the Crise brook made it unassailable on the south. The south-west front, on the other hand, had only a dry ditch, with no counterscarp of masonry; here, too, the town was commanded by Mont Marion, rising to a height of 300 feet at a distance of little more than a mile. Against this face of the fortress, therefore, the artillery attack was directed at short range, when on the 11th October there arrived from Toul 26 Prussian siege-guns with 170 rounds for each, and 10 French mortars. The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg took over the command.