the day before. For his part, Marceau prepared to resist, but to his right, General Jean Castelbert de Castelverd, positioned between Diez and the Rhine, feared an Austrian breakthrough at Limburg would leave him trapped with his back to the Rhine; he panicked and withdrew his troops to Montabauer. This exposed Marceau's right wing, so he pulled his troops back to Molsberg. Marceau's retreat subsequently exposed the French center, which also was forced to withdraw; by the end of 17 September, the entire French line had unraveled. Second battle of Altenkirchen While Jourdan's army withdrew from Limburg, Marceau's troops provided the rearguard, holding off the main Austrian army long enough to allow the French center and left to reach Altenkirchen. On 18 September, most of the day was occupied with a general withdrawal took place around Molsberg and Freilingen, where Marceau was ordered to fight a delaying action to give the French left time to catch up with the center, which had already reached Höhn and Schönberg (a hamlet near Höhn). Marceau remained close to Molsberg for the entire day. When he learned that the main army had started to pass through Altenkirchen, he realized he should begin his own retreat from Molsberg and Freilingen, but he arrived at the northern edge of the Höchstenbach before Grenier's and Championnet's divisions had completely passed through the town Jourdan ordered Marceau to make a stand at Altenkirch so that Grenier's and Championnet's divisions could get through safely. Marceau led the main body of his division back to support the rearguard but, while he was scouting the Austrian positions, he was shot and mortally wounded. Marceau's rattled troops rallied for long enough to prevent the Austrians from breaking the army apart; realizing that the French had escaped him, Charles camped the night at Freilingen. If his goal had been to break apart Jourdan's army, he had nearly succeeded; if it had been to prevent Jourdan from uniting with Moreau, he had succeeded. Aftermath Badly injured, Marceau remained in Altenkirchen and received several visits from Austrian officers, including Paul Kray. He died two days later in the early morning on 21 September, just before the Archduke arrived to pay his respects. On 23 September, the Austrians handed Marceau's body to the French at the bridgehead in Neuwied, and he was buried in Coblenz. Both sides offered gunfire salutes. Jacques Philippe Bonnaud was also killed