at Rezonville. With the partial withdrawal of the First Army, Prince Frederick Charles ordered a mass artillery barrage against Canrobert's position at St. Privat to prevent the Guards attack from failing too. At 19:00 the 3rd Division of Eduard von Fransecky's II Corps of the Second Army advanced across Ravine while the Saxon XII Corps cleared out the nearby town of Roncourt, along with the survivors of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, launched a fresh attack against the ruins of St. Privat. At 20:00, the arrival of the Prussian 4th Infantry Division of the II Corps and with the Prussian right flank on Mance Ravine, the line stabilized. Then, the Prussians of the 1st Guards Infantry Division and the XII and II Corps captured St. Privat, forcing the decimated French forces to withdraw. Some French officers incorrectly thought the Prussians were exhausted, so they urged a counter-attack. General Bourbaki, however, refused to commit the reserves of the French Old Guard to the battle because, by that time, he rightfully considered the overall situation a 'defeat' having run out of ammunition, being outflanked by Prussian artillery, and losing 1/4 of his men. By 22:00, firing largely died down across the battlefield for the night. Aftermath The next morning, the exhausted French Army of the Rhine retreated to Metz where they were besieged and forced to surrender two months later. Analysis The battle was a Prussian victory in that it succeeded in blocking Bazaine's way to Verdun. In a short time the Prussians trapped Bazaine in the city and the siege of Metz ensued. Casualties The casualties were severe. The combined Prussian and Hessian force had 20,163 troops killed, wounded or missing in action during the 18 August battle. The French losses were 1,146 killed along with 6,709 wounded and 4,420 prisoners of war (half of these were wounded) for a total of 12,275. Howard qualifies the French casualty records as 'incomplete'. While most Prussians fell to the French Chassepot rifle, most French fell to the Krupp shells of the Prussian artillery. In a breakdown of the casualties, Steinmetz's Prussian First Army lost 4,300 men before the Pointe du Jour, while the French forces opposing him had casualties of 2,155. Losses of the Prussian Guards Corps were even more staggering, with 8,000 casualties out of 18,000 men. The Guards Jäger Battalion lost 19 officers, a surgeon and 431 men killed, wounded, or