 The 60,000-strong "Army of the Rhine" under Alexandre de Beauharnais and the 40,000-strong "Army of the Moselle" under Jean Nicolas Houchard were poised to march to the relief of Mainz.However, Beauharnais had not informed the Mainz garrison that help was on the way and then took too long to start his movement.After the fall of Mainz, both French armies retreated, the "Army of the Rhine" to Wissembourg and the "Army of the Moselle" to the Saar River.