At dawn on 11 March, Napoleon's army began its retreat to Soissons where it formed for battle at 3:00 pm. Only 1,500 Russians mounted a pursuit and they were easily kept at bay by the French rearguard. The right wing of Marshal Auguste de Marmont, whose corps had been routed at Laon, retreated to Fismes. On 11–12 March Napoleon organized a defense at Soissons and issued orders for his eastern garrisons to break out and harass the Allied supply lines going back to the Rhine River.