Saint-Priest, a French émigré, led the Russian 8th Infantry Corps, which was made up of the 11th and 17th Infantry Divisions. Each division consisted of four line infantry and two jäger regiments. At the beginning of 1814, the corps numbered 11,900 soldiers and formed part of Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron's 43,000-strong army corps. On 31 December 1813, the 8th Corps executed a successful assault crossing of the Rhine River near Koblenz. After this operation the corps advanced to Dinant on the Meuse River. On 15 February, Saint-Priest's corps was ordered to take over the Siege of Mainz. By early March, Saint-Priest had moved west to occupy Châlons-sur-Marne and Vitry-le-François. Fresh from the blockade of Erfurt, Jagow brought his Prussian brigade to join Saint-Priest.