On 18 February 1814, Napoleon mauled a Coalition corps led by Crown Prince Fredrick William of Württemberg in the Battle of Montereau. After this defeat the Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg ordered the Army of Bohemia to withdraw to Troyes. Schwarzenberg requested that his ally Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher help defend his northern flank at Méry-sur-Seine; the Prussian general immediately marched to his aid. The Austrian intended to offer battle on 21–22 February near Troyes. However, bad news from his commander in the south, Prince Frederick VI of Hesse-Homburg altered his plans. With Marshal Pierre Augereau threatening to retake Chalon-sur-Saône and Jean Gabriel Marchand marching on Geneva, Schwarzenberg detached Vincenzo Federico Bianchi and the Austrian I Corps plus other troops. Bianchi was ordered to march to Dijon and reinforce Hesse-Homburg's forces.