General Daumesnil who lost a leg, which was replaced by a wooden prosthesis, at the Battle of Wagram (5–6 July 1809), was assigned to the defence of the château de Vincennes in 1812. Vincennes was then an arsenal containing 52,000 new rifles, more than 100 field guns and many tons of powder, bullets, and cannonballs; a tempting prize for the Sixth Coalition marching on Paris in 1814 in the aftermath of the Battle of the Nations. However, Daumesnil faced down the allies and replied with the famous words "I shall surrender Vincennes when I get my leg back" ("Je rendrai Vincennes quand on me rendra ma jambe", with a polysemic pun in French that is lost in translation). With only 300 men under his command, he resisted the Coalition until King Louis XVIII ordered him to leave the fortress.