By the end of January 1814, Allied columns brushed aside the weak forces defending the borders and invaded France. Napoleon resolved to move against them with the Imperial Guard, II and VI Corps, and the I and V Cavalry Corps, a total of 33,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. In a clash at Saint-Dizier on 27 January, 2,100 troopers belonging to Milhaud's cavalry defeated 1,500 men of the Russian 2nd Hussar Division. The French units involved in the skirmish were the 5th "Chevau-Léger" Lancers, the 10th and 26th "Chasseurs-à-Cheval", and the 2nd, 11th, 13th, and 19th Dragoons. At the Battle of Brienne on 29 January, the V Cavalry Corps led the attack. In overall command of the cavalry, General Emmanuel de Grouchy placed General Hippolyte Piré with the light cavalry division on the left, Lhéritier's dragoons in the center, and some Imperial Guard cavalry on the right. Before 3:00 PM, the horsemen swept forward, driving back General Pyotr Pahlen's Russian cavalry. In their pursuit, the dragoon divisions of Lhéritier and General André Louis Briche came across three Russian battalions in square formations and were repulsed. The cavalry was then shifted to cover the French right flank during the remainder of the battle. The corps also fought at the Battle of La Rothière on 1 February. Late in the day, Napoleon threw in Milhaud's corps to cover the disengagement of his outnumbered and defeated army.