Line infantry
At 1800, the French crossed the ravine north of the Roman road and advanced on Mars-la-Tour. Voigts-Rhetz's cavalry launched repeated charges to hold them off and the French retreated back over the ravine. The 13th Line infantry regiment of Grenier's Division was ridden down and the 2nd Chasseurs d'Afrique cavalry regiment forced back. The Germans used the gained time and space to deploy more artillery batteries to reinforce their left flank. Landmirault's 4th Army Corps deployed six regiments of cavalry on its left flank west of Bruville and north of Mars-la-Tour. Barby's cavalry brigade and two more regiments moved to confront them. At 1845, the opposing cavalry masses collided in a struggle involving 5,000 horsemen and 40 squadrons. Each side sought to outflank the other in the melee. The German regiments succeeded in imposing themselves on the French flank and rear and the entire French cavalry force disintegrated in a rout, fleeing toward Bruville with dust clouds rising behind them. After their complete victory in the greatest and most important cavalry battle of the entire Franco-Prussian War, the Prussian cavalry regiments reformed their ranks and withdrew toward Mars-la-Tour, having defeated the threat to the Prussian left flank. With darkness approaching, Landmirault gave up on his attempts to capture Mars-la-Tour and Tronville. By 1900, the Prussian positions north of Tronville were untroubled save for harassment fire from French artillery.