Davout’s advanced guard left Minsk on July 12th, and by the 15th his main body was concentrated near Igumen. Bagration’s whole force could not reach Bobruisk until the 18th, the French thus had a long start in the race to Mohilev. The untrustworthy 33rd Léger was left to garrison Minsk. The 5th Corps and Latour-Maubourg were directed by Igumen on Mohilev, and the 8th, temporarily commanded by General Tharreau, by Minsk and Borisov on Orsha. The 7th Corps was ordered back to Slonim by Napoleon. The Emperor, deceived by Tormazov’s long inactivity, had made up his mind that he need fear nothing from him. As a fact it was lack of preparation and the necessity for completing it which was keeping Tormazov inactive; his army was very far from a sham. Napoleon, however, deciding that the 34,000 Austrians were unnecessary in that region, determined to call them up to the centre. Schwarzenberg had crossed the Bug at Mogilnitza on July 3rd, and a week later reached Pruzhani, 60 miles on the Brest-Litovsk-Minsk road. Detachments occupied Pinsk and other places, and captured large supplies and immense quantities of salt. Otherwise the Austrians had been inactive. The spirit both of officers and men was decidedly hostile to the enterprise in which they were engaged, and though Schwarzenberg himself was a Francophile he was naturally very cautious, and probably under orders to do as little as possible. Such considerations would naturally incline Napoleon to wish to have the Austrians under his own eye. Reynier, with the 7th Corps, was to take Schwarzenberg’s place and cover the frontier of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. These plans, however, could not be executed, for on July 23rd the Russian Third Army appeared on the scene with momentous results, and both Schwarzenberg and Reynier had to be diverted to check it. Davout crossed the Berezina at Berezino on July 15th and advanced on Mohilev, leaving Pajol with three regiments of cavalry and one of infantry to guard communications. On the 19th he was near Mohilev with Compans, Desaix and Valence. The place was defended only by four skeleton battalions, and was easily carried by Desaix on the 20th. Eighteen officers and 200 men were taken; with 120,000 rations of biscuit and flour, some thousands of muskets, and several thousand pounds of gunpowder. Pajol on the 19th reported that Bobruisk was full of Russian troops. Davout therefore inferred that he would soon be attacked, and made preparations accordingly. He called up Claparède from the northward, where he was supporting Grouchy, and sent for his reserve artillery, which was still in rear. He had already sent to Poniatowski and Tharreau to hasten their march. He was by no means at his ease, since he had, as he says, only 16,000 men (an underestimate) and expected to be attacked by 50,000. He looked about for a position in which he could receive battle against superior numbers, and found one at Saltanovka, about 8 miles on the Bobruisk road.