It is not possible to do more than guess at the numerical strength of the French Corps, and consequently of the French Army; so great is the variation in the strength of battalions and squadrons. The infantry of the several Corps was continually augmented by the arrival of reserves, so that, the losses at Spicheren notwithstanding, the 2nd Corps was stronger by more than 2,000 men, five days after the battle, than it was on the morning of the 6th; Marshal Lebœuf told the Parliamentary Commission that, on the 1st of August, according to the “states” sent in to the head-quarters, the effective of the Army of the Rhine, including all the Corps in the field, was 243,171 men. But “the real effective,” he adds, “was greatly superior.” For by the 1st of August, no fewer than “278,882 men had been sent to the Army of the Rhine,” and subsequently, until the 14th, “numerous detachments.” It is plain that no precise information can be obtained, but it seems probable that the strength was always greater than that reported at the time. Similar uncertainty prevails respecting the effective strength of the “Army of Chalons.” The only authentic figures extant are those supplied by the German account of the capitulation, from which the original strength, increased by additions on the line of march, may be inferred. III. THE PROTOCOL OF CAPITULATION. Between the undersigned, the Chief of the Staff of His Majesty the King of Prussia, commanding in chief the German Army, and the General, commanding in chief the French Army, each having received full powers from their Majesties, King William and the Emperor Napoleon, the following Convention has been concluded: _Article 1._—The French Army, placed under the orders of General de Wimpffen, finding itself actually surrounded in Sedan by superior forces, is prisoner of war. _Article 2._—Having regard to the brave defence of this Army, an exception is made for all the generals and officers, as well as for the functionaries, having the rank of officer, who shall give their word of honour, in writing, not to bear arms against Germany, and not to act in any other manner against her interests until the end of the present war. The officers and functionaries who may accept these conditions, shall preserve their arms and personal property. _Article 3._—All other arms, as well as the _matériel_ of the Army, consisting of flags (eagles and standards), cannons, horses, military chests, army equipages, munitions, etc., shall be surrendered at Sedan to a Military Commission, appointed by the French Commander-in-Chief, to be given over immediately to the German Commissioner. _Article 4._—The fortress of Sedan shall be immediately placed in its actual state, and, at the latest, by the evening of September 2, at the disposal of His Majesty the King of Prussia.