About ten o'clock the French deployed their artillery on the bare heights close to the line of approach in the vicinity of Tremoins. Upon their infantry advancing leftwards through Byans, the German detachment which till then had been left in Tavey fell back on Hericourt in reserve, and the enemy's first attack on Mougnot was shattered by the resistance of its defenders, and by the fire of sixty-one guns on the further bank of the river. The attempt was not repeated that day, and the French confined themselves to a heavy but ineffective cannonade. According to the instructions issued by General Bourbaki, the XXth Corps was to await the result of the great outflanking movement which was to be carried out by General Billot with the XVIIIth Corps and Cremer's Division. As, however, these had not yet put in an appearance, the Army-Reserve had to be brought up leftward to Coisevaux to protect General Clinchant's flank. The orders from the Army Head-quarter had not reached the XVIIIth Corps until midnight. It had moreover to accomplish a difficult march by deeply snowed-up woodland paths. This entailed crossings, not only between the flank columns of its 1st and 3rd Divisions, but even with the Division Cremer at Lyoffans. This Division had only by dint of the greatest exertion reached Lure during the night, and could not get further on to Beverne until nine in the morning. A fresh delay was occasioned by the order to bring up in front of the infantry the artillery--even the reserve artillery which was marching in the very rear; and thus it happened that the XVIIIth Corps did not succeed in deploying two of its Divisions opposite Luze and Chagey till between 12 and 2 in the afternoon. The 1st Division occupied Couthenans with one battalion, and brought up five batteries on the reverse slope of the heights to the north of that place. But the fire from the opposite bank prevented their further progress, and in a short time several of the batteries had but two guns left fit for action, although the Germans, in view of the difficulty of replenishment, used their ammunition as sparingly as possible. At three o'clock there was a pause in the artillery fight, which however was resumed energetically on the arrival of reinforcements, when the artillery of the XXIVth Corps coming from Byans took part in it. An infantry attack on a large scale was not yet attempted.