 Moltke, the German commander, ordered two Prussian armies marching toward Paris to turn towards MacMahon's army.On 30 August, one corps of MacMahon's army was attacked by the Germans at Beaumont, losing five hundred men and forty cannons.MacMahon, believing he was ahead of the Germans, decided to stop and reorganize his forces at the fortified city of Sedan, in the Ardennes close to the Belgian border.