Will one cross the Rhine in order to harvest all of the fruits of our victory and to further strike the enemy, who is dismayed by his setbacks, or will one remain on this side of the river and be satisfied with preparing for the defensive for the next campaign? This is the great question of the day.

The enemy lost an army of 400,000 men in the memorable campaign of 1812; in the last campaign he lost another 300,000 men. All of his troops that were able to escape over the Rhine cannot amount to more than 50,000. Only a few depots remain for him to build a new army.…A new conscription has been made in order to call up the conscripts of the class of 1815, i.e., in order to enlist young people fifteen years of age, and those who had been exempt from the conscriptions of 1802–1806 will now be affected by it. These two classes of conscripts, which will provide the French army with approximately 200,000 men, have thus far only been summoned; and the young conscripts cannot be adjusted and combat-ready before three months. Thus, for the defense of the eastern frontier of France, there remains at most 90,000 men, and until the creation of a new army we are free to undertake anything.