What happened to the French Army of the Rhine at Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte?

During the Franco-German War, the 140,000-man French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal Achille-François Bazaine, failed to break through German forces led by Helmuth von Moltke during the engagements at Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte in August 1870.1

At the Battle of Mars-la-Tour (August 16), the French were intercepted while retreating toward Verdun, effectively blocking their escape route. Following this, the French withdrew to a defensive line between Saint-Privat-la-Montagne and Gravelotte. During the Battle of Gravelotte (August 18), Moltke directed assaults against the French positions. Although the Germans suffered over 20,000 casualties—significantly more than the French—they successfully achieved their strategic objective of trapping the French Army.1

Ultimately, instead of counterattacking to reopen their line of retreat, Bazaine withdrew his forces into the fortress of Metz. Moltke then used a portion of his army to confine the French within the fortress, allowing him to deploy the remainder of his troops to defeat the French at Sedan.1