Surrender was demanded, but Hotz refused. The bombardment continued and on the 15th a French engineer officer crept far enough forward to note that the west breach could be attacked. By 16 July, Masséna had heard about the French defeat at Maida and was anxious to capture Gaeta. There remained only 184,000 pounds of gunpowder and less than 5000 shot, a three-day supply. By this time, the French had 12,000 troops on hand in the infantry divisions of Partouneaux and Gardanne, with the cavalry divisions of Espagne and Mermet in support. Despite the ammunition shortage, the bombardment dragged on, widening the breaches. Normally, the commander of the besiegers kept the time of the final assault on a fortress a secret from the defenders. But Masséna intended to overawe Hotz with his deliberate preparations for attack. On the morning of 18 July in full view of the defenders, the French massed a force of grenadiers and "chasseurs" under General of Brigade François-Xavier Donzelot to attack the left breach, while "voltigeurs" led by Valentin assembled to assault the right breach. The French ostentatiously marched up supporting troops. Masséna's gamble had the intended effect when Hotz put up a white flag at 3:00 PM. Because of its prolonged defense and because he needed to capture Gaeta quickly, Masséna granted lenient terms to Hotz. The garrison was allowed to sail away to Sicily on the promise not to fight against France for one year. The fortress and all its cannons, of which one in three were damaged, was given over to French control. An embarrassing incident occurred when a considerable body of the Neapolitan regulars deserted to the French. The French admitted losses of 1,000 killed and wounded, but they may have been twice that. Out of a garrison of 7,000, the Neapolitans lost 1,000 killed and wounded plus 171 cannons.