For four days at Mine Run, armies totaling more than 150,000 men faced each other across the stream as skirmishers exchanged occasional shots, batteries periodically dueled, and soldiers dug trenches and struggled to stay warm in bitter cold. Dozens of men on the picket lines, without fires, froze to death, and for most of the men the contest became less a fight against their enemies than against the elements. The climax was intended for November 30, when Meade planned to attack Lee's right along the Orange Plank Road, three miles south of here, but at the last minute one of Meade's corps commanders canceled the assault. Union soldiers rejoiced, since attacking Confederate works across a mile of open ground appealed to none of them. On December 2, Lee attempted a move against the Union left flank, but by then Meade had begun withdrawing his army back across the Rapidan River.