First Battle of the Marne | World War I

The First Battle of the Marne apprehended from 6 September to 12 September 1914, during World War I. In the west, it resulted in an Allied triumph over the German army. The battle marked the end of the retreat from Mons and the pursuit of the Franco–British army, which had advanced to the eastern outskirts of Paris following the Battle of the Frontiers in August.  Field Marshal Sir John French, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), began preparing a comprehensive British withdrawal to port cities on the English Channel for a quick evacuation. Joseph Simon Gallieni, the military governor of Paris, wanted the Franco–British soldiers to counter-attack the Germans along the Marne River and put a stop to the German advance. Reserves from the Allies would replenish the ranks and attack the German flanks. On September 5, six French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) launched a counteroffensive. By 9 September, the Franco–British counteroffensive had succeeded in encircling the German 1st and 2nd Armies, they were then told to flee to the Aisne River. The French and British pursued the retreating army, albeit the Allied advance was slow: 12 miles (19 kilometres) in one day. After 40 miles (65 kilometres) of retreating north of the Aisne River, the First Battle of the Aisne was fought by German forces who dug in on the heights. The German retreat, which took place between September 9 and 13, signalled the end of the attempt to defeat France by smashing French armies with an attack from the north via Belgium and the south across the common border. Both forces launched coordinated efforts to envelop their opponent's northern flank, culminating in the First Battle of Ypres, which became known as the Race to the Sea.

Battle of the Frontiers

From August 7 to September 13, the Battle of the Frontiers refers to all of the French troops' activities.  On 4 August, a series of encounter fights between German, French, and Belgian soldiers began on the German-French border and southern Belgium. On August 7, the Germans captured Liège. For the first time, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) landed in France, and French forces crossed the German border. The Battle of Mulhouse (7–10 August), often known as the Battle of Alsace, was the first French attack of World War I. The French took Mulhouse until a German counteroffensive on August 11 pushed them out, and they retreated to Belfort. The Battle of Haelen, fought on August 12th by German and Belgian cavalry and infantry, resulted in a Belgian defensive victory. On August 16, the last Belgian fort of the Fortified Position of Liège (Position fortifiée de Liège) surrendered, completing the BEF's march of four divisions and a cavalry division to France. On August 18, the Belgian government fled from Brussels.  The First Army attacked Sarrebourg and the Second Army attacked Morhange in the Battles of Morhange and Sarrebourg (14–20 August), kicking off the Battle of Lorraine (14–25 August). On the 17th of August, Château-Salins near Morhange was taken, followed by Sarrebourg the next day. On August 20, the German 6th and 7th Armies launched a counteroffensive, forcing the Second Army back from Morhange and repulsing the First Army at Sarrebourg. The German soldiers crossed the border and made their way towards Nancy but were stopped just east of the city.  The Belgian 4th Division dug in to defend Namur, which was besieged on August 20. It was the only portion of the Belgian army that did not retreat to the defensive lines around Antwerp. By the 20th of August, the French Fifth Army had converged on the Sambre, looking north on both sides of Charleroi and east towards Namur and Dinant. The French 45th Infantry Brigade provided further help to the Belgians at Namur. At Mons, General Sordet's Cavalry Corps hooked up with the BEF on the left. The French retook Mulhouse in the south on August 19 and then retreated. A German counteroffensive in Lorraine began on August 20, and on August 19, the German 4th and 5th Armies moved across the Ardennes towards Neufchâteau. On August 20, the French Third and Fourth Armies launched an attack across the Ardennes in support of the French invasion of Lorraine. In the heavy fog, the opposing armies met; the French mistook the German troops for screening units. The Ardennes Battle (August 22–28) began on August 22 with French advances that cost both sides dearly and culminated in a disorderly withdrawal by the French late on August 23. The Fifth Army pursued the Third Army towards Verdun, while the Fourth Army retreated to Sedan and Stenay. Mulhouse was seized by German forces again, and the Battle of the Meuse (26–28 August) brought the German advance to a halt.

The Great Retreat

The Great Retreat took place from August 24 to September 5; at the Battle of Charleroi on August 22, the French Fifth Army fell back roughly 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the Sambre, and on August 23, they began a larger withdrawal from the territory south of the Sambre. The 12,000 Belgian forces at Namur withdrew into French-controlled territory that evening, and 674 men, women, and children were summarily killed by Saxon troops of the German 3rd Army at Dinant, the first of several civilian massacres by the Germans in 1914.  The BEF attempted to maintain the line of the Mons–Condé Canal against the advancing German 1st army at the Battle of Mons (23 August). Due to outnumbering by the Germans and the abrupt departure of the French Fifth Army, which exposed the British right flank, the British were compelled to retire. The British retreat from Mons lasted two weeks and covered 400 kilometres, although being designed as a straightforward tactical withdrawal and executed in good order (250 mi). During the withdrawal, BEF commander Sir John French began planning for a thorough retreat to English Channel ports, followed by a rapid British evacuation. On September 1, Lord Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for War, met with French Prime Minister Viviani and War Minister Millerand and told them that they should not retreat to the Channel. The BEF fled to the suburbs of Paris before counter-attacking with the French in the Battle of the Marne. Between St. Dié and Nancy, the German 7th and 6th Armies attacked the French First and Second Armies, pushing them back. Army Detachment von Beseler concealed the Belgian army at Antwerp.  After German forces captured Valenciennes on August 26, the Siege of Maubeuge (24 August–7 September) started. German soldiers sacked Leuven (Louvain), while the BEF and the First Army fought the Battle of Le Cateau. Longwy's garrison surrendered, and British marines and a group from the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) landed at Ostend the next day; German troops captured Lille and Mezières. After Arras was captured on August 27, the Battle of St. Quentin (Battle of Guise 29–30 August) launched a French counteroffensive. On August 29, the British maintained the Oise line west of La Fère, while the German 2nd army was counter-attacked by the Fifth Army. On the 30th of August, German troops conquered Laon, La Fère, and Roye, followed by Amiens the next day. The Germans landed in Craonne and Soissons on September 1st. On September 5, German soldiers arrived at Claye-Souilly, 15 kilometres (10 miles) south of Paris, took Reims, and withdrew from Lille, bringing the BEF's retreat from Mons to an end. On the same day, French troops launched a counteroffensive in the Battle of the Ourcq, which marked the end of the Franco-British armies' Great Retreat on the western flank.  The German 7th and 6th Armies had slowed their advance west of St. Dié and east of Nancy by 4 September; the Second Army had withdrawn its left flank to face north between Nancy and Toul; and the German 7th and 6th Armies had slowed their advance. At Verdun, there was a gap between the Second Army's left and the Third Army's right, which faced north-west on a line to Revigny, against the Fifth Army's advance west of the Meuse between Varennes and Sainte-Menehould. The Fourth Army had retreated to westwards, Sermaize to the Marne. Against the German 3rd army, which had moved from Mézières, the new French Ninth Army maintained a line from Mailly to the Vesle and the Marne west of Chalons. The Second Army had moved from Marle Sur Serre, across the Aisne and Vesle, between Reims and Fismes, to Montmort, just north of Sézanne, where the French 9th and 5th Armies met. The BEF south of the Oise, Serre, Aisne, and Ourq. At Thionville, Metz, Longwy, Montmédy, and Maubeuge, French garrisons were besieged. The Belgian army was invested in the National Redoubt in Antwerp, and Belgian fortress forces defended the Liège forts. General Joseph Gallieni, the military governor of Paris, was responsible for the city's defense.

Plans

The last decisions that would directly generate the circumstances for the Battle of the Marne were made in the early days of September. Moltke issued a Grand Directive on September 2nd, modifying the order of battle for the German attack. According to Moltke's demands, the sweep intended to envelop the city would now endeavor to entrap the French forces between Paris and Verdun. To do this, the 2nd army would lead as the main attacking force, with the 1st Army following in echelon to protect the flank. Moltke made his judgment based on an intercepted radio communication from the 2nd army to the 1st army depicting the Entente fleeing across the Marne at the time of the Grand Directive. On the eve of this critical battle, Moltke had sought status updates from the 1st army but had gotten none. The march and August battles had decimated both forces on the western flank. Moltke decided to strengthen the opposing wing, which was attacking fortifications around Verdun and Nancy. These orders were rejected by Kluck, whose army on the western flank had previously been the force that would deliver the decisive blow. Kluck, along with his Chief of Staff General Kuhl, ordered his soldiers to continue south-east instead of turning west to confront possible reinforcements that could jeopardize the German flank. They'd try to stay on the German attack's wing while also tracking down and destroying the French Fifth Army's flank. Kluck did not communicate with Moltke and OHL until the morning of September 4th, after putting this order into effect on September 2nd, which Moltke ignored. Kluck ignored the threat from the west in keeping with the prewar tradition of decentralized command (Auftragstaktik). On the 31st of August, 1st of September, and 3rd of September, German aviators reported columns of French soldiers west of the 1st army. These reports were not sent to the IV Reserve Corps and were thrown away. Joffre removed Fifth Army commander General Charles Lanrezac and replaced him with I Corps commander Louis Franchet d'Espèrey. During the Battle of the Marne, D'Esperey was one of the architects of the Entente plan. During a conference with British General Henry Wilson on September 4, d'Esperey planned a French and British counteroffensive against the German 1st army. The counter-attack would come from d'Esperey's Fifth Army in the south, the BEF in the west, and Gallieni's new Sixth Army at the Ourq River. On 3 September, Gallieni came to the same conclusion and began advancing the Sixth Army east. Joffre spent the afternoon under an ash tree in calm contemplation. He learned of d'Esperey's counter-attack strategy during supper that night. In his Instruction General No. 5, he issued orders to halt the French retreat beginning on September 6th. The BEF was under no obligation to obey French directives. Joffre first tried to persuade the British government to exert pressure on the French through diplomatic channels. Later that day, he appeared to BEF headquarters for talks, which concluded with Joffre beating his hand on a table and yelling, "Monsieur le Marechal, the honour of England is at risk!" Following this conversation, French agreed to implement the operational plan the next day.

Western Flank

As the BEF moved near Montmirail late on 4 September, Joffre ordered the Sixth Army to strike eastwards over the Ourcq towards Château Thierry, and the Fifth Army to fight northwards with its right flank protected by the Ninth Army along the St. Gond marshes. The Battle of the Ourcq began on September 5th, when the Sixth Army moved eastwards from Paris. It came into contact with horse patrols of General Hans von Gronau's IV Reserve Corps on the right flank of the 1st army. The two divisions of the IV Reserve Corps assaulted the gathering Sixth Army with field artillery and infantry in the early afternoon, seizing the initiative. The IV Reserve Corps moved to a better position 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) east overnight, while von Kluck began to turn his army to face west after being warned of the arrival of the Allied forces. The II Corps was ordered to return to the north bank of the Marne, starting off a redistribution of all four 1st Army corps to the north bank that lasted until September 8. The Sixth Army was unable to cross the Ourcq because of the quick move to the north bank. Von Kluck overlooked the Franco-British forces coming from the south against his left flank in this maneuver against the French threat from the west, creating a 50-kilometer gap in the German lines among the 1st and 2nd armies on the left. After Allied air surveillance spotted German troops moving north to confront the Sixth Army, the breach was discovered. As a consequence of their lack of cooperation, the gap between von Kluck and Bülow became even wider. The Allies took advantage of the opening in the German lines quickly, pushing the BEF and the Fifth Army into the space between the two German armies. On September 6, the Fifth Army's right wing attacked and pinned the 2nd army in the Battle of the Two Morins, which was named after the two rivers that passed through the area, the Grand Morin and Petit Morin. On September 6–8, the BEF attacked, crossing the Petit Morin, capturing Marne bridges, and establishing an 8-kilometre (5-mile) deep bridgehead. The BEF's poor progress infuriated d'Esperey and other French commanders. On the 6th of September, Haig's forces proceeded so slowly that they ended the day 12 kilometres behind schedule and lost only seven men. Despite outnumbering Germans ten to one, the BEF barely gained forty kilometres in three days. By September 8, the Fifth Army had crossed the Petit Morin, forcing Bülow to evacuate the 2nd army's right flank. The Fifth Army crossed the Marne the next day, and the German 1st and 2nd Armies began to withdraw. The Germans had meant to eradicate the Sixth Army between September 6 and 8, but the Sixth Army was bolstered by 10,000 French reserve men ferried from Paris on the night of September 7/8. Approximately 3,000 troops from the Seventh Division were carried in a fleet of requisitioned Paris taxicabs by General Gallieni. Von Moltke sent no commands to von Kluck or Bülow between the 6th and 7th of September and got no reports from them between the 7th and 9th of September. General Gallieni gathered roughly 600 taxicabs at Les Invalides in central Paris on September 6th to transport soldiers to the front at Nanteuil-le-Haudouin, fifty kilometres away. Two groups left on the night of June 6-7: the first, consisting of 350 automobiles, left around 10 p.m., while the second, consisting of 250 vehicles, left an hour later. Five troops were carried in each taxi, four in the rear and one next to the driver. Only the taxis' backlights were turned on, and the drivers were told to follow the cab's lights ahead of them. The majority of the cabs were demobilized on September 8, but a few stayed to transport the wounded and refugees. The cabs dutifully ran their meters following local standards. The total fare of 70,012 francs was reimbursed by the French Treasury. The arrival of 6,000 soldiers by cab has long been crucial in preventing a German breakthrough against the 6th army. However, some had "exaggerated the importance of the cabs considerably," according to General Gallieni's memoirs. Strachan described the battle without mentioning cabs in 2001, and Herwig dismissed the claim in 2009, writing that many French soldiers travelled in lorries and that all artillery left Paris by train. The effect on morale was undeniable; the taxis de la Marne were regarded as a symbol of the sacrée union of the French civilian population and the front-line soldiers, emblematic of the armies who fought to preserve the French Republic Campaign in 1794: beyond their strategic function in the fight, they serve as a symbol of national togetherness and solidarity. In the Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides in Paris, a Marne taxicab is prominently exhibited in the exhibit on the fight. It was also the first large-scale employment of motorised soldiers in battle. The Sixth Army, which had been reinforced, held its ground. The Fifth Army launched a surprise offensive against the 2nd army the same night, on September 8, extending the gap between the 1st and 2nd Armies. Moltke, who was stationed at OHL in Luxembourg, was effectively cut off from German army command. Oberstleutnant Richard Hentsch, his intelligence officer, was dispatched to the headquarters. On the 8th of September, Hentsch and Bülow met and decided that the 2nd army was in danger of being encircled and should withdraw quickly. Hentsch arrived at the 1st army's headquarters on September 9th, spoke with von Kluck's chief of staff, and gave instructions for the 1st army to retire to the Aisne River. This order was vehemently opposed by von Kluck and von Kuhl, who believed their force was on the point of breaking the Sixth Army. Hentsch, on the other hand, reminded them that he had the OHL's complete might behind him and that the 2nd army was already retreating. Von Kluck reluctantly gave the command for his forces to retreat. When Moltke learned of the danger, he had a nervous breakdown. His subordinates took command and ordered a general retreat to the Aisne, where they would regroup in preparation for another onslaught. The French and British pursued the Germans, despite the tired Allied forces moved slowly, averaging only 19 kilometres (12 mi) each day. After 65 kilometres (40 miles), the Germans halted their withdrawal and dug in, digging trenches north of the Aisne River. The German armies west of Verdun were retiring towards the Aisne by the 10th of September. After Joffre ordered Allied troops to follow him, the First Battle of the Aisne was fought. The Schlieffen Plan came to an end with the German retreat from September 9–13. We don't know what General von Moltke stated to the Emperor, "Majesty, we have lost the war." We already know that he wrote to his wife on the night of the 9th, with greater political foresight than military foresight, "Things haven't gone as planned. The war east of Paris did not go our way, and we will be held responsible for the harm we have caused ".

Eastern Flank

The German 3rd to  5th Armies assaulted the French Second, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Armies in the Verdun area beginning on September 5–6. From the 5th of September, German attacks against the Second Army south of Verdun nearly caused the French to retreat. German attacks on the Meuse Heights led the Third Army to flee to the west of Verdun, although it maintained touch with Verdun and the Fourth Army to the west. Other battles were the Battle of Revigny (Bataille de Revigny) around Vitry-le-François, the Battle of Vitry around Vitry-le-François, and the war of the Saint-Gond Marshes around Sézanne. On September 7, German advances south of Verdun produced a salient at St. Mihiel, threatening to split the Second and Third Armies. General Castelnau was about to surrender the French position near Nancy when his staff phoned Joffre, who told him to stay for another 24 hours. German attacks lasted through September 8, but as Moltke began to redeploy forces to the west, they began to slack off. By the 10th of September, the Germans had received orders to cease attacking, and a general retreat towards the border had begun.

Analysis

Both sides had preparations at the start of the conflict that they hoped would result in a quick victory. After the Engagement of the Frontiers, the Fight of the Marne was the second major battle on the Western Front and one of the war's most crucial battles. While the German invasion failed to defeat the Entente in France decisively, the German army captured a large area of northern France and most of Belgium, and this scenario was caused by the failure of French Plan 17. Historians agree that the fight was an Allied success that preserved Paris and kept France in the war, although there is substantial disagreement on the magnitude of the win. Joffre, whose miscalculations had resulted in the disastrous Battle of the Frontiers, was able to lead the Entente to a tactical triumph. He dismissed generals and used inner lines to move troops from his right side to the critical left wing. The German 1st army had 128 battalions against 191 French and BEF companies due to the redeployment of French forces. The French Fifth and new Ninth Armies had 268 troops, whereas the German 2nd and 3rd armies had 134. On the 6th of September, it was his commands that kept Castelnau from abandoning Nancy or reinforcing that army while the critical combat was taking place on the other side of the battlefield. He held off on counter-attacking until the timing was right, at which point he unleashed his absolute power. The initial stroke should also be credited to D'Esperey. In his memoirs, Joffre says, "It was he who made the Battle of the Marne possible." Following the Marne Battle, the Germans withdrew for up to 90 kilometers (56 miles), losing 11,717 prisoners, 30 field guns, and 100 machine guns to the French and 3,500 to the British before reaching the Aisne. The Germans' hopes of driving the French beyond the Verdun–Marne–Paris line and gaining a swift triumph were dashed when they retreated. The war of mobility finished with the Germans and the Allied Powers confronting each other across a stagnant front line following the combat and both sides' failures to turn the opponent's northern flank during the Race to the Sea. If they opted to pursue an aggressive strategy in France, both sides faced the risk of costly siege warfare operations. The Allied advance has been described as a success by historians. The Battle of the Marne was also one of the primary engagements in which reconnaissance planes were used to locate weak German fortifications that the Entente army might exploit.

Casualties

Although there are no specific official fatality statistics for the First Battle of the Marne, estimates for the activities of September along the Marne front for all armies are commonly quoted as c. 500 000 killed or wounded for all troops. A total of 250 000 men died in France, including 80 000 dead. Charles Péguy, who was slain while leading his company during an attack at the start of the conflict, was one noteworthy people who perished in the war. In August, Tuchman recorded 206 515 French casualties from Armées Françaises, and in September, Herwig reported 213 445 French casualties from Armées Françaises, for a total of just less than 420 000 in the first two months of the war. According to Roger Chickering, German casualties on the Western Front in 1914 were 500,000. There were 13000 British casualties, with 1 700 killed. The Germans lost almost 250 000 soldiers. There would be no other fight on the Western Front that would have as many losses each day. Herwig recalculated the battle's casualties in 2009. According to the official French history, Les armées françaises dans la great war, there were 213 445 French losses in September, with over 40% of them occurring during the Battle of the Marne. According to the German Sanitätsberichte, the 1st army suffered 13 254 casualties, the 2nd Army 10 607 casualties, the 3rd Army 14 987 casualties, the 4th Army 9 433 deaths, the 5th Army 19 434 losses, the 6th Army 21 200 casualties, and the 7th Army 10 164 casualties from 1–10 September. Herwig calculated that the five German armies from Verdun to Paris suffered 67 700 losses in the conflict, while the French suffered 85 000. According to Herwig, there were 1 701 British casualties (the British Official History states that these losses occurred between September 6 and 10). Herwig calculated that all sides suffered 300,000 casualties at the Marne but questioned whether isolating the conflict was necessary. According to Ian Sumner, there were 12 733 British casualties, including 1 700 deaths, in 2010. Sumner reports the same overall fatality statistic of 213 445 for the French in September as Herwig from Armées, which includes the losses at the Battle of the Aisne, but goes on to say that 18 073 were killed, 111 963 were wounded, and 83 409 were missing.

Subsequent Operations

The Aisne's First Battle, 13–28 September: Joffre ordered the French troops and the BEF to advance on September 10th, and for the next four days, the armies on the left-wing marched ahead and gathered German stragglers, wounded, and equipment, with only rearguards in their way. Joffre ordered outflanking movements by the military on the left flank on the 11th and 12th of September. Still, the advance was too sluggish to capture the Germans, who stopped their retreat on the 14th of September on high ground on the Aisne's north bank and began to dig in. From 15–16 September, frontal attacks by the Ninth, Fifth, and Sixth Armies were defeated. This prompted Joffre to move the Second Army west to the Sixth Army's left flank, marking the beginning of the Allies' attempt to outflank the German army in "The Race to the Sea." On September 2, French troops began moving westwards, utilizing the undamaged railways behind the French front, which could transfer a corps to the left flank in 5–6 days. On September 17, the French Sixth Army launched an attack with the XIII and IV Corps, reinforced by the 61st and 62nd divisions of the 6th Group of Reserve Divisions, from Noyon to Soissons, at the westernmost point of the French flank. The fighting then continued north to Lassigny, with the French digging in around Nampcel. As indications emerged that German soldiers were also being evacuated off the eastern flank, the French Second Army completed a move from Lorraine. It took command of the Sixth Army's left-hand Corps. The German IX Reserve Corps came from Belgium on the 15th of September and joined the 1st army for an assault against the anticipated French envelopment to the south-west, together with the IV Corps and the 4th and 7th horse divisions. The offensive was called off, and the IX Reserve Corps was ordered to retreat behind the 1st army's right flank. The 2nd and 9th Cavalry divisions were despatched as reinforcements the following day, but the French attack reached Carlepont and Noyon before being halted on September 18th. German troops advanced westwards from Verdun to Reims and the Aisne during the Battle of Flirey (19 September – 11 October), severing the primary line from Verdun to Paris and establishing the St. Mihiel, south of the Verdun fortress zone. The significant German effort remained on the western side, as intercepted radio signals revealed to the French. The Aisne front had stabilized by 28 September, and on the night of 1/2 October, the BEF began to retire, with the first troops arriving in Abbeville on the Somme on the night of 8/9 October. The BEF was preparing to launch operations in French Flanders and Belgian Flanders, joining British soldiers that had been stationed in Belgium since August.

Race to the Sea: From September 17 to October 17, the belligerents attempted reciprocal attempts to turn their opponent's northern flank. From September 2–9, Joffre ordered the French Second Army to deploy from eastern France to the north of the French Sixth Army, while on September 17, Falkenhayn, who had succeeded Moltke on the 14th, ordered the German 6th Army to advance from the German-French border to the northern flank. Falkenhayn dispatched the 6th army north of the Aisne to resist the French and safeguard the side the next day. The secondary aim of protecting German troops on France's northern flank had evolved into the primary purpose. By the 6th of October, the French required British assistance to fend off German attacks in the Lille area. On October 5, when English reinforcements gathered on the left flank of the Tenth Army, which had been created on October 4 from the left flank components of the 2nd army, the BEF started moving from Aisne to Flanders. The Allied Powers and the Germans sought to gain more land after the "open" northern flank vanished; the Franco-British attacks on Lille in October at the battles of La Bassée, Messines, and Armentières (October–November) were followed by attempts by a new French Eighth Army between the BEF and the Belgian army to advance. During the Great Retreat and the Battle of the Marne, the 7th and subsequently the 6th Armies moved from Alsace and Lorraine to maintain German lines of communication through Belgium, where the Belgian army had sortied many times; in August, British marines landed at Dunkirk. In October, the III Reserve Corps, the siege artillery employed against Antwerp, and four new reserve corps training in Germany formed a new 4th Army. By the 21st of October, a German offensive had begun. Still, the 4th and 6th Armies had only been able to gain a tiny amount of ground, at a high cost to both sides, at the Battle of the Yser (16–31 October) and farther south in the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November). Falkenhayn then sought to capture Ypres and Mont Kemmel on a limited scale.