Freepedia
is a series of free encyclopaedias. We currently specialize in history
but we intend to branch out into other areas. This section is about
the First Battle of Marne.
At
the end of August 1914, the three armies of the German invasion's northern
wing were sweeping south towards Paris. The French 5th and 6th Armies
and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were
in retreat. General Alexander von Kluck, commander of the German Ist
Army, was ordered to encircle Paris from the east. Expecting the German
army to capture Paris, the French government departed for Bordeaux.
About 500,000 French civilians also left Paris by the 3rd September.
Joseph Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief of
the French forces, ordered his men to retreat to a line along the River
Seine, south-east of Paris and over 60km south of the Marne. Joffre
planned to attack the German Ist Army on 6th September and decided to
replace General Charles Lanrezac, the commander of the 5th Army, with
the more aggressive, General Franchet D'Esperey. The commander of the
BEF,Sir John French, agreed to join the
attack on the German forces.
General Michel Maunoury and the French
6th Army attacked the German Ist Army on the morning of 6th September.
General von Kluck wheeled his entire force to meet the attack, opening
a 50km gap between his own forces and the German 2nd Army led by General
Karl von Bulow. The British forces and the
French 5th now advanced into the gap that had been created splitting
the two German armies.
For the next three days the German forces were unable to break through
the Allied lines. At one stage the French 6th Army came close to defeat
and were only saved by the use of Paris taxis to rush 6,000 reserve
troops to the front line. On 9th September General Helmuth
von Moltke, the German Commander in Chief, ordered General Karl
von Bulow and General Alexander von Kluck
to retreat. The British and French forces were now able to cross the
Marne. Despite encountering little opposition, the advance was slow
and the armies covered less than twelve miles on that first day. This
enabled Kluck's Ist Army to reunite with Bulow's forces at the River
Aisne.
By the evening of 10th September, the Battle of the Marne was over.
During the battle, the French had around 250,000 casualties. Although
the Germans never published the figures, it is believed that Geman losses
were similar to those of France. The British Expeditionary
Force lost 12,733 men during the battle.
The most important consequence of the Battle of the Marne was that the
French and British forces were able to prevent the German plan for a
swift and decisive victory. However, the German Army was not beaten
and its successful retreat ended all hope of a short war.
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The
Battle of the Marne
