The First Battle of Marne
September 6th-12th, 1914
Towards the end of August of 1914, the German Schlieffen Plan was turning out to be quite effective. Belgium had already fallen to the Germans and now they were cutting south through France and came within 30 miles of Paris. General Alexander von Kluck, commander of the German 1st army, was then commanded to encircle Paris from the east. Expecting a German seige at any time, the French government had fled Paris and moved to Bordeaux along with around 500,000 civilians who left Paris on Sept. 3rd.
At this time the French 5th and 6th armies along with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) where in retreat from the German forces. Joseph Joffre, Commander-in-Chief of the French forces ordered his troops to retreat to a line along the River Seine which is south-east of Paris and over 60km south from the Marne. Joffre, along side Sir John French, planned to attack the Germans 1st Army on the 6th of Sept. and as a result Joffre replaced General Charles Lanrezac with more agressive General Franchet D'Esperey.
The French 6th army under the command of General Michel Maunoury attacked the German 1st Army on the morning of Sept. 6th. General von Kluck moved his entire army to meet the attack, opening a 50km gap between his army and the German 2nd Army commanded by General Karl von Bulow. It was through this gap that the BEF along side the French 5th Army advanced into completely seperating both German armies. Germans for the next three days tried to break through the French and British lines but were unable to. At one point, the French 6th army came close to being defeated but were saved by the use of Paris taxis that helped carry 6,000 French reserve troops to the battle. On Sept. 9th, German Commander and Chief General Helmuth von Moltke, ordered both General Bulow and General von Kluck to retreat now making the French and the British able to cross the Marne River. The British and French forces slowly advance covering less then 12 miles on the first day. This made an opprotunity for von Kluck and the German 1st army to unite with Bulow and his men along the River Aisne.
The battle of Marne was now over by the evening of September 10th with around 250,000 French and 12,733 BEF casualities. Although the Germans didn't publish their figures, it is believed that the Germans lost around the same amount of men as the French. Because of the French and British victory, the German's hope to win a short war was now a shattered dream.
At this time the French 5th and 6th armies along with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) where in retreat from the German forces. Joseph Joffre, Commander-in-Chief of the French forces ordered his troops to retreat to a line along the River Seine which is south-east of Paris and over 60km south from the Marne. Joffre, along side Sir John French, planned to attack the Germans 1st Army on the 6th of Sept. and as a result Joffre replaced General Charles Lanrezac with more agressive General Franchet D'Esperey.
The French 6th army under the command of General Michel Maunoury attacked the German 1st Army on the morning of Sept. 6th. General von Kluck moved his entire army to meet the attack, opening a 50km gap between his army and the German 2nd Army commanded by General Karl von Bulow. It was through this gap that the BEF along side the French 5th Army advanced into completely seperating both German armies. Germans for the next three days tried to break through the French and British lines but were unable to. At one point, the French 6th army came close to being defeated but were saved by the use of Paris taxis that helped carry 6,000 French reserve troops to the battle. On Sept. 9th, German Commander and Chief General Helmuth von Moltke, ordered both General Bulow and General von Kluck to retreat now making the French and the British able to cross the Marne River. The British and French forces slowly advance covering less then 12 miles on the first day. This made an opprotunity for von Kluck and the German 1st army to unite with Bulow and his men along the River Aisne.
The battle of Marne was now over by the evening of September 10th with around 250,000 French and 12,733 BEF casualities. Although the Germans didn't publish their figures, it is believed that the Germans lost around the same amount of men as the French. Because of the French and British victory, the German's hope to win a short war was now a shattered dream.