Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. For the Germans, the result of the Battle of the Marne was a strategic but not a tactical defeat, and the German right wing was able to reknit and stand firmly on the line of the lower Aisne and the Chemin des Dames ridge, where trench warfare set in after assaults by the Allies in the latter half of September (First Battle of the Aisne). Though planned as a simple tactical withdrawal and executed in good order, the British retreat from Mons lasted for two weeks and covered 400 kilometres (250mi). Also on that day, French troops counterattacked in the Battle of the Ourcq 512 September, marking the end of the Great Retreat of the western flank of the Franco-British armies.[9]. The wind had to be moving in the direction of the enemy. This dislocated Joffres design for an early return to the offensive and compelled the Sixth Army to fall back hurriedly toward the shelter of the Paris defenses. Neither was successful and, by the end of October, a solid line of trenches ran from the coast to the Swiss frontier. The gun was so successful that it was later fitted to aircraft. First Battle of the Marne, (September 6-12, 1914), an offensive during World War I by the French army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) against the advancing Germans who had invaded Belgium and northeastern France and were within 30 miles (48 km) of Paris. [15] On 4 September, while meeting with the British General Henry Wilson, d'Esperey outlined a French and British counter-attack on the German 1st Army. The First Battle of the Marne was fought September 6-12, 1914, during World War I (1914-1918) and marked the limit of Germany's initial advance into France. [48] John Terraine wrote that "nowhere, and at no time, did it present the traditional aspect of victory", but nonetheless stated that the French and British stroke into the breach between the 1st and 2nd German Armies "made the battle of the Marne the decisive battle of the war". [40], German attacks continued through 8 September but soon began to taper off as Moltke began shifting troops to the west. 1916 witnessed two of the longest and most notorious battles of the First World War. [18], Joffre spent much of this afternoon in silent contemplation under an ash tree. Machine gun. Such weapons were also ideal for silent killing during raids. Little Willie only drove three mph and could not move across the trenches. On September 3, when the German First Army was crossing the Marne east of Paris, Gallieni realized the meaning of Klucks wheel inward and directed Gen. Michel-Joseph Maunourys Sixth Army to be ready to strike at the exposed German right flank. The bloody. The BEF retreated to the outskirts of Paris, before it counter-attacked in concert with the French, in the Battle of the Marne. The trench system on the Western Front in World War Ifixed from the winter of 1914 to the spring of 1918eventually stretched from the North Sea coast of Belgium southward through France, with a. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. They were placed far enough from the trenches to prevent the enemy from approaching close enough to throw grenades in. Communication trenches linked them all together. These were later replaced by asmall box filter respirator which provided greater protection. That night he issued commands to halt the French retreat in his Instruction General No. But they wererisky weapons inthe confined space of trenches, especially when not handledcorrectly. Using the German Sanittsberichte, Herwig recorded that from 110 September, the 1st Army had 13,254 casualties, the 2nd Army had 10,607 casualties, the 3rd Army had 14,987 casualties, the 4th Army had 9,433 casualties, the 5th Army had 19,434 casualties, the 6th Army had 21,200 casualties and the 7th Army had 10,164 casualties. The Battle of the Marne (6-10 September 1914) scuppered that, and the Schlieffen Plan failed. The reinforced Sixth Army held its ground. Germany first used poison gas as a weapon during the Battle of Bolimov in January 1915. Echoes of the decisive victory at Sedan rang loudly in the ears of German generals, and this led them to pluck the fruit before it was ripe. On July 18 the German offensive was called off just as a great Allied counteroffensive began that same day. The next day Lanrezac had word of the fall of Namur and of the presence of the German Third Army under Gen. Max von Hausen on his exposed right flank near Dinant, on the Meuse. During the First World War Private Stephen Palmer was sent an Oxo tin that ended up saving his life. It had a maximum range of 2,280 metres, but an effective killing range of 550. The army developed tactics like the creeping barrage, which saw troops advance across no-man's-landbehind the safety ofa line of shell fire. It was also the first large-scale use of motorised infantry in battle; a Marne taxicab is prominently displayed in the exhibit on the battle at the Muse de l'Arme at Les Invalides in Paris. Depth charges were first developed by the Royal Navy during World War I to combat German submarines. The French government estimates that millions of unexploded shells from World War I remain buried or undiscovered in the French countryside. Erma EMP-35 (Limited) SIG M1920 (Locally produced copy with a downward facing magazine known as the Tsing Dao Submachine Gun) MP 34. Troops in training jumping over trench, c1916. Before acceding, Kluck deferred to Moltke. [4] The Belgian 4th Division, the solitary part of the Belgian army not to retreat to the defensive lines around Antwerp, dug in to defend Namur, which was besieged on 20 August. Both sides dug in and a line of trenches soon ran from the Channel to the Swiss frontier. One successful use of mines was on 7 June 1917, when the Britishunleashed a seriesof huge mine explosionsat Messines Ridge. Both battles were key moments in the First World War, which resulted in German defeats. The German 6th Army had also found that on arrival in the north, it was forced to oppose the French attack rather than advance around the flank and that the secondary objective, to protect the northern flank of the German Armies in France, had become the main task. Tanks were used primarily in a supporting role. Greater results might have come if more effort had been made, as Gallieni urged, to strike at the rear flank of the Klucks First Army instead of the front and to direct reinforcements to the northwest of Paris for this purpose. By then the German armies had recovered cohesion, and the German command was expecting and ready to meet such a maneuver, now the obvious course. The first, highly coloured reports from the army commands in the Battles of the Frontiers had given the German Supreme Command the impression of a decisive victory. It ranged in size from the French 75-mm field gun to the massive 420-mm Big Bertha and the 210-mm Paris Gun. [23], The Allies were prompt in exploiting the break in the German lines, sending the BEF and the Fifth Army into the gap between the two German armies. He earned a B.A. By the next day, both the German First and Second Armies were being threatened with encirclement and destruction. They killed around 10,000 Germans and totally disrupted their lines. A well-trained infantryman could fire 15 rounds a minute. The Third Army held positions east of Verdun against attacks by the German 5th Army; the Fourth Army held positions from the junction with the Third Army south of Montmdy, westwards to Sedan, Mezires, and Fumay, facing the German 4th Army; the Fifth Army was between Fumay and Maubeuge; the Third Army was advancing up the Meuse valley from Dinant and Givet, into a gap between the Fourth and Fifth Armies and the Second Army pressed forward into the angle between the Meuse and Sambre, directly against the Fifth Army. Thought the presentation & interpretation made the subject accessible". These were of limited use, however, as the body of the aircraft itself made it difficult and dangerous to fire any weapons. [66], From 17 September17 October the belligerents made reciprocal attempts to turn the northern flank of their opponent. The Vickers machine-gun (above)was famed for its reliability and could fire over 600 rounds per minute and had a range of 4,500 yards. The goal of the plan was to quickly defeat France before the Russians could fully mobilize their forces. The retreating armies were pursued by the French and British. Having implemented the Schlieffen Plan at the war's outset, German forces swung through Belgium and into France from north. The Germans used it first during the war, against the French. Heavy guns, such as the Maxim and Hotchkiss, made no man's land a killing zone, and Isaac Newton Lewis's light machine gun saw widespread use at the squad level and as an aircraft armament. Moreover, any type of fixed location for supplies was a target for the enemy. Weapons Thick belts of barbed wire were placed in front of the trenches on the Western Front. Airplanes and submarines were used for the first time, initially to locate the enemy. On September 14, it was clear that neither side would be able to dislodge the other and the armies began entrenching. On the far west flank of the French, the BEF prolonged the line from Maubeuge to Valenciennes against the German 1st Army and Army Detachment von Beseler masked the Belgian army at Antwerp. Thestandard British rifle was the Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle Mk III. To the chagrin of the Germans, such an effort had begun before the new plan could take effect. The first Battle of the Marne-- sometimes it's called the Miracle of the Marne-- if the French, with British help, were not able to push the Germans back, they might have accomplished the Schlieffen Plan and actually maybe would have won World War I, or at least been able to win the Western front fairly quickly. Even on September 5, when the French on either flank were turning about, the British continued a further days march to the south. Instead, seeking to immediately envelop the retreating French forces, Kluck and Blow wheeled their armies to the southeast to pass to the east of Paris. The 2nd and 3rd German armies had 134 battalions facing 268 battalions of the French Fifth and new Ninth Army. Large field guns were also used. Despite this, the British Empire suffered over 180,000 gas casualties during the war. . In September 1916, the face of battle changed forever. By 10 September the German armies west of Verdun were retreating towards the Aisne. In consequence, he gave orders for a general retreat that night. On 1 September Lord Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for War, met with French (and French Prime Minister Viviani and War Minister Millerand), and ordered him not to withdraw to the Channel. [59] In 2010, Ian Sumner wrote that there were 12,733 British casualties, including 1,700 dead. However, by the end of the war, both sides were using weapons, technology, and tactics in an attempt that could be used to decrease the number of lives at risk. Longwy was surrendered by its garrison and next day, British marines and a party of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) landed at Ostend; German troops occupied Lille and Mezires. [11] To accomplish this, the 2nd Army would become the primary striking force with the 1st Army (Alexander von Kluck) following in echelon to protect the flank. This was providing that a necessary supply of belted ammunition, spare barrels and cooling water was available. However, planes were first used to spy and deliver bombs. [10] The Military governor of Paris, General Joseph Gallieni, was tasked with the defence of the city. Conceived as an attempt to draw Allied troops south from Flanders to facilitate an attack in that region, the offensive along the Marne proved to be the last the German Army would mount in the conflict. Following the detonation of the mines, nine Allied infantry divisions attacked under a creeping artillery barrage, supported by tanks. [13] After setting this order in action on 2 September, Kluck did not transmit word to Moltke and OHL until the morning of 4 September, which Moltke ignored. [citation needed], Joffre, whose planning had led to the disastrous Battle of the Frontiers, was able to bring the Entente to a tactical victory. The Germans ceased their retreat after 65km (40mi), at a point north of the Aisne River, where they dug in, preparing trenches. He was concerned in particular with a gap which had opened between his Second and Third armies as a result of the latters having already turned south, from southwest, to help the Fourth Army, its neighbour on the other flank. Omissions? The effectiveness of the tank as a weapon, was not fully realised until the inter-war years. Further west, the French Fifth Army had concentrated on the Sambre by 20 August, facing north on either side of Charleroi and east towards Namur and Dinant. The delay in starting the advance meant that the Germans had time to scramble out of their dugouts, man their trenches and open a devastating machine-gun fire. Exploiting this, the Allies attacked into the gap and threatened to encircle the German First and Second Armies. The first battle of the Marne was a main driving factor in starting trench warfare and the decreasing use of chivalry and the increase use in mechanized weapons. Hickman, Kennedy. The British stand at Le Cateau (August 26), interrupting the retreat from Mons, and Lanrezacs riposte at Guise (August 29) were also factors in checking the German enveloping wing, and each had still greater indirect effects. 1900s. Frontal attacks by the Ninth, Fifth, and Sixth Armies were repulsed from 1516 September. https://www.thoughtco.com/first-battle-of-the-marne-2361397 (accessed March 2, 2023). 3-inch Stokes Mortar, 1918 Mortars Mortars of all sizes were used on the Western Front. On 1 July 1916, a few minutes before they attacked on the Somme, the British exploded several huge mines packed with explosives under the German position. They were also effective at taking out enemy machine gun and sniperposts. The main French offensive, the Battle of Lorraine (1425 August), began with the Battles of Morhange and Sarrebourg (1420 August) advances by the First Army on Sarrebourg and the Second Army towards Morhange. [25] The Fifth Army by 8 September crossed the Petit Morin, which forced Blow to withdraw the right flank of the 2nd Army. In fact, the situation on the Western Front during the First World War was why the term trench warfare became synonymous with attrition, futile conflict, and stalemate. The German armies crossed the border and advanced on Nancy, but were stopped to the east of the city. On 5 September, the counter-offensive by six French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) began. The Third Army recoiled towards Verdun, pursued by the 5th Army, and the Fourth Army retreated to Sedan and Stenay. To find out more about how we collect, store and use your personal information, read our Privacy Policy. However, the comparatively small number of prisoners raised doubts in Moltkes mind and led him to a more sober estimate of the situation. Joffre sacked General Charles Lanrezac, the commander of the Fifth Army and replaced him with I Corps commander Louis Franchet d'Esprey. It required a team of two gunners to operate it, one to fire and one to carry ammunition and reload. [43] According to Roger Chickering, German casualties for the 1914 campaigns on the Western Front were 500,000. [14] D'Esperey became one of the originators of the Entente plan during the Battle of the Marne. Artillery was the most destructive weapon on the Western Front. [54] The Battle of the Marne was also one of the first battles in which reconnaissance aircraft played a decisive role, by discovering weak points in the German lines, which the Entente armies were able to exploit. They were first used on the Sommein September 1916, butthey were mechanicallyunreliable and too few in number to secure a victory. During the retreat, BEF commander Sir John French began to make contingency plans for a full retreat to the ports on the English Channel followed by an immediate British evacuation. To the First World War index. [69] In October, a new 4th Army was assembled from the III Reserve Corps, the siege artillery used against Antwerp, and four of the new reserve corps training in Germany. Infantry weapons underwent a massive change in the late 19th century, as repeating rifles entered widespread use. By the end of the war, both sides had used it. The jaw formed by the German Sixth and Seventh armies merely broke its teeth on the defenses of the French eastern frontier. The Allies frontal pursuit of the Germans from the Marne was already checked on the Aisne before Joffre, on September 17, seeing that Maunourys attempts to overlap the German flank were ineffectual, decided to form a fresh army under Gen. douard de Castelnau for a maneuver around and behind the German flank. ThoughtCo. French commander in chief Gen. Joseph-Jacques-Csaire Joffre at last recognized the folly of pressing ahead with Plan XVII, the planned French offensive into Alsace and Lorraine. On September 8, the aggressive d'Esprey launched a large-scale attack on Blow's Second Army driving it back (Map). This message streamer was dropped on 9 September 1914 during the Battle of the Marne. Simply enter your email address below to start receiving our monthly email newsletter. The Belgian government withdrew from Brussels on 18 August. As gunnery practice improved the British were able to use this lightmachine gun to give effective mobile support to their ground troops. No future battle on the Western Front would average so many casualties per day. Place of the Battle of the Marne: France, to the east of Paris. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Germans first used gas against the French during the capture of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914 when they fired shells containing a chemical irritant that caused violent fits of sneezing. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/first-battle-of-the-marne-2361397. Heavy guns, such as the Maxim and Hotchkiss, made "no man's land" a killing zone, and Isaac Newton Lewis 's light machine gun saw widespread use at the squad level and as an aircraft armament. 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