The Marne River witnessed two decisive battles of the First World War. The battle on the Marne, which took place in 1914, became one of the most bloody battles in the history of wars. Countless lives have remained in the valleys of this river. Here the fate of mankind was decided. The Battle of Marne 1914 is briefly described in every history textbook.
Battle of the Marne River: Background
In 1914, the First World War began.
This year was remembered for the most fierce battles. Maneuvers took place almost every week. In one day, the front could change by 50 kilometers. Initially, none of the countries planned a protracted war. Directives of the General Staffs called for swift offensive operations.
The German Empire planned to end the war in a few months and establish a new world order in which it would occupy a key place.
France was not considered a serious adversary. Her occupation was to take no more than a month. The Germans expected to quickly seize the country before the British came to the rescue. With the outbreak of hostilities, German units quickly invaded the territory of Belgium and took it. The French army did not have time to create serious defensive structures. Therefore, by the beginning of autumn, the Germans had come close to Paris.
State of the parties
Units under the command of Alexander von Kluk stretched out over a rather long section of the front. The command of the German units developed a plan to encircle most of the French forces. The sudden arrival of the British forced the Germans to move away from the original plan for the capture of Paris.
In accordance with the plan, the Germans were supposed to go west of Paris without engaging in battle with units concentrated there for the defense of the city. After this, the “wedges” of the fronts would close in the deep rear, taking the French completely into a giant cauldron. But the original strategy has undergone many significant changes, because, sweeping away the enemy’s defenses, the German units ran out of steam and could not quickly regroup for a powerful blow.
The exhausted German army lost reserves, since bloody battles began in Prussia. Therefore, Commander von Kluck proposed not to turn to the West, but to the East from Paris in order to defeat the French army in a narrower section. In early September, the English units quickly fled to the Marne River. Crossing it, they continued to retreat east.
The Germans chasing them were able to enter the gap between the British and French armies, thus stretching out and opening the flank. The battle on the Marne was to begin any day, all the attention of the headquarters was riveted to this particular area.
Start of battle
On September 5, the Germans continued their eastward advance. At this time, the French command, after much debate, decided to launch a counterattack. The 1st German army was left without cover, so the British and French hit them on the flank, while the 6th Monouri army came out from Paris. To help the rear, Kluk expels significant forces from the mouth of the river.
Crucial moment
The battle on the Marne River (1914) took the most fierce move on September 6th. Fierce clashes began in all sectors of the front. At the mouth of the Marne, the British and the French struck at a narrow stretch of two German armies. In the marshland, the 2nd and 3rd German armies opposed the 9th Allied army. The fighting lasted almost all day. Artillery hit the enemy just before the attack, which was fraught with fire on its own. Defensive structures were natural ledges, there was simply no time for digging trenches. Bayonet attacks gave way to quick maneuvers.
By the end of the day, the Germans managed to break the resistance. The French wavered and were almost completely demoralized. Monuri understood the danger of the situation and the need for urgent reserves. The Moroccan division proved to be a lifeline for the French. She arrived in the capital 2 days after the start of the battle. She was immediately sent to the front. In confusion, a railroad was used to transport one unit. Another arrived at the river in a very unusual way. For its transfer, civilian taxis were used. 600 cars were later popularly called the Marne Taxis.
The battle on the Marne did not bode well for the Allies. But the sudden arrival of the Moroccan division managed to stop the German attack. To finally break the resistance of the French, von Kluck transferred several more parts from Marne. On the river, the rear of German formations was left without protection. The British immediately took advantage of this and dealt a serious blow. German units were driven back and retreated. The Battle of the Marne (1914) is briefly described in von Bülow's memoirs. After 4 years, he will have a chance to get even for defeat.
Consequences of the Battle of Marne
The battle of the Marne ended on September 12th. Near Paris, the Germans dealt a serious blow and took the left flank of the French into a tight ring. But the successes of the allies on the Marne forced von Bülow to start a retreat. Such maneuvers, among other things, had an important psychological factor. German soldiers were extremely worn out and could no longer provide serious resistance. Numerous testimonies claim that the Allies found German troops asleep from fatigue.
The battle on the Marne claimed more than 150 thousand lives and changed the course of the First World War. The Germans' plans for a quick offensive crashed. The exhausting phase of the positional permanent war began, in which the mobilization of all the resources of the parties involved was required.
Second Battle of the Marne: World War I
In the summer of 1918, 4 years after the first battle, fierce battles broke out again on the Marne. The Germans planned to launch an offensive on this sector of the front in order to defeat the British expeditionary force. On July 15, German units under the command of the same Bulow hit the French east of Reims. Their attack was repelled until the end of the day. American and Italian units came to the rescue and began to push the Germans north.
The defeat of the German troops laid the foundation for a series of major Allied operations, which resulted in the end of the First World War. The second battle on the Marne claimed the lives of about 160 thousand soldiers. Fritz von Bülow was never able to capture the river.