Battle of Marne

• Battle of the Marne, 1914:
• First Phase: French and British offensive
• -German forces had reached the Marne river 30 miles to the north-east of Paris
• -The German forces were exhausted and some had marched over 150 miles and their advance slowed down
• -The French and British decided the time was right to counter-attack and launched a major offensive to attack the exposed flanks of the German army on the 6th September 1914
• -French and British troops were quickly brought from Paris by taxis and buses to reinforce the attack
• What was the crisis developing with the battle of Marne


  The German army was weak and exhausted and the French and British were able to force the Germans into retreat for the first time
• Second phase: German retreat
• -a gap was created in the German line and the British pushed forward into the gap
• -On 10th September 1914 the Germans command gave the ordered to pull back and regroup
• -The French commander Joeffre ordered his men to pursue the retreating German army and Germans were forced back 45 miles to the Aisne River
• Crisis developing: The French and British had inflicted over 67,000 casualties on the Germans and forced their army back 45 miles where they were forced to dig trenches to protect themselves. It effectively ended chance of the Schiefflan Plan succeeding