The Marne River witnessed two decisive battles of the First World War. The Battle of the Marne, which took place in 1914, became one of the bloodiest battles in the history of wars. There are countless lives left in the valleys of this river. Here the fate of mankind was decided. The Battle of the Marne 1914 is briefly described in every history textbook.
Battle of the Marne: 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. The directives of the General Staffs assumed rapid offensive operations. The German Empire planned to end the war in a few months and establish a new world order in which it would take a key place.
France was not considered a serious adversary. Its occupation was to take no more than a month. The Germans countedquickly seize the country before the arrival of the British to help. With the outbreak of hostilities, the 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 already come close to Paris.
State of the sides
Parts under the command of Alexander von Kluck stretched out on 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 rapid arrival of the British forced the Germans to deviate from the original plan to take Paris.
According to the plan, the Germans had to pass west of Paris without engaging in battle with the units concentrated there to defend the city. After that, the "wedges" of the fronts would close in the rear, completely taking the French into a giant cauldron. But the original strategy has undergone many significant changes, because, sweeping away the enemy's defenses, the German units were exhausted and could not quickly regroup for a powerful blow.
The exhausted German army lost its reserves as bloody battles began in Prussia. Therefore, Commander von Kluck made a proposal to turn not to the West, but to the East from Paris in order to defeat the French army in a narrower area. In early September, the British units quickly fled to the Marne River. After crossing it, they continued to retreat east.
The Germans chasing them were able toenter the gap between the English and French armies, thus stretching out and opening the flank. The battle on the Marne was supposed to begin any day now, all the attention of the headquarters turned out to be riveted precisely to this site.
Start of battle
September 5, the Germans continued to advance in an easterly direction. At this time, the French command, after long disputes, decided to launch a counteroffensive. The 1st German Army was left without cover, so the British and French hit them on the flank, at the same time, the 6th Army of Maunoury came out of Paris. To help the rear, Klyuk sends significant forces from the mouth of the river.
Tipping point
The Battle of the Marne (1914) took its most violent course on 6 September. Violent clashes began on all sectors of the front. At the mouth of the Marne, the British and French attacked two German armies in a narrow area. In the swampy terrain, the 2nd and 3rd German armies opposed the 9th Allied army. The fighting went on almost all day. Artillery hit the enemy immediately before the attack, which was fraught with friendly fire. Natural ledges served as defensive structures; there was simply no time for digging trenches. Bayonet attacks were replaced by quick maneuvers.
By the end of the day, the Germans managed to break the resistance. The French f altered and were almost completely demoralized. Monoury understood the danger of the situation and the need for an urgent introduction of reserves. The Moroccan division proved to be a lifeline for the French. She arrived in the capital2 days after the start of the battle. She was immediately sent to the front. In the confusion, a railroad was used to transfer one part. The other arrived at the river in a very unusual way. For its transfer, civilian taxis were used. 600 cars were later popularly called "Marne taxis".
The Battle of 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 units from the Marne. On the river, the rear of the German formations was left without protection. The British immediately took advantage of this and de alt a serious blow. The German formations were driven back and retreated. The Battle of the Marne (1914) is briefly described in the memoirs of von Bülow. After 4 years, he will have a chance to get even for the defeat.
Aftermath of the Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne ended on September 12th. Near Paris, the Germans de alt 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 begin a retreat. Such maneuvers, among other things, had an important psychological factor. The German soldiers were extremely exhausted and could no longer offer serious resistance. Numerous testimonies claim that the Allies found German soldiers sleeping from fatigue.
The Battle of the Marne claimed over 150,000 lives and changed the course of the First World War. The German plans for a rapid offensive failed. The exhausting phase of a permanent positional war began, which required the mobilization of allresources of the parties involved.
Second Battle of the Marne: World War I
In the summer of 1918, 4 years after the first battle, fierce battles flared up 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 attacked the French east of Reims. Their attack was repelled before the end of the day. American and Italian units arrived to help and began to push the Germans north.
The defeat of the German troops marked the beginning of a series of major operations of the allies, as a result of which they managed to end the First World War. The second battle on the Marne claimed the lives of about 160 thousand soldiers. Fritz von Bülow never managed to master the river.
