Great Retreat - The Marne

The Marne

The Allied retreat finally ended at the River Marne where they prepared to make a stand to defend Paris. This led to the First Battle of the Marne, which was fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. This battle would prove to be a major turning point of the war by denying the Germans an early victory.

Field Marshal John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, began to make contingency plans for a full retreat to the ports on the English Channel followed by an immediate British evacuation. The French Military Governor of Paris, General Joseph Gallieni, was tasked with the defence of the city. He wanted to organise the French and British armies to counter the weight of the German advance. So, after consulting with Lord Kitchener, Gallieni managed to secure overall command of the BEF, and ordered Field Marshal French not to withdraw to the channel.

Gallieni's plan was a very simple one: All allied units would counter-attack the Germans along the Marne, hopefully halting their advance. As this was going on, allied reserves would be thrown in to restore the ranks and attack the German flanks. At noon on 5 September, the battle commenced when the French 6th Army, led by General Michel-Joseph Maunoury, accidentally stumbled into the forward guard of the German 1st Army under General Alexander von Kluck.

The British avoided joining the battle until von Kluck made a grave tactical error on 9 September 1914. Von Kluck commanded his forces to pursue and annihilate the French 6th Army as the latter retreated back towards the Marne. This command opened a 50 km gap between the German 1st and 2nd Armies on his right flank, a gap discovered by allied observation aircraft. The Allied forces quickly exploited this tactical error by attacking the flanks of both German armies, using the entire BEF as well as the French 5th Army.

German Chief of the General Staff Helmuth von Moltke suffered a nervous breakdown upon learning about the gravity of the error. His subordinates assumed command over the two flanked armies, which were withdrawn to regroup at the Aisne River. Von Moltke is said to have reported to the Kaiser: "Your Majesty, we have lost the war."

The total British casualties amounted to 1,701 of all ranks, killed, wounded or missing between 6 September and 10 September.

Some notable casualties for the British Army were Brig.-Gen. Neil Findlay, CRA 1st Division, who died as a result of wounds received on 10 September 1914 and is buried at Vailly British Cemetery and Lt-Col Guy Knight, OC 1st Loyal North Lancs. Knight died the next day and was buried at Priez Communal Cemetery.

The German retreat between 9 September and 13 September signaled the abandonment of the Schlieffen Plan. In the battle's aftermath, both sides dug in for trench warfare and four years of grueling stalemate ensued. The defeat of the German Army on the River Marne was decisive. Their war plan, to quickly overcome France before turning attentions to Russia, had come to nothing despite the enormous efforts expended. It has sometimes been argued that Germany could no longer win the war after their defeat on the Marne in 1914.

Around six hundred Paris taxicabs, mainly Renault AG, were commandeered by Gallieni and used to transport six thousand French reserve infantry troops to the battle.

The tables were now turned with the Allies pursuing the retreating Germans. Their next major clash was to be the First Battle of the Aisne.