September 1914 – The first battle of the

marne
The French Army
-Consisted of around 4 million men
-Standard issue rifle was the Lebel Model
1886
-Used mostly outdated equipment, including
the Coehorn mortar, which was over 100 years
old
-The soldiers were fairly well trained, but
unequipped and unprepared for the war
-Organised into the First, Second, Third,
Fourth and Fifth armies
-Each was stationed in a different front in
France
-The French were the first to engage the
Germans, and fought on the Western front for
the entire duration of the war
-They adapted quickly, and due to France’s
industry, were kept well supplied
 The battle of the marne
• Charles Lanrezac had charge of the French Fifth Army, stationed near the Marne River
• Upon receiving word that the German Third Army, under General Max Von Hausen, had advanced near his
flank, he gave the order for a general retreat.
• The British fell back on the 24th of August after suffering losses at the battle of Mons
• The French vastly underestimated the size of the German forces, and thus realised that advancing would not be
possible.
• Joseph Joffre formed the Schlieffen plan, designed to create a new French 6th Army.
• The Germans continued advancing towards Paris, after mauling the BEF at Le Cateau.
• The French then retreated towards Paris
• Lanrezac was ordered to counterattack the German advance in order to slow them down, and succeeded in
pushing them back, however, minimal casualties were inflicted
• Alexander von Kluck received reinforcements, and forced the French to retreat
• A plan was formed to advance on Paris on a pincer movement and crush the French defenses on the 6 th of
September
• As the German 1st army crossed the Marne, the 6th army attacked their exposed flank from down the valley.
• Von Kluck was forced to retreat, creating a gap between the 1st and 2nd armies
• The French attacked the German 2nd Army, widening the gap between them and the 1st
• The British retraced their steps and advanced, forcing the 2nd Army to retreat in line with the 1st
across the river Marne
• On September 10th, the 1st and 2nd armies dug in across the river, whilst the 4th and 5th were broken
by the French defenses
• The Germans had come within 45 kilometers of Paris, but had overextended themselves and were
forced to retreat
• Casualties favored the French, as they had inflicted more on the Germans than they had sustained,
while the British had taken heavy losses at both Le Cateau and Mons