{"id":4724,"date":"2018-08-15T09:32:43","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T09:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=4724"},"modified":"2026-05-31T17:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T17:42:53","slug":"battle-of-the-marne-6-10th-september-1914","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/battle-of-the-marne-6-10th-september-1914\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle of the Marne 6-10th September 1914"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between the 6th and 10th of September 1914 the Allies and Germans fought the First Battle of the Marne. Though a short battle compared to ones that would follow, it was hugely significant. After the opening exchanges of the war, in the Battle of the Frontiers, the German army was poised to advance on Paris. The British Expeditionary Force<\/a> and French army launched a counter attack along the Marne River. The ‘Miracle of the Marne’ saw the German Army forced to retreat. Paris was saved. The consequence though was the onset of four years of Trench Warfare<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"First<\/a><\/p>\n

Battle of the Marne<\/h2>\n

The early stages of the First World War<\/a> had seen German forces attack along the Frontiers of North East France and into Belgium. These battles proved indecisive. Germany had hoped to sweep to a quick victory. However, reinforcements had been unable to reach the front lines fast enough in these early exchanges. Though they had had some success, they had been unable to capitalise upon them. The next phase saw German troops manoeuvre into positions where they could sweep around Allied lines toward Paris. If successful, the war could be won quickly.<\/p>\n

Strategically this was quite important for the Germans. The Schlieffen Plan<\/a> that they were basing their strategy on required France to be defeated before the Russians mobilised. Even at this early stage in the war, it was clear that this objective was not going to be met: the Russians had already engaged with German troops at Tannenberg on 26-28th August 1914.<\/p>\n

Related content: Public reaction to the outbreak of war (British)<\/a><\/p>\n

Objective: Holding Paris<\/h3>\n

The British and French troops had struggled against the German army in the Battle of the Frontiers. German troops were well equipped, mobile and strong in number. After each small scale battle they had moved along the frontier and launched another assault. It appeared that they would now assault Paris. Should the french capital be lost, the war in the west may be over quickly. The British began planning for an evacuation, Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force was concerned at the likely losses and doubted the ability to hold Paris. The French were determined to continue and to fight for Paris. Lord Kitchener was persuaded of the need to do so and plans for withdrawal were shelved. The French Governor of Paris, Joseph Gallieni.<\/p>\n

The Plan for the First Battle of the Marne<\/h3>\n

Neither the British or French had huge numbers of soldiers available for the defence of Paris. Any prolonged siege would be hard to sustain defensively. This meant that the best means of protecting the city was to drive back the Germans. The plan was relatively simple. The German army was now in the Marne Valley. The combined forces of the French and British would launch a full scale assault on the German army. All available forces would be committed to the attack. As the main attack hit the centre of the German line, reserve troops would assault the Germans flanks and replace men and units lost or withdrawn from the central engagement. It would be a hard drive through the centre with two large flanking maneuvers.<\/p>\n