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Start of World War 1
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (who was next in line for the Austrian throne) and his wife Sophie were both assasinated while on a visit to Serbia. War was declared between Serbia and Austria (because a Serb killed what was basically Austria's equivalent of Prince Charles). Anyway, Austria (also called Austro-Hungary) had signed a treaty, along with Germany and Italy (called the Triple Alliance), saying that if one of them went to war against another country, that the rest of them wo -
What caused the Battle of Marne
There was a plan called the Schileffen Plan which was have the German Army surrounding Paris to the West before they could move back East, capturing the city making the French into surrender. However, with the Belgian contention and the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) also fighting the Germans, the German Army divided into two, leaving a gap. The BEF and French Fifth Army exploited the weakness, beginning the First Battle of the Marne. -
The start of the battle
Because the Germans divided their army into two, the French increased the gap left between the Germans two armies. This further hampered communications for the Germans. It made it difficult for the Germans to get the correct messages from the senior officers so they didn’t know what was going on in the battle zone. -
The attack on Germany army
September 8th, General Franchet D’Esperey, the commander of the French Fifth Army. Launched an unexpected assault against the German Second Army. The attack widened the breach between the German First and Second Army even more. Franchet D’Esperey had recently been appointed commander of the Fifth Army by Joffre to replace General Lanrezac who was deemed too cautious. -
September the 9th
On 9 September the German armies began a retreat ordered by the German Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke. Moltke feared an Allied breakthrough, plagued by poor communication from his lines at the Marne. -
part 2
The retreating armies were pursued by the French and British, although the pace of the Allied advance was slow - a mere 12 miles in one day. The German armies ceased their withdrawal after 40 miles at a point north of the River Aisne, where the First and Second Armies dug in, preparing trenches that were to last for several years. -
10TH SEPTEMBER
In a strategic triumph at the First Battle of the Marne, which ended on 10 September, the French forces - assisted by the British - had succeeded in throwing back the German offensive, recapturing lost ground in the process. More importantly, the battle ended any hopes the Germans had of effectively bringing the war on the Western Front to an early close. -
End of world war 1
the Germans ran out of money, soldiers, food, and war materiel. Support at home was disappearing rapidly. No country has ever won a war without popular support at home.
(Too bad the US government has not yet figured that out)
The Germans finally realized that, with the entry of the US into the war a year earlier, they were never going to win, anyhow
