50MINUTES.COM - The Battle of the Marne : the First Allied Victory of the First World War.

The Battle of the Marne : the First Allied Victory of the First World War. — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "The Battle of the Marne : the First Allied Victory of the First World War." online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567

THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE

KEY INFORMATION

• When: 6th-12th September 1914
• Where: In the north-east of France, between Paris and Verdun (on both sides of the Marne)
• Context: The First World War (1914-1918)
• Belligerents: Britain and France against the German Empire
• Commanders and leaders:
  • John Denton Pinkstone French, British Marshal (1852-1925)
  • Joseph Joffre, French General (1852-1931)
  • Helmuth von Moltke, German General (1848-1916)
• Outcome: French victory
• Victims:
  • German camp: approximately 43,000 dead, 173,000 wounded and 40,000 missing
  • French camp: approximately 21,000 dead, 122,000 wounded and 84,000 missing
  • British camp: approximately 3000 dead, 30,000 wounded and 4000 missing

INTRODUCTION

The Battle of the Marne marked the first turning point in favor of the Allies on the Western Front during the First World War.

Since the German invasion of Belgium on 4th August 1914, the Belgian and French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had been constantly retreating in the face of the German army. However, the French general Joseph Joffre did not lose hope and launched a major counter-attack against the Germans. The opportunity for this arose when the German general Helmuth von Moltke did not stick to his original plan and allowed space to be created between his armies. From 6th September, a combined action from the British and French allowed soldiers to slip into the breach, threatening the German positions.

The German army was stopped and, on 10th September, forced to begin a general retreat, when they were only 50 kilometers from Paris. They then dispersed north of the Aisne where they began to retreat, marking the Allied victory that was hailed as a miracle by the French public.

The Battle of the Marne put an end to the war of movement and gave way to trench warfare, a symbol of the First World War. Contrary to popular belief, it was these operations in 1914 that caused the greatest losses of the war. The Battle of the Marne was therefore also a disappointment, as the major strategic plans failed and belief in a quick victory was gone.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

TENSIONS BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN POWERS BEFORE 1914

The Battle of the Marne took place at the beginning of the First World War. The outbreak of what quickly became known as the Great War was the culmination of a series of causes that date back to the 19th century.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Habsburg.

The spark that caused the conflict was the ultimatum launched by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Serbia on 23rd July 1914. This belligerent attitude resulted from the 28th June assassination in Sarajevo of the crown prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Habsburg (1863-1914), by a Serbian nationalist. This incident, of which the consequences could have remained regional, turned into a generalized conflict, largely due to the play of alliances. This diplomatic and military mechanism functioned like a domino effect: countries went to war with each other as a result of the agreements between them. At the time, two alliances brought together the biggest European powers and aimed in particular to ensure mutual support in the case of aggression:

• The Triple Alliance, created in 1882, included Germany, Austria and Italy;
• The Triple Entente, formed in 1907, brought together Britain, France and Russia.

These alliances were set up gradually due to the political and social context and the tensions that existed between countries. Indeed, each country feared seeing their interests threatened by the others or entering into conflict with them. In the late 19th century, the following could be seen:

• A rise of nationalism. National feelings were exacerbated because countries felt assaulted by others:
  • France wished to take revenge on Prussia after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, and thus to recover Alsace and Lorraine;
  • Irredentism, an Italian nationalist movement demanding the land left to Austria-Hungary, was upset by the attitude and actions of Austria in the Balkans. Italy therefore felt frustrated in the Triple Alliance;
  • In Germany, the rapprochement between France, Britain and Russia rose fears of encirclement. Conversely, Pangermanism (doctrine to unite all Germanic peoples and other countries under German domination) and its aspiration for a Greater Germany caused mistrust of Europe.
• The magnitude of the Eastern question (problem caused by the fragmentation of the Ottoman Empire and the resulting quarrel to dominate the Balkans). The Ottoman Empire was becoming weaker, causing not only the independence of the Balkan countries, but also competition between the European nations over the management of public services and the exploitation of natural resources, including oil.

G OOD TO KNOW

The Franco-Prussian war of 1870 resulted from the increasing tensions between the French Second Empire and Prussia, which carried out the unification of Germany by force from 1864. In 1869, following the candidacy of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern (1835-1905) for the throne of Spain, Paris called for the withdrawal of this application to the King of Prussia, Wilhelm I (1797-1888). Although he politely refused, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) gave a humiliating account of his response, known as the Ems Dispatch, which prompted the French declaration of war on 19th July. The French troops were much more numerous, but the German generals were more experienced and strategic, not to mention the superiority of their artillery as they were equipped with Krupp guns. The French fought successively and Napoleon III (French Emperor, 1808-1873) capitulated after the defeat at the Battle of Sedan on 2nd September. The armistice was signed on 28th January 1871, and William I was proclaimed German Emperor ten days later at Versailles.

In the early 20th century, we can see:

• An opposition between Russia and Austria in the Balkan region. Both countries took advantage of the weakness of the Ottoman Empire to expand their areas of influence and gain sea access in the south. Indeed, Russia saw itself as a protector of the Slavic people, especially Serbia, while Austria did not like the Serbian nationalism which animated the Slavic minorities within the empire and threatened their stability;
• Tensions developed between Germany and France over colonial issues, particularly around those relating to Morocco. Germany tried to curb French expansion in this region. In addition, it provided support in 1902 to the Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa) when Britain conquered their two states by force;

Next page

1234567

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «The Battle of the Marne : the First Allied Victory of the First World War.»

Look at similar books to The Battle of the Marne : the First Allied Victory of the First World War.. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

50 minutes

The Normandy Landings: D-Day and Operation Overlord: The First Step to Liberation

50minutes

The Battle of the Atlantic: The Longest Campaign of World War II

50minutes

The Battle of Stalingrad: The First Defeat of the German Wehrmacht

50minutes

The Battle of Kursk: Hitler Vs. The Red Army

50minutes

The Battle of Waterloo: The Battle That Changed Europe Forever

50minutes

The Battle of Marathon: The Decisive End to the First Greco-Persian War

Sumner

The First Battle on the Marne 1914: the French miracle halts the Germans

Herwig

The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World

Patrick Takle

Nine Divisions in Champagne: The Second Battle of Marne

Rogerson

The Last of the Ebb: The Battle of the Aisne, 1918

Andrew Uffindell

The Battle of Marne 1914

Holger H. Herwig

The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World

Discussion, reviews of the book The Battle of the Marne : the First Allied Victory of the First World War. and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.