4 – The Great Retreat of the Great War
The First World War isn’t particularly famous for its retreats (or, for that matter, its advances). Somewhat spuriously known to history as the “Great War”, this conflict was instead characterized by long, drawn-out periods of stalemate, in which the millions unfortunate enough to be on land were routinely forced from their trenches to be mechanically slaughtered out in the open. This imagery, however, speaks of the middle and later stages of the war; a period prolonged and desperate enough to affect considerable industrial progress. For, as is often said, the First World War might have ended with tanks, but it began on horseback.
At the outbreak of war, the Germans had planned for a quick victory. Working (vaguely) from the Schlieffen Plan, they wagered on no Belgian resistance, British neutrality, France’s rapid defeat and slow Russian mobilization. Unfortunately for them, none of these assumptions came into fruition. Recent—and revolutionary—rail networks stretching across Europe allowed rapid mobilization, and the vicissitudes of war and politics meant that those the Germans thought would stay neutral didn’t (and those they assumed would stay out of the war entered it).
The first engagement on the western front was at the Mulhouse, Alcase, on August 7. It marked the beginning of what’s now known more broadly as “The Battle of the Frontiers“, in which French, Belgium and British forces fought at best to drive back—and at worst to not be outflanked by—German forces advancing from Belgium and France’s eastern frontier. August featured a number of battles, spanning Alsace, Belgium, Lorraine, Ardennes and Sambre. At the latter, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fought bravely at the Battle of Mons (August 23). But they were soon overwhelmed by the seemingly endless tide of German First Army soldiers and forced to retreat.
From August to September the BEF and French 5th Army fell back to the River Marne, some 250 miles away. The journey was exhausting. But upon reaching the river there was no time to rest; for if the Allies were to defend Paris to the southeast, they would have to turn and face the pursuing Germans. The ensuing conflict (the First Battle of the Marne) lasted seven days from September 6 – 12. It was the first conflict to involve radio intercepts and the automotive trafficking of troops. It was also a notably bloody affair—the Allies lost around 263,000 men and the Germans 220,000.
Because Paris was saved, the First Battle of the Marne was unquestionably an Allied victory. What it did, however, was it prompted the Germans to abandon their plans for a quick victory in favor of a war of attrition. During the following phase—known to history as “The Race to the Sea”, General Erich Von Falkenhyn was the first to decide the Germans had to dig in and build trenches. It was imperative, he believed, that they consolidate those parts of Germany they’d already gained before the next phase of the war. Few could have seen, however, that by entrenching their positions the Germans were setting events motion that would lead to another four years of attritional warfare.