WED 29 JUL 1914 –SAT 22 AUG 1914

Lorraine and the Schlieffen Plan

Schlieffen Plan-The first shots of the war were fired by the Austrians against the Serbs on 29 July, but the outbreak of fighting in Western Europe was not long delayed. The first major clash came on 5 August with the German attack on the Belgian fortress of Liège, which held out until 13 August. This was highly significant, because the longer the Belgians could impede the German advance, the further behind schedule the Schlieffen Plan would fall. The Belgian Army held the line of the River Gette before retreating into the fortress of Antwerp on 20 August, and the Belgian capital, Brussels, was lost the same day. The Germans continued to advance, capturing the fortress of Huy (on the River Meuse) and beginning a short siege of Namur, which fell on 23 August.

Moltke, who had succeeded Schlieffen as Chief of the Great General Staff in 1906, was forced to deploy a sizeable force to mask Antwerp, and to protect the fl ank of the main German advance from a Belgian sortie. On 5 October, the port was reinforced by a British force, in a demonstration of British sea power. This further weakened and slowed the German main effort. Partly out of frustration, partly to discourage guerrilla activity, the Germans carried out Schrecklichkeit, a policy of terror that included sacking the medieval city of Louvain and killing civilians.

Early Implementations of Offensive Doctrines and Setbacks on Both Sides

The oft-mocked Allied propaganda about German atrocities, although frequently exaggerated, did have foundations in truth. Plan XVII was initiated on 6 August with the movement of a French corps into Alsace, only for it to be repulsed by the defenders. A follow-up attack under General Paul Pau resulted in the capture of Mulhouse on 8 August. The French troops were greeted by cheering crowds, glad to welcome their liberators. However, shortly afterwards the victorious French were ordered to abandon their gains so that troops could be switched to meet the growing crisis to the north.

The major French offensive into Lorraine commenced on 14 August with two Armies (First and Second). This was a complex undertaking, as the further the French advanced, the wider their frontage of attack became. In spite of the fact that, according to the Schlieffen Plan, the German forces should have kept to the defensive, they went onto the attack and on 20 August defeated the French in the twin battles of Morhange and Sarrebourg, and then pushed on to the French frontier. Some French formations fought well.

Failures and Heavy Losses on Both Sides as Offensive Doctrines Break Down

General Foch’s XX (“Iron”) Corps held its ground stubbornly at Morhange, and was preparing to counter-attack, when to Foch’s astonishment it received orders to pull back. “You don’t know what is happening to the neighbouring corps”, his Chief of Staff, General Denis Duchêne, sourly commented. XX Corps, weary but in good order covered the retreat of Second Army. A few days later, Foch’s son, a junior officer with 131st Infantry Regiment, was killed in battle just a short distance away. The French stabilized the situation, just as a new German offensive was getting underway. Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) had ordered two armies to attack into the hilly, wooded terrain of the Ardennes in the belief that the German forces in this sector were weak.

This misapprehension was based on an intelligence failure: the French had not realized the extent to which the Germans would use reserve troops to create new divisions. In encounter battles (unplanned meeting engagements) at Neufchâteau and Virton on 21–22 August, the attackers suffered further heavy losses and were pulled back behind the River Meuse. Plan XVII was proving a bloody failure. Around 300,000 French soldiers became casualties in the Battle of the Frontiers. A report from Second Army in Lorraine stated: “The troops, infantry and artillery have been sorely tested. Our artillery is held at a distance by the long-range artillery of our enemy; it cannot get close enough for counterbattery fire.

Joffre’s leadership amid setbacks and transition to the fighting in Belgium

Our infantry has attacked with élan, but have been halted primarily by enemy artillery fire and by unseen enemy infantry hidden in trenches.” In spite of the setbacks, “Papa” Joffre remained imperturbably calm, although he energetically sacked incompetent, or perhaps merely unlucky, commanders. In little more than a month, he removed 50 generals, including no less than 38 divisional commanders, and promoted talented, and by now battle-hardened leaders from further down the military hierarchy. One such officer was Ferdinand Foch, promoted to command Ninth Army. By mid-August, both Joffre and Moltke were less focused on Alsace-Lorraine. Now they looked towards Belgium. For it was there, as the Germans advanced, a major crisis was brewing.

Schlieffen Plan–Wikipdia

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