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"Go Forward, and bring us cuase for celebration"
As Sordet led his cavalry Corps to it's doom in outside Namur, his was not the only forces pressing forward. Joffre had issued marching orders for all five French Armies in General Order No. 1, and held firm one them even upon learning of Sordet's disaster.
The First, marching from Belfort, and Second, marching from Nancy, Armies, both short at least one corps, began pushing into Alsace immediately, under the impression that the Germans were defending the area with only 3 corps (French Intelligence had not yet discovered for each German Corps, there was a Reserve Corps of the same number). By August 18th, both armies spearheads were scheduled to reach Mulhouse (First Army) and Colmar (Second Army) respectively, while the supporting Cavalry Corps would force it's way to the headwaters of the Rhine near Basel, Switzerland.
Once the operation in Alsace was complete, as was expected by August 22nd, the date for the next offensive move of the right wing, the Second Army would proceed northwards to capture Strasbourg and liberate, cooperating with the Third Army, the last peices of French territory still under German occupation since 1871, culminating in the liberation of Metz and Strasbourg. This entire plan had in fact been laid out to the commanders, Dubail and De Castelnau, some days before by Joffre, and was met with an almost guady excitement by the officers present. De Castelnau recorded the meeting as "of an excitement, if not brevity, that would not again be seen during the war, even more than the decision to throw ourselves at the Somme."
As word of Sordet's disaster filtered down the French line on the 15th, the forward patrols of the First and Second Armies had penetrated deep into Alsace, and a division of the First Army had already reached Mulhouse and swept away the single brigade left to defend the city. The advance was already ahead of schedule, and the Germans were doing almost as much to support the offensive as the two armies. so light was German resistance in fact, that Joffre sent word to each army to speed up it's advance, ending with the statement "Go Forward, and bring us cuase for celebration".
Behind the vanguard of their advance, each Army still had a corps marching at least a two days behind it, a fact that was a nuisance on the 15th, but would prove a miracle by the 22nd.
Slicing the Kaiser in two
In conjunction with the advance of the First and Second Armies, the Third and Fourth Armies were initially supposed to advance to the north of Metz-Thionville, but the German violation of Belgian and Luxembourgian territory stipulated that the Third and Fourth would advance into Luxembourg and south-eastern Belgium, with the objective of reaching the Ourthe (Fourth Army), and most of Luxembourg (Third Army). The timetable for these two advances was slightly behind the First and Second Armies, with the German defense expected to be met on the 20th, and broken by the 24th.
Unlike the right wing, the center had all of it's forces already in the battle line, and General Ruffey enthusiastically said "We will be in Aachen by September, and Frankfurt by autumn." De Langle De Cary, the Fourth Army's commander, when explaining the terrain he was to advance on, stated "It is dark and treacherous, with barely more than a single road for a Corps to advance along, and almost bereft of any area to form a line of battle....", but even while recognizing these virtues of the Ardennes for any defender, he quieted his and other concern by continuing, "But it is also lacking any area to concentrate a defense in, and enemy forces can be easily encircled without any means of transportation to retreat with, it is perhaps ideal terrain for the destruction of the German center we have so long planned for".
The enthusiasm of the French center forces was a welcome refreshment to Joffre at GHQ, who was being incessantly requested by the General Lanrezac (Fifth Army commander), to allow the Fifth Army to advance along the opposite bank of the Meuse from the Fourth, and also to turn his army to face North, instead of northeast towards the German frontier. He had been doing so ever since the fall of Liege over a week before, and reports of enemy formations near Namur by Sordet only strengthened his protests.
Joffre did not want to position the Fifth Army in a way to push back the German right, the plan had always been for the slicing of the German right from the center, pushing the right back would only preserve the integrity of the German Army. So, until August 14th, Joffre refused all requests from the Fifth Army to advance northwards towards the Sambre and Meuse, until learning of Sordet's collapse, and the accompanying gap it left between the Fifth Army and the Fourth Army's axis of advance. Finally he relented and gave Lanrezac permission to face his army towards Brussels and Antwerp, but strictly warned him not to deploy his left wing any further than Charleroi, and not to cross the Sambre until the Fourth Army had succeeded in splitting the German center.
Joffre's steadfast refusal to allow the Fifth Army to face north, resulted in the Fifth Army not being able to concentrate quickly enough to counterattack at Dinant until the 16th, by which time Sordet was dead, and his Corps shattered, but nonetheless that battle at Dinant was soon to spread across the entire length of the Meuse to Charleroi, where the BEF would take it's place in the line of battle, and would become a desperate battle to stop the German right wing. Joffre's refusal also had other far-reaching consequences, namely the gap that developed between GHQ and Fifth Army HQ. Lanrezac had been annoyed by Joffre, then outright furious at him following Sordet's Disaster, and lost all confidence in the ability of GHQ to manage the war. It was to be both a blessing and a curse for France as the opening battles moved inexorably forward.
Interesting. I'm wondering how much the initial events are differing from the historical campaign. So far, the French seem to be historically holding firm to Plan 17 to an ominous degree.
Mettermrck - So far, there was a try at defending Belgium (with disastrous results) by Sordet, and the First and Second are concentrating their offensives further south than historically, it would have been more historical to send the Second Army into Strasbourg, instead both the Second and First are being sent to Colmar. But so far it is Plan XVII, the reults will be slightly different this time around however.
Wilhelm VI - The BEF hasn't arrived yet (they arrive around August 20th), and they are placed on the left flank, but as you will see, they are not exactly an Army.
And screenshots will be forthcoming as soon as I find a website to host them for free (any suggestions are welcome).
Wilhelm VI - The BEF hasn't arrived yet (they arrive around August 20th), and they are placed on the left flank, but as you will see, they are not exactly an Army.
And screenshots will be forthcoming as soon as I find a website to host them for free (any suggestions are welcome).
A Rumor
August 20th marked the day the German Army formally occupied Brussels, having brushed aside the Belgian Army as it fell back on Antwerp. They were almost completely around the flank of the Fifth Army, the furthest left of the French Armies, but a rumor that had made it's way across the Channel would determine the German right would wheel slightly inwards to meet up with the French left.
Throughout August, the Russian Army had only made one determined assault on Germany, an attack towards the Oder river, that after a desperate battle was over by the 18th, with a German victory. But otherwise, the Eastern Front, including the Austrian Front, was dangerously quiet, causing some German commanders uneasyness. Across the Channel however, rumors of Russian troops landing in Northern Scotland, being transported to the Channel, then ferried to France took hold and were even printed in several papers.
The number continually changed, at first, dockworkers had seen ships ferrying perhaps 250,000 soldiers disembarking their load after a voyage across the Arctic Ocean and North Sea. Then townspeople all down the coast reported different numbers of soldiers seen or heard marching through the night south. One wealthy landowner even reported watching 80,000 cossacks trample across his estate. Trains would pull into stations without ever being inspected or any hint of what their cargo was, hundreds of trains, surely these were the mysterious Russians going to the fight in France, the trains would pull into stations far removed from where any other trains were.
Finally an agreed number of 87,000 was found, and further rumors sparked about their departure as the Channel Fleet sortied into the channel and transports were being loaded with soldiers. In fact, this was the British Exp. Force, after several agonizing weeks of delay, finally departing for the Continent, it consisted of 3 Infantry Divisions, and a Cavalry division. But German intelligence failed to make out whether or not it was the British or Russians landing in France, and by the 20th the rumors that had captivated Britain had arrived at almost every German Army HQ, and Moltke's own HQ behind the lines. The German Navy had reported a large number of soldiers debarking in Antwerp (In fact the British 5th Division, which was actally disembarking at Calais, but becuase of a scare it's major artillery elements were sent to Antwerp). This understandably caused some consternation of the German Armies, particularly the First, under Crown Prince Rupprecht, which could not afford to wheel around the French and leave his rear exposed to a Russian Army. For a day the German Right Wing sat silent, as if pondering which way to strike, as Moltke tried to get accurate reports of the position of his troops, and decide whether to brush the Channel as Schlieffen had commanded, or to wheel in further to the right, which would bring the First Army into battle against the French Fifth, a move that offered the opportunity to destroy the major French force guarding the route to the capital, but would also take precious time the German table did not have.
"Fight on the Meuse"
Finally as the entire German line except the far right came under the weight of Plan XVII, Rupprecht began what he called a "reconaissance in force" towards the Sambre and Meuse, designed to slowly draw his army into battle around Charleroi. His opposite number in the Fifth Army, Lanrezac, was expected the British Expeditionary Force to arrive on his left at Charleroi, and had only deployed a single of his five available Corps to the area, with a second nearest Namur, and the final three concentrated along the Meuse crossing, with special attention to Dinant where artillery regularly dueled across the river.
A stroke of luck (rare in August for the French) however, placed the Corps at Charleroi under the command of the bolsterous and charismatic Franchet D'Esperey, on whose shoulders holding the line until the arrival of the British fell. By late on the 21st, his Corps was deep in battle against at least two Corps of the German First Army outside of Charleroi at Gosseilles. His Corps did not yield an inch of ground to the Germans, attacking across open terrain, as they wreacked murderous 75mm fire on their ranks, along with accurate rifle fire. But as a third German Corps arrived on the field of battle, weight of numbers proved too much for the French to take, and they began to be pushed back, at which point D'Esperey came the closest to a repeat of Sordet's disaster as any Fifth Army Corps commander would. If the French were falling back, it was becuase they had been forced to fight a defensive battle, all they had to do was be given time to reorganize, then launch a headlong counterattack that would regain all ground lost.
As the sun set, and the battle waxed during the night, the French were finally given the breathing space they desired for, and all during the night, tired and worn out troops were forced to march from one position to another for a morning attack. On the morning of August 22nd, the French batteries rained destruction on the German lines (but was cut short, due to a lack of ammunition, which would soon become a scandal in the French Army), and colors unfurled, the French charged across the terrain to the German positions.
Unfortunately for the French, German artillery was even more accurate and destructive than theirs', the Germans deployed a larger number of machine guns, and the bright scarlet pants the French Army wore into battle presented fine targets for German riflemen. Although at some points the French reached the German positions, or as at the near right, broke through, it came at an unbearable cost, with casualties reaching 18,000 by mid-day (Of which 6,000 were from the previous day's fighting), over half of the Corps.
Finally convinced he could not continue to hold the Germans on the defensive without losing a significant portion of his remaining Corps, General D'Esperey began to fall back under the guise of regrouping, towards the Meuse crossings and Charleroi. When pressed on what his intentions were by an increasingly panicking Lanrezac over the telephone, he simply picked up the receiver and said "We will fight on the Meuse", then hung up.
The Final Window
For the rest of the day his exhuasted and spent Corps gave every bit of energy they had in a determined battle on the Meuse, even charging German troops with bayonets, and suffering an increasing number of casualties, until finally the day drew to a close. Had Rupprecht, who had just brought another Corps onto the field, and finally aligned all of his engaged Corps to face the French, decided to press on into the early hours of the night, the French would have undoubtedly collapsed, their artillery had spent it's ammunition, and their soldiers could barely stand watch. But he believed if he waited until morning, he would have all of the next day to exploit his defeat of the French, and so did not commit any soldiers to the attack.
But as he woke up on the 23rd, he not only received word of the French Third and Fourth making determined assaults in the Ardennes, but as he looked out towards Charleroi, could see the just settling dust of an arriving army. Much to Lanrezac's adulation, who was considering shifting his weight towards Charleroi, the BEF, under Sir John French, had finally arrived, and deployed itself on the opposite bank of the Meuse and Charleroi, allowing the tired, beaten, and almost destroyed, but filled with pride at their stand against odds, French Corps to retire to the south bank of the Meuse, where it could rest and refit. For D'Esperey's Corps, it was to be a breif respite, as Dinant was being forced, and soon it would have to rejoin the battle line much sooner than anticipated, but for the BEF, it was the beginning of a running battle that would almost destroy it.
The BEF arrives! No doubt Sir John and General Lanrezac are already getting on well with each other, cracking jokes and cooperating closely!
The Triumph of Plan XVII
As August drove on, and while the drama of D'Esperey's Corps was unfolding, on all other fronts the French were enjoying victories that made French GHQ complacent about the threat on their left. In Alsace, by August 19th, both the First and Second French Armies had been advancing nearly uncontested, some Uhlans were encountered, and a scattering of German Infantry, for some reason unknown marching north instead of west, but nothing that could stop the inexorable advance of the French line.
The advance was so lightly contested that the First Army seized Mulhouse on the 16th, the first major city to be regained by the French, and a great boost to GHQ's optimism over the war. By the 17th, the Second Army had invested in Colmar, not to be seized because of a stout German garrison perhaps as large as a division, and the supporting cavalry had reached the Rhine in patrols. It appeared as if the liberation of Alsace would not only take less time than scheduled, but less forces, and so, in a movement of fate that could not have been foreseen at the time, Joffre ordered the two corps that had yet to join each respective army, to form the nucleus of the Army of Lorraine, which would advance into Lorraine between and supported by the French Second and Third Armies, from the general direction of Nancy.
In the Ardennes, the French Third and Fourth Armies were advancing, but in a far more costly manner. The Germans may have retreated from Alsace at the moment, but they could not afford to retreat in their center, lest the French succeed in cutting off their right. Unfortunately for the French, the German forces operating against them (some 8 divisions strong, soon to be reinforced by 7 more) were under the nominal command of Erich Ludendorff, the German commander who had been instrumental in the success of the German siege against Liege. Ludendorff was content to sit back and allow the French to draw themselves further and further into the Ardennes, causing great strain to their troop movements and supply efforts, but when he would turn and face the French as they drew closer and closer to the Netherlands, remained unknown to anyone but Molkte, Ludendorff, and the German Third and Fourth Army commanders.
A Crack in France's Visage
Unknown to the French, the German retreat across Alsace had been quite intentional, and was to have near disastrous results for the French. The Germans had marshaled a large force in Lorraine and across the Rhine to deal with the expected thrust into Alsace, And the Germans expected if they did not offer serious resistance, the Germans expected the French, clouded by their enthusiasm and pride, would not stop until they reached the Rhine, which both the First and Second Armies strove towards during their first month of march.
Neither Dubail (First Army) or De Castelnau (Second) paid great attention to the reports of German forces to their northern flank, and after the creation of the Army of Lorraine, both expected their flanks to be covered by this force. But as the Second Army came up against a serious defense in Colmar, the wheels had already begun to turn that could potentially encircle and annihilate the French right, creating a perfect repeat of Cannae (on a much grander scale), if the attack on the French left succeeded as well. Both armies were not to cross the Rhine, but serious resistance that had been met at the river crossings drew away French forces that were scheduled to advance into Lorraine.
On the 25th, just as the Colmar pocket (now defended by 3 German divisions) was being reduced, the Army of Lorraine was thrown backwards with tremendous force. Over 16 German Divisions had been preparing for a slicing maneuver between the French Second and Third Armies, a route blocked by the Army of Lorraine, and when the Germans hit, the French, just recently organized (and without a commander), were routed and thrown backwards into France. Immediately the French First and Second Armies were seriously threatened with envelopment, as German forces from across the Rhine began to filter into the crossings still held by the Germans, to enlarge holdouts still in Alsace. Should the German forces (Under von Kluck), penetrate France, there would be no major French forces to hold the Moselle, and Moltke's dreamed of modern Cannae would be realized (He had weakened his right wing to make this attack possible). The burden fell on the Army of Lorraine to hold onto their critical position, until the French right could be brought into line to defend a breach.
But the Army of Lorraine, with no commander, and little cohesion, continued it's antic retreat all during the 26th, falling back on Nancy, a critical transportation and fortification hub on the east bank of the Moselle. Joffre, remarkably undisturbed by this turn of events that threatened France with destruction, carefully reviewed his options of commanders. Ferdinand Foch currently commanded a Corps in the Second Army, but his Corps held a vital position, being the only one facing towards Lorraine, and replacing it's stalwart commander was not warranted. Franchet D'Esperey had proven himself a battlefield commander, but again, he could not be moved from his Corps on such quick notice. Finally, there was Michel Manoury, already earmarked for command of the Army of Lorraine when it's mission had been to liberate Lorraine, but still being brought up to speed after being recalled from retirement.
With little choice, Joffre remained with his initial choice and command of the Army of Lorraine came to Manoury, who with 5 Divisions began to fight wherever and whenever he could on his retreat. His method of turning, fighting, and then falling back before the Germans could effectively bring artillery or a counterattack upon them, exhausted his own troops, but delayed the German advance significantly, allowing 5 more divisions to be transported by rail from Joffre's closely guarded strategic reserve (and an African division, recently arrived in Marseilles, was en route by rail) to Nancy, which became a robust marshaling yard for the defense of France. By the time Manoury finally reached the terminus of his retreat, the gates of Nancy, the divisions had been formed and took the place of the beaten and worn out ones, sent to the immediate rear to rest and rejoin the line as soon as possible.
The Attack Stalls
Facing fresh forces, the tired German divisions could do little more than batter themselves against Manoury's Army (Redesigned the Seventh Army on September 20th) all through the 28th to the 3rd of September, a week during which any hope of breaking the French right faded away. The First and Second Armies, pressed hard by German forces across the Rhine, and fearing encirclement, were slowly but methodically forced, and sometimes intentionally, fell back to the Vosges. Foch's XX Corps fought a hard and determined battle against German forces attempting to stop the link up of Foch's Corps with Manoury's nearest, one which was nearly lost by the French, but the initiative was regained, in part because of Foch's insistence on the attack (He would utter his immortal words "My left is crumbling, my right has collapsed, situation excellent, I attack!"), and in part because the German forces were trying to do to much with so little.
By the 2nd of September, the First and Second Armies had halted the German counterattack on the Vosges, and were holding a line just in front of the Moselle, however a large salient still remained, with French forces having tried to retain Mulhouse. After a fight to defend the city itself had failed, the French had fallen back but not abandoned hope of recovering the city, which they had so recently paraded through to "La Marseilles". So a large bulge jutted forward just to the south of Nancy where two French Corps (both the right of the Second Army) waited for the moment when the offensive would return to France's favor and they could again advance into Mulhouse, little did they know the ground they occupied was to be the scene of some of the most bitter fighting of the war, and Mulhouse would not again fly the Tricolor for some time.
By September 3rd, the Germans had abandoned all hope of breaking the Army of Lorraine and encircling the French right, the stout resistance of Manoury's troops had stopped a break of the Moselle and the fall of Nancy, and further German offensives failed to break through to the now connected French lines. For this area of the front, disaster had been avoided, but the fact still remained the offensive into Alsace-Lorraine had failed, and the French had in fact, lost territory. Before September was out, almost all major commanders on the front would be replaced, and a new generation of leaders, such as an up and coming general, Henri-Philippe Petain, would rise to their place, and forever be remembered for the battles that were to come in the region following the hard fight to keep control of it. But on other fronts, the French were facing far greater disaster.
Still going to attack relentlessly and try and win the war before the end of the year?
Go on...it can't hurt.
Go on...it can't hurt.
So what's the situation on the French left? Lucky for you those two corps were there first. It's the classic tactical game of "who's flanking who". 