Battle+of+the+Marne,+1+and+2


 * Battle of the Marne, 1 and 2-by Michelle[[image:marne1.jpg width="278" height="215" align="right" caption="This is a picture of the Second Battle of Marne."]]**

· The first battle was fought in September of 1914. · The outcome brought an end to the First World War that had dominated the world since the beginning of August. · The German army had reached within 30 miles of Paris, by invading Belgium and north-eastern France. · As the German army’s grew closer to Paris, the French capital prepared itself for a siege. · With victory seeming close, Alexander von Kluck's  First German Army was told to surround Paris from the east. · The French government, also expecting the fall of the empire, moved to Bordeaux. · Joseph Joffre was a French commander-in- chief who reached the south of the river, Marne. · Joseph Joffre, calm and collected in the face of crisis, decided on September 4th to launch a counter-offensive strike. · Joffre authorized General Maunoury's  Sixth Army, (consisting of 150,000 men) to attack the right flank of the German’s First Army in an action beginning on the morning of September 6th. · German’s forces were close to achieving a breakthrough against Maunoury's to surround the forces between September 6th and 8th, and were only saved on September 7th with the help and aid of 6,000 French reserve troops ferried from Paris in streams of taxi cabs , 600 were used in all. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">On the following night, September 8th, the aggressive French commander General <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Franchet d'Esperey's <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> Fifth Army launched a surprise attack against the German’s Second Army, making the gap between the German First and Second Armies bigger. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">On September 9th, the German armies began a retreat, this was ordered by the German Chief of Staff “ <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Helmuth von Moltke <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">”. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Moltke feared an Allied breakthrough; the poor communication hurt his chances from his lines at the Marne. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">The French army and British army slowly retreated. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">The German armies ceased their withdrawal north of the River Aisne, where the First and Second Armies dug in (dig a space to hide), preparing trenches that were to last for many years. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">The First Battle of the Marne ended on September 10th, the French forces were combined with the British and they had succeeded in throwing back the German’s offense, regaining lost ground while doing so. More importantly, the battle ended any hopes that the Germans had to effectively bring the war on the Western Front to an early end.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">First battle **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">- <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">[]

· <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">The battle started on July 15th 1918. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">When this battle began, it began as if it was the last major German offensive war of the First World War, the Second Battle of the Marne was a significant Allied victory. · <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Erich Ludendorff <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">, was the German’s Chief-of-Staff. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">He felt the war could be best won by an attack in Flanders. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">The second Marne offensive was launched towards Paris which recaptured the Chemin des Dames ridge en route. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">When the Germans failed in their efforts to break through, <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Ferdinand Foch <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">, the Allied Supreme Commander, made a counter-offensive on July 18th, they launched twenty-four divisions of just the French army alone. · <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">This battle ended on August 5th, 1918.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Second Battle **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">- <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">[]