When the war broke out the major aim of the French was to recover Alsace-Lorraine – the provinces lost to the Germans in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. It was a matter of national pride and understandably so. A “holding operation” having been put in place in the North West, where the Germans were most likely to attack, French forces invaded Alsace on the 7th August, and Lorraine a week later. Field Marshal Joffre, the French commander, utterly determined to recapture France’s lost territories, was convinced that “French Fury” –  in the shape of inspired and defiant infantry supported by efficient field guns – would win the day. Once Alsace-Lorraine had been taken, the invasion of Germany proper could begin in earnest. In addition, this attack would tie up the bulk of the German army and give more time for the Russians to mobilize their forces and attack on a wider front.

    But,xas we shall see, this strategy, part of Joffre’s Plan XVII, was flawed. He under estimated the strength of the opposition and, perhaps more importantly, he failed to understand (as other commanders did at this time) that firepower, be it by machine gun or improved artillery, had taken over the battlefield. The result over the next ten days was catastrophic. The French lost almost as many men in this campaign than they did at the infamous battle of Verdun two years later, and by the end of the month they were virtually back where they had started. But strange to tell, as humiliating as this retreat was, it was actually going to serve – as we shall see – the Allied cause!

     Itxwas on the 7th August that the French invaded Alsace close to Thann at the southern end of the Vosges mountains. The first objective was the capture of Mulhouse, an important industrial city on the River Rhine. They advanced that far and during the Battle of Mulhouse (also known as the Battle of Alsace) they managed to occupy the city twice, but on both occasions the German Seventh Army, more powerfully equipped, recaptured it. They then took up a more defensible line near Altkirch – from where they could support the defence of Paris – but, suffering heavy loses, they were slowly forced back to the French border. It was here that the Army of Alsace was disbanded. VII Corps was sent to the Somme area in Picardy, and the 8th Cavalry Division and two infantry divisions were attached to the First Army.  

     Likewisexin Lorraine, invaded on the 14th August, the French made an early advance, unhindered for four days. The First Army made for Sarrebourg, and the Second army advanced towards Mortagne. It was at this point, indeed, that General Moltke sent six newly formed divisions (some 90,00 men) to Lorraine, and contemplated – momentarily it is said – the idea of postponing his attack via Belgium and going for an all-out defeat of the French in Lorraine. However,xwith the sound defeat of the French at the Battles of Morhange and Sarrebourg (also known as the Battle of Lorraine) fortunes changed. The French did win the Battle of Mortagne (also known as The Battle of La Trouée des Charmes) – and this did prevent a large German force being available for the significant Battle of the Marne – but, sustaining heavy infantry loses at the hands of a more powerful adversary, they were obliged to retreat. By the end of the month the First and Second French Armies were back in their fortified zones of Belfort, Épinal and Toul.

     Incidentally, during the Battle of Sarrebourg a crucifix in a local churchyard was struck by a passing shell. It shot away the cross itself, but the figure of Christ stayed intact. It was seen as a miracle, and it was said that the war would end when the figure finally fell. Sadly, it didn’t. ….. On just one day in the fighting in Lorraine, the French lost 27,000 men, the highest one-day death toll in the history of the French army at that time.

     Once back in France, however, the Second Army was again in action. ThexGermans, after their surprise defeat at the Battle of Mortagne, went all out to capture the prestigious city of Nancy in French Lorraine (see map above). Such was the importance placed upon this plan that the Kaiser himself, Wilhelm II, came to oversee the offensive, to be waged mostly against the fortifications of the Grand Couronné, a large hill close to and guarding the city. Having taken the towns of Pont-é-Mousson and Lunéville, the German Sixth Army launched a series of attacks upon their main target. The city was bombarded and there was particularly fierce fighting on the Grande Couronné itself (illustrated). Eventually, however, with concern growing over the situation developing in the First Battle of the Marne, the Germans were obliged to withdraw. The Kaiser was denied his victory parade, and the French regained their lost towns and retained the city of Nancy.

     In their battle for Alsace and Lorraine what could be seen as a defeat for the French was to prove something of a victory …. in hindsight. Letting the French armies advance into the two provinces had been, in fact, part of German strategy. The further the French moved eastward in the disputed territories, the further would their valuable contribution be removed from Germany’s speedy advance through Belgium and France in the north-west, the real path to victory. There was a large German force in the Ardennes should the French advance too far for comfort!

    But the plan went awry. The fact that the German generals on the spot badgered for and eventually gained permission to go on the offensive, no holds barred, put the two French armies, (though somewhat depleted), back into France and available for the First Battle of the Marne. Their contribution to the strengthening of the Allies’ left flank in that engagement played an important part in denying the Germans the victory they thought was theirs. Indeed, the First Battle of the Marne, together with the Battle of the Aisne that followed, as we shall see, marked the end of the Allies’ long retreat and the opening of a new phase – a four-year, blood-letting stalemate –  along the whole of the Western Front. But, in the meantime, Paris remained in French hands.

Acknowledgements

Map-Europe: Britannica.com War Plans: Deskarati Map-Alsace Lorraine: joeandmamiestoy.wordpress.com. Cross: commons. wikimedia.org. Battle of Grand Couronné: Historial de la Grande Guerre.artist unknown. www.jpgilsn.fr.

WW1-1914-1918-WW1-1914-1918-WW1-1914-1918-WW1-1914-1918-WW1-1914-1918-WW1

THE WESTERN FRONT

THExFRENCH INVASION OF ALSACE-LORRAINE:  AUGUST 1914

CLICK HERE

To go back to the Dateline, click HERE