The Battle of the Marne saved France from defeat in the First World War. The Germans had invaded Belgium and France in August 1914 and by the beginning of September were threatening Paris. The French Army had suffered heavy losses and the city’s capture was a real possibility. The French commander, Joseph Joffre, managed to organise a counterattack that began on 5 September and halted the German advance. Over the next 10 days the French and the British Expeditionary Force were even able to start to push the German Army back towards the River Aisne. By mid-September the Germans had fallen back and were digging in to defensive positions. The Schlieffen Plan had failed.
Extract from The First World War by Hew Strachan (published in 2001):
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