Chapter 387 The French Counteroffensive
Due to the ineffective combat of the French army, Ah Fei has dismissed 2 group army commanders, 10 corps commanders and 38 division commanders so far.
Those who took over these positions were a brand new group of generals, most of whom were relatively good. There are also some famous names among these people, such as Foch, Pétain and Desperis.
The first person to be replaced was Langrezac, commander of the French Fifth Army.
The role of the Fifth Army is crucial, but the commander of the Fifth Army, Langrezac, has publicly contradicted Joffre many times and has a bad relationship with the French General Headquarters.
In addition, Langrezac did not trust the British army, and in the following war, the British's help was very important.
Therefore, Joffre decisively dismissed Langrezac from his post and appointed Desperi as the new commander of the Fifth Army.
It is worth mentioning that when Desperi just took over as commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army, there was an episode.
At that time, the commander of the 18th Army called the Fifth Army Headquarters and requested to refuse the mission the next day because the soldiers were too tired.
But Desperi's answer was: "I have taken over as the commander of the Fifth Army. As long as you are in the Fifth Army, you have to march. Either march or fall down and die. There is nothing to discuss. That is It's that simple."
With that said, Desperi hung up the phone, showing his decisive character.
On September 3, 1914, the Ninth Army of the German First Army led by Crook had crossed the Marne River.
Crook believed that it was difficult for a single corps to play its role, so he ordered the Third and Fourth Corps to continue their assault to the southeast, ignoring the orders of the German high command to deploy to cover the right wing.
Under Crook's order, the German soldiers of the First Army marched 40 kilometers a day. When they reached their destination, they were exhausted and fell limply to the ground.
Driven by his fanatical attempt to destroy the French army in one fell swoop, Crook had become so irrational that he exhausted his soldiers.
More importantly, due to the rapid march of the army, the First Army was actually far away from its transport convoys and heavy artillery units, and logistical supply problems also ensued.
This situation does not only exist in the German First Army. The German Second Army and the Third Army had such problems. Even the troops of the Third Army led by Hausen had not eaten cooked food for five consecutive days, just to chase the defeated French army.
As for the Fourth and Fifth Armies, which are in slightly better condition, although they are also attacking, they have made little progress so far and are still blocked from the Nancy and Verdun fortresses.
The German army's efforts to annihilate the French army in one fell swoop caused serious problems in the deployment of the German army.
In the Paris City Defense Headquarters, Galleini and his chief of staff also received news that Crook's German First Army was advancing from east of Paris to the Marne River.
It can be seen from the relatively clear situation map of the enemy and ourselves that Crook's blind advance exposed the right wing of the First Army in the direction of Paris.
Gallieni, Chief of Staff Clégery and others who had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time shouted in unison: "They have brought the flank to the door, they have brought the flank to the door!" At this time, French Commander-in-Chief Xia Xia was not far away
. The great battle envisioned by Fei is still some time away.
Considering the shape of the battlefield and the loss of troops, Xiafei did not really want to fight prematurely.
What Joffre was waiting for was not only assistance from the British, but also the role that the Russian army on the Eastern Front could play.
But the opportunity on the battlefield is fleeting. If not grasped, it will be a great pity for a general like Gallieni.
Although Gallieni was designated as Joffre's successor, the temporary commander-in-chief of France after Joffre's accident.
The current commander-in-chief of France is still Joffre, and Gallieni cannot change any of the orders issued by Joffre.
But in order not to miss such a good opportunity, Galilei made a bold decision, that is, to kill first and then play later, so that Jia Fei had to launch this big battle.
September 4, 1914, 9 a.m.
Gallieni issued an order to Monuri, requiring the Sixth Army to immediately prepare for deployment and prepare for a counterattack in the afternoon.
Subsequently, Gallieni called the French General Headquarters to report that the Sixth Army had entered a counterattack position and was about to start a counterattack. He hoped that the right-wing armies would jointly operate.
This is also equivalent to rushing a duck to the shelf. The Sixth Army is about to take action anyway. If Xiafei does not support this battle, then just wait for the Sixth Army to be destroyed.
The result was also predictable. Xiafei naturally could not let the entire Sixth Army be defeated. After a series of telephone exchanges, he finally had no choice but to compromise and ordered the armies on the right to fully cooperate with the Sixth Army to launch this battle. Before he was done, Joffre decided to expand the local operation envisaged by the Paris defenders into a comprehensive counterattack on the entire left flank of the Allied front.
This comprehensive counteroffensive included all French troops and the British Expeditionary Force, so the attitude of the British was also very important.
At noon on September 5, in order to obtain the coordinated operations of the British army, Joffre sent a request to French Minister of War Millerand, asking Millerand to exert influence on the British in the name of the government to ensure that the British army could cooperate with the French army in the great war. In battle, it would be best for Joffre to have command of the British army.
In order to persuade the British army to participate in the battle, in addition to requesting the Minister of War, Joffre also decided to personally go to the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force 200 kilometers away to obtain the consent of Sir French of the British Expeditionary Force.
Seeing Sir French, Joffre was not as polite as before. He spoke very impassioned and concisely: "The decisive moment has arrived, Sir French, and my order has been issued. No matter what the situation, in order to save France, even if It is the last company left, and the French army will also enter the battle. The lives of all the French people, the country of France, and the future of Europe all depend on this attack." "I do not believe that the British army will shirk its duties at such an urgent moment
. His responsibility, if you do not participate in the battle, history will judge severely." Joffre said impassionedly: "Mr. Marshal, France needs your support, France asks for your support!" Sir French also agreed with Joffre
. After Joffre finished speaking, the British Marshal even shed tears because he could not express his words clearly in French. Therefore, Sir French said to the translator beside him: "Damn, I can't explain clearly. . Please tell him that anything the French can do, the British can do. Regarding this war, we are willing to do our best."
Regardless of whether the British government's attitude is to fish in troubled waters, Sir French will obviously not be involved in this war. Leave some room to spare.
After receiving the support of Sir French, Joffre breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly expressed his gratitude to Britain and Sir French for their support.
When the French General Headquarters was brightly lit in preparation for a new offensive, in the German General Staff Headquarters in Luxembourg, William II praised smugly: "Today is the 35th day of the war. We have surrounded Reims, which is only a few meters away from Paris. 30 miles."
These words caused cheers from everyone in the Finance Department, and it seemed that the victory of the war was not far away, and the Germans were once again standing in the Palace of Versailles.
But at this time, Marshal Moltke was not happy. However, in the early stages of the war, Moltke strictly abided by the rules set by his uncle Lao Maoqi not to interfere with the command of frontline generals.
However, according to the intelligence currently obtained, the French are already gathering and mobilizing in a premeditated manner, preparing to launch an attack on the German right wing from the direction of Paris.
It just so happened that news of the landing of 40,000 British troops from Belgium came. Moltke made a prompt decision and ordered the first and second armies to stay on the front east of Paris. The first army was between the Oise and Marne rivers, and the second army was between the Oise and Marne rivers. The Second Army maintained a certain distance between the Marne and Seine rivers and Paris to relieve the flanking threats faced by the German army.
Crook, the commander of the First Army, disapproved of the rather conservative order issued by Moltke.
Crook believed that the German army was progressing so smoothly and was so close to Paris that it should not stagnate and waste combat opportunities while also giving the enemy more breathing room.
Crook ordered the army to continue the pursuit to the Seine River and then turn towards Paris.
This order placed the First Army in a dangerous situation and allowed the French army to see opportunities again.
Originally, according to Xiao Maoqi's orders, the French offensive was likely to not find a suitable opportunity.
But now that Crook has brought the opportunity to his door, Xiafei, who has already been prepared, cannot waste such an opportunity.
At the French General Headquarters, Joffre solemnly read out the order for a comprehensive counterattack, and said loudly to the officers gathered at the General Headquarters: "Gentlemen, the previous defeat is over. Let us fight on the Marne River. , For France, for every inch of our land, let’s fight gloriously on the Marne River!”
The Marne River flows from south to north, then from east to west, flowing through the Paris Basin. Because it is parallel to the Aisne and Seine rivers, and is located in the middle of the three rivers, the currents are rapid and form a natural barrier to protect Paris.
In this long-planned comprehensive counterattack, the French dispatched the Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Armies and the British Expeditionary Force, totaling 36 infantry divisions and 8 cavalry divisions.
On the German side, the First and Second Armies, which did not yet know that their flanks were already very dangerous, only had 18 infantry divisions and 5 cavalry divisions in total, and their strength was only about half of the German army.
Early on the morning of September 6, the French army officially began a full-scale counterattack along the Marne River.
First, west of the Ourcq River, the French Sixth Army launched a frenzied attack on the German Fourth Reserve Army stationed in this area. The French army charged forward fearlessly and soon defeated the numerically inferior German Fourth Reserve Army. The army could not resist and asked Crook, commander of the First Army, for help.
Crook urgently dispatched the Second Army to support, but it was still no match for the numerically superior French Sixth Army.
Reluctantly, Crook sent the Fourth Army, and then regained the advantage on the battlefield and gradually won some victories.
Just the confrontation between the Sixth Army and the German First Army resulted in more than 30,000 casualties in just two days.
Among them, the death toll was as high as more than 10,000, which is enough to show the cruelty of this Battle of the Marne River.
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(End of chapter)