[Sidenote: General Joffre announces intention to take offensive.]
General Joffre announced to me his intention of wheeling up the left flank of the Sixth Army, pivoting on the Marne and directing it to move on the Ourcq; cross and attack the flank of the First German Army, which was then moving in a southeasterly direction east of that river.
He requested me to effect a change of front to my right--my left resting on the Marne and my right on the Fifth Army--to fill the gap between that army and the Sixth. I was then to advance against the enemy in my front and join in the general offensive movement.
[Sidenote: Battle begins Sunday, September 6.]
These combined movements practically commenced on Sunday, September 6, at sunrise; and on that day it may be said that a great battle opened on a front extending from Ermenonville, which was just in front of the left flank of the Sixth French Army, through Lizy on the Marne, Mauperthuis, which was about the British centre, Courtecon, which was on the left of the Fifth French Army, to Esternay and Charleville, the left of the Ninth Army under General Foch, and so along the front of the Ninth, Fourth and Third French Armies to a point north of the fortress of Verdun.
[Sidenote: Battle concluded September 10. Germans driven to the line Soissons-Rheims.]
This battle, in so far as the Sixth French Army, the British Army, the Fifth French Army, and the Ninth French Army were concerned, may be said to have concluded on the evening of September 10, by which time the Germans had been driven back to the line Soissons-Rheims, with a loss of thousands of prisoners, many guns, and enormous ma.s.ses of transport.
About September 3 the enemy appears to have changed his plans and to have determined to stop his advance south direct upon Paris, for on September 4 air reconnoissances showed that his main columns were moving in a southeasterly direction generally east of a line drawn through Nanteuil and Lizy on the Ourcq.
On September 5 several of these columns were observed to have crossed the Marne, while German troops, which were observed moving southeast up the left flank of the Ourcq on the 4th, were now reported to be halted and facing that river. Heads of the enemy"s columns were seen crossing at Changis, La Ferte, Nogent, Chateau Thierry, and Mezy.
[Sidenote: German columns converging on Montmirail.]
Considerable German columns of all arms were seen to be converging on Montmirail, while before sunset large bivouacs of the enemy were located in the neighborhood of Coulommiers, south of Rebais, La Ferte-Gaucher, and Dagny.
I should conceive it to have been about noon on September 6, after the British forces had changed their front to the right and occupied the line Jouy-Le Chatel-Faremoutiers-Villeneuve Le Comte, and the advance of the Sixth French Army north of the Marne toward the Ourcq became apparent, that the enemy realized the powerful threat that was being made against the flank of his columns moving southeast, and began the great retreat which opened the battle above referred to.
[Sidenote: Position of allies and Germans on September 6.]
On the evening of September 6, therefore, the fronts and positions of the Allied Army were roughly as follows:
_Sixth French Army._--Right on the Marne at Meux, left toward Betz.
_British Forces._--On the line Dagny-Coulommiers-Maison.
_Fifth French Army._--At Courtagon, right on Esternay.
_Conneau"s Cavalry Corps._--Between the right of the British and the left of the French Fifth Army.
The position of the German Army was as follows:
_Fourth Reserve and Second Corps._--East of the Ourcq and facing that river.
_Ninth Cavalry Division._--West of Crecy.
_Second Cavalry Division._--North of Coulommiers.
_Fourth Corps._--Rebais.
_Third and Seventh Corps._--Southwest of Montmirail.
[Sidenote: First and Second German army.]
All these troops const.i.tuted the First German Army, which was directed against the French Sixth Army on the Ourcq, and the British forces, and the left of the Fifth French Army south of the Marne.
The Second German Army (IX., X., X.R., and Guard) was moving against the centre and right of the Fifth French Army and the Ninth French Army.
On September 7 both the Fifth and Sixth French Armies were heavily engaged on our flank. The Second and Fourth Reserve German Corps on the Ourcq vigorously opposed the advance of the French toward that river, but did not prevent the Sixth Army from gaining some headway, the Germans themselves suffering serious losses. The French Fifth Army threw the enemy back to the line of the Pet.i.t Morin River after inflicting severe losses upon them, especially about Montceaux, which was carried at the point of the bayonet.
The enemy retreated before our advance, covered by his Second and Ninth and Guard Cavalry Divisions, which suffered severely.
Our cavalry acted with great vigor, especially General De Lisle"s brigade, with the Ninth Lancers and Eighteenth Hussars.
[Sidenote: Germans retreat September 8.]
On September 8 the enemy continued his retreat northward, and our army was successfully engaged during the day with strong rearguards of all arms on the Pet.i.t Morin River, thereby materially a.s.sisting the progress of the French armies on our right and left, against whom the enemy was making his greatest efforts. On both sides the enemy was thrown back with very heavy loss. The First Army Corps encountered stubborn resistance at La Tretoire, (north of Rebais.) The enemy occupied a strong position with infantry and guns on the northern bank of the Pet.i.t Morin River; they were dislodged with considerable loss. Several machine guns and many prisoners were captured, and upward of 200 German dead were left on the ground.
[Sidenote: Forcing of Pet.i.t Morin September 9.]
The forcing of the Pet.i.t Morin at this point was much a.s.sisted by the cavalry and the First Division, which crossed higher up the stream.
Later in the day a counter-attack by the enemy was well repulsed by the First Army Corps, a great many prisoners and some guns again falling into our hands.
On this day (September 8) the Second Army Corps encountered considerable opposition, but drove back the enemy at all points with great loss, making considerable captures.
The Third Army Corps also drove back considerable bodies of the enemy"s infantry and made some captures.
[Sidenote: British First and Second Army Corps forced pa.s.sage of Marne.]
On September 9 the First and Second Army Corps forced the pa.s.sage of the Marne and advanced some miles to the north of it. The Third Corps encountered considerable opposition, as the bridge at La Ferte was destroyed and the enemy held the town on the opposite bank in some strength, and thence persistently obstructed the construction of a bridge; so the pa.s.sage was not effected until after nightfall.
During the day"s pursuit the enemy suffered heavy loss in killed and wounded, some hundreds of prisoners fell into our hands and a battery of eight machine guns was captured by the Second Division.
[Sidenote: Sixth French Army heavily engaged west of River Ourcq.]
On this day the Sixth French Army was heavily engaged west of the River Ourcq. The enemy had largely increased his force opposing them; and very heavy fighting ensued, in which the French were successful throughout.
The left of the Fifth French Army reached the neighborhood of Chateau Thierry after the most severe fighting, having driven the enemy completely north of the river with great loss.
The fighting of this army in the neighborhood of Montmirail was very severe.
[Sidenote: British and French advance on the line of the Ourcq, September 10.]
The advance was resumed at daybreak on the 10th up to the line of the Ourcq, opposed by strong rearguards of all arms. The First and Second Corps, a.s.sisted by the cavalry divisions on the right, the Third and Fifth Cavalry Brigades on the left, drove the enemy northward. Thirteen guns, seven machine guns, about 2,000 prisoners, and quant.i.ties of transport fell into our hands. The enemy left many dead on the field.
On this day the French Fifth and Sixth Armies had little opposition.
[Ill.u.s.tration: BATTLE OF THE MARNE--END OF GERMAN RETREAT AND THE INTRENCHED LINE ON THE AISNE RIVER]
[Sidenote: First and Second German armies in full retreat.]
As the First and Second German Armies were now in full retreat, this evening marks the end of the battle which practically commenced on the morning of the 6th inst.; and it is at this point in the operations that I am concluding the present dispatch.