On September 6, 1914, during World War I, the First Battle of the Marne began as the Allied forces desperately tried to halt the German Advance into France. Before that, the Germans had seemed unstoppable as previous efforts by the French and Belgians failed to stop them. But the First Battle of the Marne came as a shock to the Germans as it was their first major defeat. And it all began because of one letter.
Joseph Joffre’s Letter to the Troops: General Order No. XI
With the start of WWI, the Germans enacted the Schlieffen Plan, a military strategy to rush into France by attacking through Belgium and then capturing Paris. This was to avoid a prolonged two-front war between France and Russia. The plan seemed to go well at first as by September, the Germans penetrated deep into France and came close to Paris.
Even with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), the combined forces were unable to halt Germany. This left Paris in panic as the fall of the city seemed close. However, French General Joseph Joffre rallied his troops and organized a counterattack. They noticed that because of how quickly some German units were advancing, it created a gap in their lines.
This is where Joffre struck, sending out General Order No. XI to attack this position. The hammer blow came along the Marne River, just 40 miles from Paris. To get his troops into position, General Joffre commandeered hundreds of French taxis to transport his army. The arrival of reinforcements took the Germans completely off guard and they were unable to meet their assault, being driven back and bringing their advance to a halt.
Instead, the French and Germans were both forced to dig in to consolidate their holdings, beginning the brutal trench warfare that would characterize WWI. However, this was a major boost to the Allies as it showed the Germans could be defeated and prevented the Fall of Paris. All of this began from one order sent out by General Joffre.
“At the moment when a battle on which the salvation of the country depends is being engaged, it is important to remind everyone that the time has gone for looking backward. Every effort must be employed to attack and drive back the enemy. Troops that can no longer advance must, at all costs, hold the ground they have conquered, and allow themselves to be killed on the spot rather than give way. In the present circumstances, no weakness can be tolerated.”
Throughout this conflict, letters played an important role in affecting the outcome of the war as the wars began and nearly ended with letters.
The first of these was the infamous Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum. The second was the Russian and German attempts to prevent the war with an exchange of messages.
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