Lecture 32: 1914 Marne—Paris Is Saved
x While Plan 17 was foundering against the German center, the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF), a highly professional army of
about 80,000 men, had been deployed near Mons. Here, they fought
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but they were in an exposed position and had to retreat.x In this moment of crisis, the overall commander of the French forces
opposing Moltke was General Joseph Joffre. He was supremely
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was exactly the right man for the job. He coolly drew together the
shattered remnants of the French armies and began methodically
assembling a new Sixth Army to defend Paris.The Battle
x The unexpected Belgian resistance, the enthusiastic French attacks
on the frontier, and the strong showing of the BEF undermined
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of his opponents. Now, from the eastern front came news that the
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men to invade East Prussia.x On August 25, Moltke ordered two army corps to be withdrawn
from the assault on France and sent to the eastern front. By the time
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retrospect, the redeployment of the two army corps meant that at
the very moment when the German forces in the west needed to
press home their attack, they found themselves with a sizable gap in
WKHLUOLQHVDQGDVLJQL¿FDQWSDUWRIWKHLUVWULNLQJIRUFHJRQHx The apparent weakness of the French opposition caused Moltke to
consider deviating from the initial plan for enveloping the French
armies and to try breaking straight through them. He issued orders
altering the role of Kluck’s army from the main enveloping force
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continued his drive west, but he, too, was worried that his weakened
army might not be able to complete its wide sweep. Thus, around