The First Battle of the Marne 1914: The French ‘miracle’ halts the Germans

Osprey Campaign #221

by Ian Sumner, Graham Turner (Illustrator)

Osprey's study of the Battle of the Marne, which was one of the decisive encounters of World War I (1914-1918), saving France from a catastrophic defeat that would almost certainly have knocked her out of the war. Germany's failure to defeat the French committed her to a war on two fronts, which would lead to trench warfare and the war of attrition that the General Staff had hoped to avoid. The conduct of the battle served to make and break the reputation of commanders and subordinates alike. Although not an decisive defeat, the battle was a strategic Allied victory. Further attempts by each side to outflank the other led to the formation of a continuous front from the North Sea to Switzerland, which set the pattern for the rest of the war.

This title presents the origins of the campaign, followed by a brief chronology, before detailing the opposing commanders and armies. It then breaks out the French orders of battle and the German's opposing plans, the outcome of the fighting and the aftermath of the battle. The book concludes with a look at the battlefield today and suggestions for further reading.

Genres: Military History, History, World War I, Nonfiction, France

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jim Pfluecke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally find the Campaign books to be too short and lacking on details but this book was perfect for its subject. At first glance, its short background section looks too short, but this allows Sumner to use the bulk of the book to describe in fairly close detail the battles that formed the Battle of the Marne. This is the first book I have read about a single WWI battle and it was all new to me. I give it five stars because it is well written, tight and informative.

[Okan Ergul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book about a subject I've been wondering about. It's a complicated subject for a non military person, but, if not getting lost on battlefield details, one can get a general view of what happened there and what parts of the subject were important reading this book. Hence I recommend this book for history addicts like me.