Moltke, Architect of War Plan, is Sacked; Victim of Marne Defeat Special to The Great War Project (14 September) This day, a century ago, a dramatic reshuffling at the top of the German military. General Helmuth von Moltke, the chief of the German General Staff, and the architect of Germany’s war plan, is sacked. The…
Monthly Archives: September 2014
THE GERMAN ADVANTAGE: A SIMPLE SPADE
by Mike Shuster
At the Aisne Misery in First Allied Trenches; Germans Better Equipped Special to The Great War Project (12-13 September) At the River Aisne, the Germans have the high ground. The French and the British do not. The Germans also have “entrenching tools,” the spade. The British and the French do not. This proves to be…
THE RACE TO A RIVER AND A RACE TO THE SEA
by Mike Shuster
Germans seek heights to dig in; British protect supply lines at Channel coast Special to The Great War Project (10-11 September) Germany loses the Battle of the Marne. Now it’s their turn to retreat. They are pulling back across the Marne. Their goal; a ridge rising 500 feet above the River Aisne, about 35 miles…
AT MARNE, DISORDER IN GERMAN RANKS
by Mike Shuster
Anglo-French on Offensive; Germans Driven Back Across Strategic River Special to The Great War Project (8-9 September) By this date a century ago, the confidence of the French and British forces at the battle for the Marne is growing. They are on the offensive. One British senior officer writes home: “The tide of invasion seems…
AT THE MARNE, THE TIDE TURNS
by Mike Shuster
German Lines Crumbling; Time to Chase the Germans Special to The Great War Project (6-7 September) The tide of battle at the Marne is shifting. On these days a century ago, the forces of France and Britain stop their retreat, steel their positions, and turn their retreat into attack. “It was an inspiring thought,” writes…
To My Peoples
by Barrett Golding
The Europeana museum, the Austrian National Library, and Google collaborated on the online presentation, “To My Peoples!” The First World War 1914 – 1918, a collection of “untold stories & official histories of WW1.”
BATTLE OF THE MARNE BEGINS: A TITANIC STRUGGLE
by Mike Shuster
Millions on the Battlefield, Fate of France in the Balance Special to The Great War Project (5 September) On this day, precisely a century ago, the Battle of the Marne begins on the Western Front. On the allied side the fear is palpable that the fate of France is at stake. The war could be…
ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT CLASH
by Mike Shuster
Anglo-French Forces Dig in at the River Marne Special to The Great War Project (4 September) These are crucial days on both the Western and Eastern fronts. In their long retreat in the West, Anglo-French forces pull back south of the River Marne in France. There they dig in, ready to take on the Germans.…
GREAT ARMIES MASS AT THE MARNE
by Mike Shuster
British and Germans Exhausted; Paris the Prize Special to The Great War Project (2-3 September) On this day September 3 a century ago, on the Western Front the German army is just 25 miles from Paris. For the British Expeditionary Force and the French army, it’s been thirteen days of grueling retreat covering 150 miles.…
PARIS IS IN GERMAN SIGHTS
by Mike Shuster
French Government Flees to Bordeaux; A Million Parisians Follow Special to The Great War Project (1 September) After just one month a century ago, Europe is aflame with tens of thousands of dead soldiers in both the Eastern and Western Fronts, and thousands of prisoners. There is no doubt that in the first month of…