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id="toc-Strategic_developments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Strategic_developments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Strategic developments</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Strategic_developments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Plan_XVII" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Plan_XVII"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.1</span> <span>Plan XVII</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Plan_XVII-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Schlieffen–Moltke_Plan" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Schlieffen–Moltke_Plan"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.2</span> <span>Schlieffen–Moltke Plan</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Schlieffen–Moltke_Plan-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle_of_the_Frontiers,_7_August_–_13_September" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_the_Frontiers,_7_August_–_13_September"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.3</span> <span>Battle of the Frontiers, 7 August – 13 September</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_the_Frontiers,_7_August_–_13_September-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Great_Retreat,_24_August_–_5_September" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Great_Retreat,_24_August_–_5_September"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.4</span> <span>The Great Retreat, 24 August – 5 September</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Great_Retreat,_24_August_–_5_September-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Eastern_Front" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Eastern_Front"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.5</span> <span>Eastern Front</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Eastern_Front-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Tactical_developments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Tactical_developments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Tactical developments</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Tactical_developments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Operations_in_Belgium,_August–October_1914" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Operations_in_Belgium,_August–October_1914"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2.1</span> <span>Operations in Belgium, August–October 1914</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Operations_in_Belgium,_August–October_1914-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-First_Battle_of_the_Marne,_5–12_September" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Battle_of_the_Marne,_5–12_September"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2.2</span> <span>First Battle of the Marne, 5–12 September</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Battle_of_the_Marne,_5–12_September-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-First_Battle_of_the_Aisne,_13–28_September" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Battle_of_the_Aisne,_13–28_September"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2.3</span> <span>First Battle of the Aisne, 13–28 September</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Battle_of_the_Aisne,_13–28_September-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Prelude" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Prelude"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Prelude</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Prelude-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Prelude subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Prelude-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-German_plan" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#German_plan"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>German plan</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-German_plan-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-French_plan_of_attack" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#French_plan_of_attack"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>French plan of attack</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-French_plan_of_attack-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Battle</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Battle-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Battle subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Battle-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-First_phase,_25_September_–_4_October" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_phase,_25_September_–_4_October"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>First phase, 25 September – 4 October</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_phase,_25_September_–_4_October-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Battle_of_Picardy,_22–26_September" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_Picardy,_22–26_September"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.1</span> <span>Battle of Picardy, 22–26 September</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_Picardy,_22–26_September-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle_of_Albert,_25–29_September" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_Albert,_25–29_September"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.2</span> <span>Battle of Albert, 25–29 September</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_Albert,_25–29_September-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Second_phase,_4–15_October" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Second_phase,_4–15_October"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Second phase, 4–15 October</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Second_phase,_4–15_October-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-First_Battle_of_Arras,_1–4_October" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Battle_of_Arras,_1–4_October"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2.1</span> <span>First Battle of Arras, 1–4 October</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Battle_of_Arras,_1–4_October-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Third_phase,_15_October–November" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Third_phase,_15_October–November"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Third phase, 15 October–November</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Third_phase,_15_October–November-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Battle_of_La_Bassée,_10_October_–_2_November" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_La_Bassée,_10_October_–_2_November"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3.1</span> <span>Battle of La Bassée, 10 October – 2 November</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_La_Bassée,_10_October_–_2_November-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle_of_Messines,_12_October_–_2_November" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_Messines,_12_October_–_2_November"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3.2</span> <span>Battle of Messines, 12 October – 2 November</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_Messines,_12_October_–_2_November-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Battle_of_Armentières,_13_October_–_2_November" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_Armentières,_13_October_–_2_November"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3.3</span> <span>Battle of Armentières, 13 October – 2 November</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_Armentières,_13_October_–_2_November-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Aftermath" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Aftermath"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Aftermath</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Aftermath-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Aftermath subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Aftermath-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Analysis" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Analysis"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Analysis</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Analysis-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Casualties" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Casualties"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Casualties</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Casualties-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Subsequent_operations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Subsequent_operations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Subsequent operations</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Subsequent_operations-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Subsequent operations subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Subsequent_operations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-First_Battle_of_Flanders" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Battle_of_Flanders"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>First Battle of Flanders</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Battle_of_Flanders-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Battle_of_the_Yser,_18_October_–_30_November" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Battle_of_the_Yser,_18_October_–_30_November"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1.1</span> <span>Battle of the Yser, 18 October – 30 November</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Battle_of_the_Yser,_18_October_–_30_November-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-First_Battle_of_Ypres,_19_October_–_22_November" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Battle_of_Ypres,_19_October_–_22_November"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1.2</span> <span>First Battle of Ypres, 19 October – 22 November</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Battle_of_Ypres,_19_October_–_22_November-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Footnotes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Footnotes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Footnotes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Footnotes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" 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Sea</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 27 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-27" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">27 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%82_%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1" title="السباق نحو البحر – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="السباق نحو البحر" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%B3_%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0" title="Бег да мора – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Бег да мора" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%B3_%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0" title="Бег да мора – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Бег да мора" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursa_cap_al_mar" title="Cursa cap al mar – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Cursa cap al mar" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wettlauf_zum_Meer" title="Wettlauf zum Meer – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Wettlauf zum Meer" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrera_al_mar" title="Carrera al mar – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Carrera al mar" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsasorako_Lasterketa" title="Itsasorako Lasterketa – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Itsasorako Lasterketa" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Course_%C3%A0_la_mer" title="Course à la mer – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Course à la mer" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carreira_cara_ao_mar" title="Carreira cara ao mar – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Carreira cara ao mar" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%94%EB%8B%A4%EB%A1%9C%EC%9D%98_%EA%B2%BD%EC%A3%BC" title="바다로의 경주 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="바다로의 경주" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlombaan_menuju_Laut" title="Perlombaan menuju Laut – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Perlombaan menuju Laut" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapphlaup_til_sj%C3%A1var" title="Kapphlaup til sjávar – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Kapphlaup til sjávar" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsa_al_mare" title="Corsa al mare – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Corsa al mare" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A5_%D7%90%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%9D" title="המרוץ אל הים – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="המרוץ אל הים" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versenyfut%C3%A1s_a_tengerhez" title="Versenyfutás a tengerhez – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Versenyfutás a tengerhez" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BE" title="Трка кон морето – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Трка кон морето" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_naar_de_Zee" title="Race naar de Zee – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Race naar de Zee" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a 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searchaux" style="display:none">Period early in the First World War on the Western Front</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about World War I. For the American Civil War campaign, see <a href="/wiki/Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea" title="Sherman's March to the Sea">Sherman's March to the Sea</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r963460841">@media all and (min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .desktop-float-right{box-sizing:border-box;float:right;clear:right}}.mw-parser-output .infobox.vevent .status>p:first-child{margin:0}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1034237262">.mw-parser-output .stack{box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .stack>div{margin:1px;overflow:hidden}@media all and (min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .stack-clear-left{float:left;clear:left}.mw-parser-output .stack-clear-right{float:right;clear:right}.mw-parser-output .stack-left{float:left}.mw-parser-output .stack-right{float:right}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-clear-left{float:left;clear:left;margin-right:1em}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-clear-right{float:right;clear:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-left{float:left;margin-right:1em}.mw-parser-output .stack-margin-right{float:right;margin-left:1em}}</style><div class="stack mw-stack stack-clear-right"><div><table class="infobox vevent" style="width:25.5em;border-spacing:2px;"><tbody><tr><th class="summary" colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Race to the Sea</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;">Part of the <a href="/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a> of the <a href="/wiki/First_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="First World War">First World War</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;line-height:1.5em;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Franco-German_flanking_moves,_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Franco-German_flanking_moves%2C_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg/250px-Franco-German_flanking_moves%2C_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="381" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Franco-German_flanking_moves%2C_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg/375px-Franco-German_flanking_moves%2C_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Franco-German_flanking_moves%2C_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg/500px-Franco-German_flanking_moves%2C_15_September_-_8_October_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1127" data-file-height="1718" /></a></span><br />Franco-German flanking moves, 15 September – 8 October 1914</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table style="width:100%;margin:0;padding:0;border:0;display:inline-table"><tbody><tr><th style="padding-right:1em">Date</th><td>17 September – 19 October 1914</td></tr><tr><th style="padding-right:1em">Location</th><td><div class="location"><a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> and north-west <a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a></div><span class="geo-inline"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Race_to_the_Sea&params=49_30_N_02_50_E_type:event_region:FR"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">49°30′N</span> <span class="longitude">02°50′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">49.500°N 2.833°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">49.500; 2.833</span></span></span></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><th style="padding-right:1em">Result</th><td class="status"> Indecisive</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Belligerents</th></tr><tr><td style="width:50%;border-right:1px dotted #aaa;"> <span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a><br /><span data-sort-value="France"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/23px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/35px-Flag_of_France.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/45px-Flag_of_France.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/French_Third_Republic" title="French Third Republic">France</a></span><br /><span data-sort-value="United Kingdom"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland" title="United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland">United Kingdom</a></span></td><td style="width:50%;padding-left:0.25em"> <span data-sort-value="Germany"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">Germany</a></span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;font-size:110%;">Commanders and leaders</th></tr><tr><td style="width:50%;border-right:1px dotted #aaa;"> <a href="/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium" title="Albert I of Belgium">Albert I</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Joffre" title="Joseph Joffre">Joseph Joffre</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/John_French,_1st_Earl_of_Ypres" title="John French, 1st Earl of Ypres">John French</a></td><td style="width:50%;padding-left:0.25em"> <a href="/wiki/Erich_von_Falkenhayn" title="Erich von Falkenhayn">Erich von Falkenhayn</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol 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style="color:inherit">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Campaignbox_Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Template talk:Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:inherit">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox_Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="color:inherit">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Western_Front" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><span style="line-height:1.6em"><a href="/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a></span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><b>1914</b><br /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_Capture_of_Moresnet" class="mw-redirect" title="German Capture of Moresnet">Moresnet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_invasion_of_Belgium_(1914)" title="German invasion of Belgium (1914)">Invasion of Belgium</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Li%C3%A8ge" title="Battle of Liège">Liège</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Dinant" title="Battle of Dinant">Dinant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Namur_(1914)" title="Siege of Namur (1914)">Namur</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Frontiers" title="Battle of the Frontiers">Frontiers</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Lorraine" title="Battle of Lorraine">Lorraine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ardennes" title="Battle of the Ardennes">Ardennes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Charleroi" title="Battle of Charleroi">Charleroi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Mons" title="Battle of Mons">Mons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trou%C3%A9e_de_Charmes" title="Battle of the Trouée de Charmes">Trouée de Charmes</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Retreat" title="Great Retreat">Great Retreat</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Le_Cateau" title="Battle of Le Cateau">Le Cateau</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rearguard_Affair_of_%C3%89treux" title="Rearguard Affair of Étreux">Étreux</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_St._Quentin_(1914)" title="Battle of St. Quentin (1914)">1st St. Quentin</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Maubeuge" title="Siege of Maubeuge">Maubeuge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Couronn%C3%A9" title="Battle of Grand Couronné">Grand Couronné</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="First Battle of the Marne">1st Marne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Aisne" title="First Battle of the Aisne">1st Aisne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Antwerp_(1914)" title="Siege of Antwerp (1914)">Antwerp</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Race to the Sea</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Yser" title="Battle of the Yser">Yser</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres" title="First Battle of Ypres">1st Ypres</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Winter_operations_1914%E2%80%931915" title="Winter operations 1914–1915">Winter actions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Artois" title="First Battle of Artois">1st Artois</a></li></ul> <p><b>1915</b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Champagne" title="First Battle of Champagne">1st Champagne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Hartmannswillerkopf" title="Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf">Hartmannswillerkopf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Neuve_Chapelle" title="Battle of Neuve Chapelle">Neuve Chapelle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Ypres" title="Second Battle of Ypres">2nd Ypres</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Artois" title="Second Battle of Artois">2nd Artois</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_H%C3%A9buterne" title="Battle of Hébuterne">Hébuterne</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Champagne" title="Second Battle of Champagne">2nd Champagne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Loos" title="Battle of Loos">Loos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Artois" title="Third Battle of Artois">3rd Artois</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_phosgene_attack_(19_December_1915)" class="mw-redirect" title="German phosgene attack (19 December 1915)">Gas: Wieltje</a></li></ul> <p><b>1916</b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Actions_of_the_Bluff,_1916" title="Actions of the Bluff, 1916">The Bluff</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hohenzollern_Redoubt_action,_2%E2%80%9318_March_1916" title="Hohenzollern Redoubt action, 2–18 March 1916">Hohenzollern Redoubt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Actions_of_St_Eloi_Craters" title="Actions of St Eloi Craters">St Eloi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gas_attacks_at_Hulluch" title="Gas attacks at Hulluch">Hulluch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gas_attacks_at_Wulverghem" title="Gas attacks at Wulverghem">Wulverghem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loss_of_the_Kink_Salient" title="Loss of the Kink Salient">Kink Salient</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_attack_on_Vimy_Ridge" title="German attack on Vimy Ridge">Vimy Ridge 1916</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Mont_Sorrel" title="Battle of Mont Sorrel">Mont Sorrel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun" title="Battle of Verdun">Verdun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Boar%27s_Head" title="Battle of the Boar's Head">Boar's Head</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme" title="Battle of the Somme">1st Somme</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Attack_at_Fromelles" title="Attack at Fromelles">Fromelles</a></li></ul> <p><b>1917</b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Operations_on_the_Ancre,_January%E2%80%93March_1917" title="Operations on the Ancre, January–March 1917">Ancre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Alberich" title="Operation Alberich"><i>Alberich</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nivelle_offensive" title="Nivelle offensive">Nivelle offensive</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917)" title="Battle of Arras (1917)">Arras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge" title="Battle of Vimy Ridge">Vimy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Aisne" title="Second Battle of the Aisne">2nd Aisne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Hills" title="Battle of the Hills">The Hills</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_(1917)" title="Battle of Messines (1917)">Messines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele" title="Battle of Passchendaele">Passchendaele</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_La_Malmaison" title="Battle of La Malmaison">La Malmaison</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Cambrai_(1917)" title="Battle of Cambrai (1917)">Cambrai</a></li></ul> <p><b>1918</b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_spring_offensive" title="German spring offensive">German spring offensive</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Michael" title="Operation Michael"><i>Michael</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Lys_(1918)" title="Battle of the Lys (1918)">The Lys</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Third_Battle_of_the_Aisne" title="Third Battle of the Aisne">3rd Aisne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Belleau_Wood" title="Battle of Belleau Wood">Belleau Wood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="Second Battle of the Marne">2nd Marne</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Soissons_(1918)" title="Battle of Soissons (1918)">Soissons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Amiens_(1918)" title="Battle of Amiens (1918)">Amiens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ailette" title="Battle of the Ailette">Ailette</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Somme" title="Second Battle of the Somme">2nd Somme</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Saint-Mihiel" title="Battle of Saint-Mihiel">Saint-Mihiel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_St_Quentin_Canal" title="Battle of St Quentin Canal">St Quentin Canal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive" title="Meuse–Argonne offensive">Meuse-Argonne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fifth_Battle_of_Ypres" title="Fifth Battle of Ypres">5th Ypres</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Cambrai_(1918)" title="Battle of Cambrai (1918)">2nd Cambrai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Courtrai_(1918)" title="Battle of Courtrai (1918)">Courtrai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Sambre_(1918)" title="Battle of the Sambre (1918)">Sambre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Lys_and_the_Escaut" title="Battle of the Lys and the Escaut">Lys and Escaut</a></li></ul> <hr /> <p><b>Associated articles</b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christmas_truce" title="Christmas truce">1914 Christmas truce</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1917_French_Army_mutinies" title="1917 French Army mutinies">French Army mutinies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_Front_tactics,_1917" title="Western Front tactics, 1917">Western Front tactics, 1917</a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Race_to_the_Sea" style="margin:0;float:right;clear:right;width:25.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:1em;;padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks navbox-vertical mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Campaignbox_Race_to_the_Sea" title="Template:Campaignbox Race to the Sea"><abbr title="View this template" style="color:inherit">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Campaignbox_Race_to_the_Sea" title="Template talk:Campaignbox Race to the Sea"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:inherit">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox_Race_to_the_Sea" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Campaignbox Race to the Sea"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="color:inherit">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Race_to_the_Sea" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><span style="line-height:1.6em"><a class="mw-selflink selflink"><span class="wrap">Race to the Sea</span></a></span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Picardy" title="First Battle of Picardy">1st Picardy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Flirey" title="Battle of Flirey">Flirey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Albert_(1914)" title="Battle of Albert (1914)">Albert</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bois-le-Pr%C3%AAtre_fighting" title="Bois-le-Prêtre fighting">Bois-le-Prêtre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1914)" title="Battle of Arras (1914)">Arras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_La_Bass%C3%A9e" title="Battle of La Bassée">La Bassée</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Armenti%C3%A8res" title="Battle of Armentières">Armentières</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_(1914)" title="Battle of Messines (1914)">Messines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Yser" title="Battle of the Yser">Yser</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres" title="First Battle of Ypres">1st Ypres</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres#Battle_of_Langemarck" title="First Battle of Ypres">Langemarck</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres#Battle_of_Gheluvelt" title="First Battle of Ypres">Gheluvelt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres#Battle_of_Nonne_Bosschen" title="First Battle of Ypres">Nonne Bosschen</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div> <p>The <b>Race to the Sea</b> (<a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>: <i lang="fr">Course à la mer</i>; <a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>: <i lang="de">Wettlauf zum Meer</i>, <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>: <i lang="nl">Race naar de Zee</i>) took place from about <span class="nowrap">17 September</span> – <span class="nowrap">19 October</span> 1914 during the <a href="/wiki/First_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="First World War">First World War</a>, after the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Frontiers" title="Battle of the Frontiers">Battle of the Frontiers</a> (<span class="nowrap">7 August</span> – <span class="nowrap">13 September</span>) and the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German</a> advance into <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a>. The invasion had been stopped at the <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="First Battle of the Marne">First Battle of the Marne</a> <span class="nowrap">(5–12 September)</span> and was followed by the <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Aisne" title="First Battle of the Aisne">First Battle of the Aisne</a> <span class="nowrap">(13–28 September),</span> a Franco-British counter-offensive.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The term describes reciprocal attempts by the Franco-British and German armies to envelop the northern flank of the opposing army through the provinces of <a href="/wiki/Picardy" title="Picardy">Picardy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Artois" title="Artois">Artois</a> and <a href="/wiki/Flanders" title="Flanders">Flanders</a>, rather than an attempt to advance northwards to the sea. The "race" ended on the <a href="/wiki/North_Sea" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> coast of Belgium around 19 October, when the last open area from <a href="/wiki/Diksmuide" title="Diksmuide">Diksmuide</a> to the North Sea was occupied by Belgian troops who had retreated after the <a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Antwerp_(1914)" title="Siege of Antwerp (1914)">Siege of Antwerp</a> (28 September – 10 October). The <a href="/wiki/Flanking_maneuver" title="Flanking maneuver">outflanking attempts</a> had resulted in a number of <a href="/wiki/Meeting_engagement" title="Meeting engagement">encounter battles</a> but neither side was able to gain a <a href="/wiki/Decisive_victory" title="Decisive victory">decisive victory</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After the opposing forces had reached the North Sea, both tried to conduct offensives leading to the mutually costly and indecisive <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Yser" title="Battle of the Yser">Battle of the Yser</a> from 16 October to 2 November and the <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres" title="First Battle of Ypres">First Battle of Ypres</a> from 19 October to 22 November. After mid-November, local operations were carried out by both sides and preparations were made to take the offensive in the spring of 1915. <a href="/wiki/Erich_von_Falkenhayn" title="Erich von Falkenhayn">Erich von Falkenhayn</a>, Chief of the <a href="/wiki/German_General_Staff" title="German General Staff">German General Staff</a> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Oberste_Heeresleitung" title="Oberste Heeresleitung">Oberste Heeresleitung</a></i></span> OHL) since 14 September, concluded that a decisive victory could not be achieved on the <a href="/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a> and that it was equally unlikely in the east. Falkenhayn abandoned <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Vernichtungsstrategie</i></span> (strategy of annihilation) and attempted to create the conditions for peace with one of Germany's enemies, by <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Ermattungsstrategie</i></span> (strategy of exhaustion), to enable Germany to concentrate its resources decisively to defeat the remaining opponents. </p><p>Over the winter lull, the French army established the theoretical basis of offensive <a href="/wiki/Trench_warfare" title="Trench warfare">trench warfare</a>, originating many of the methods which became standard for the rest of the war. <a href="/wiki/Infiltration_tactics" title="Infiltration tactics">Infiltration tactics</a>, in which dispersed formations of infantry were followed by <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">nettoyeurs de tranchée</i></span> (trench cleaners), to capture by-passed strong points were promulgated. Artillery observation from aircraft and <a href="/wiki/Barrage_(artillery)#Creeping_barrage" title="Barrage (artillery)">creeping barrages</a>, were first used systematically in the <a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Artois" title="Second Battle of Artois">Second Battle of Artois</a> from 9 May to 18 June 1915. Falkenhayn issued memoranda on <span class="nowrap">7 and 25 January</span> 1915, to govern defensive battle on the Western Front, in which the existing front line was to be fortified and to be held indefinitely with small numbers of troops, to enable more divisions to be sent to the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Eastern Front (World War I)">Eastern Front</a>. New defences were to be built behind the front line to contain a breakthrough until the position was restored by counter-attacks. The <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Westheer</i></span> began the huge task of building field fortifications, which were not complete until the autumn of 1915. </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886046785">.mw-parser-output .toclimit-2 .toclevel-1 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-3 .toclevel-2 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-4 .toclevel-3 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-5 .toclevel-4 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-6 .toclevel-5 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-7 .toclevel-6 ul{display:none}</style><div class="toclimit-2"><meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Strategic_developments">Strategic developments</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Strategic developments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Plan_XVII">Plan XVII</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Plan XVII"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Plan_XVII" title="Plan XVII">Plan XVII</a></div> <p>Under Plan XVII the French peacetime army was to form five field armies, with groups of Reserve divisions attached and a group of reserve divisions was to assemble on each flank, <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 2,000,000 men.</span> The armies were to concentrate opposite the German frontier around <a href="/wiki/%C3%89pinal" title="Épinal">Épinal</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nancy,_France" title="Nancy, France">Nancy</a> and <a href="/wiki/Verdun" title="Verdun">Verdun</a>–<a href="/wiki/Charleville-Mezi%C3%A8res" class="mw-redirect" title="Charleville-Mezières">Charleville-Mezières</a>, with an army in reserve around <a href="/wiki/Sainte-Menehould" title="Sainte-Menehould">Sainte-Menehould</a> and <a href="/wiki/Commercy" title="Commercy">Commercy</a>. Since 1871 railway building had given the French General Staff sixteen lines to the German frontier against thirteen available to the German army and the French could wait until German intentions were clear. The French deployment was intended to be ready for a German offensive in Lorraine or through Belgium. It was anticipated that the Germans would use reserve troops but also expected that a large German army would be mobilised on the border with Russia, leaving the western army with sufficient troops only to advance through Belgium south of the Meuse and the Sambre rivers. French intelligence had obtained a map exercise of the German general staff of 1905, in which German troops had gone no further north than <a href="/wiki/Namur" title="Namur">Namur</a> and assumed that plans to besiege Belgian forts were a defensive measure against the Belgian army.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001194_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001194-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A German attack from south-eastern Belgium towards Mézières and a possible offensive from Lorraine towards Verdun, Nancy and <a href="/wiki/Saint-Di%C3%A9-des-Vosges" title="Saint-Dié-des-Vosges">St. Dié</a> was anticipated; the plan was an evolution from Plan XVI and made more provision for the possibility of a German offensive through Belgium. The <a href="/wiki/First_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="First Army (France)">First</a>, <a href="/wiki/Second_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Army (France)">Second</a> and <a href="/wiki/Third_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Third Army (France)">Third</a> Armies were to concentrate between Épinal and Verdun opposite Alsace and Lorraine, the <a href="/wiki/Fifth_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Fifth Army (France)">Fifth Army</a> was to assemble from <a href="/wiki/Montm%C3%A9dy" title="Montmédy">Montmédy</a> to <a href="/wiki/Sedan,_Ardennes" title="Sedan, Ardennes">Sedan</a> and Mézières and the <a href="/wiki/Fourth_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Fourth Army (France)">Fourth Army</a> was to be held back west of Verdun, ready to move east to attack the southern flank of a German invasion through Belgium or southwards against the northern flank of an attack through Lorraine. No formal provision was made for combined operations with the <a href="/wiki/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_I)" title="British Expeditionary Force (World War I)">British Expeditionary Force</a> (BEF) but joint arrangements had been made and in 1911 during the <a href="/wiki/Second_Moroccan_Crisis" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Moroccan Crisis">Second Moroccan Crisis</a> the French had been told that six divisions could be expected to operate around <a href="/wiki/Maubeuge" title="Maubeuge">Maubeuge</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001195–198_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001195–198-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Schlieffen–Moltke_Plan"><span id="Schlieffen.E2.80.93Moltke_Plan"></span>Schlieffen–Moltke Plan</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Schlieffen–Moltke Plan"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Schlieffen_Plan" title="Schlieffen Plan">Schlieffen Plan</a></div> <p>German strategy had given priority to offensive operations against France and a defensive posture against Russia since 1891. German planning was determined by numerical inferiority, the speed of mobilisation and concentration and the effect of the vast increase of the power of modern weapons. Frontal attacks were expected to be costly and protracted, leading to limited success, particularly after the French and Russians modernised their fortifications on the frontiers with Germany. <a href="/wiki/Alfred_von_Schlieffen" title="Alfred von Schlieffen">Alfred von Schlieffen</a>, Chief of the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">Imperial</a> <a href="/wiki/German_General_Staff" title="German General Staff">German General Staff</a>, <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Oberste_Heeresleitung" title="Oberste Heeresleitung">Oberste Heeresleitung</a></i></span> (OHL) from <span class="nowrap">1891–1906,</span> devised plans to evade the French frontier fortifications with an offensive on the flank, which would have a local numerical superiority and obtain rapidly a decisive victory. By 1906, such a manoeuvre was intended to pass through neutral Belgium and threaten Paris from the north.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001167–169_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001167–169-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Younger" title="Helmuth von Moltke the Younger">Helmuth von Moltke the Younger</a> succeeded Schlieffen in 1906 and was less certain that the French would conform to German assumptions. Moltke adapted the deployment and concentration plan, to accommodate an attack in the centre or an enveloping attack from both flanks as variants to the plan, by adding divisions to the left flank opposite the French frontier, from the <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1,700,000 men</span> expected to be mobilised in the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Westheer</i></span> (western army). The main German force would still advance through Belgium and attack southwards into France, the French armies would be enveloped on the left and pressed back over the Meuse, Aisne, Somme, Oise, Marne and Seine, unable to withdraw into central France. Either the French would be annihilated or the manoeuvre from the north would create conditions for victory in the centre or in Lorraine on the common border.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001190,_172–173,_178_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001190,_172–173,_178-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_the_Frontiers,_7_August_–_13_September"><span id="Battle_of_the_Frontiers.2C_7_August_.E2.80.93_13_September"></span>Battle of the Frontiers, 7 August – 13 September</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Battle of the Frontiers, 7 August – 13 September"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Frontiers" title="Battle of the Frontiers">Battle of the Frontiers</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fond_de_carte_1914.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Fond_de_carte_1914.svg/220px-Fond_de_carte_1914.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="171" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Fond_de_carte_1914.svg/330px-Fond_de_carte_1914.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Fond_de_carte_1914.svg/440px-Fond_de_carte_1914.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="930" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, 1914 (expandable)</div></figcaption></figure> <p>The Battle of the Frontiers is a general name for all of the operations of the French armies until the Battle of the Marne.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19227_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19227-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A series of <a href="/wiki/Meeting_engagement" title="Meeting engagement">encounter battles</a> began between the German, French and Belgian armies, on the German-French frontier and in southern Belgium on 4 August 1914. The <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Mulhouse" title="Battle of Mulhouse">Battle of Mulhouse</a> (Battle of Alsace <span class="nowrap">7–10 August</span>) was the first French offensive against Germany. The French captured Mulhouse until forced out by a German counter-attack on 11 August and fell back toward <a href="/wiki/Belfort" title="Belfort">Belfort</a>. The main French offensive, the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Lorraine" title="Battle of Lorraine">Battle of Lorraine</a> <span class="nowrap">(14–25 August)</span>, began with the Battles of <a href="/wiki/Morhange" title="Morhange">Morhange</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sarrebourg" title="Sarrebourg">Sarrebourg</a> (<span class="nowrap">14–20 August</span>) advances by the First Army on Sarrebourg and the Second Army towards Morhange. <a href="/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau-Salins" title="Château-Salins">Château-Salins</a> near Morhange was captured on 17 August and Sarrebourg the next day. The German <a href="/wiki/6th_Army_(German_Empire)" title="6th Army (German Empire)">6th Army</a> and <a href="/wiki/7th_Army_(German_Empire)" title="7th Army (German Empire)">7th Army</a> counter-attacked on 20 August and the Second Army was forced back from Morhange and the First Army was repulsed at Sarrebourg. The German armies crossed the border and advanced on Nancy but were stopped to the east of the city.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19227–8_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19227–8-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>To the south the French retook Mulhouse on 19 August and then withdrew. On 24 August, at the Battle of the <a href="/wiki/Mortagne_(river)" title="Mortagne (river)">Mortagne</a> <span class="nowrap">(14–25 August),</span> a limited German offensive in the Vosges, the Germans managed a small advance, before a French counter-attack retook the ground. By 20 August, a German counter-offensive in Lorraine had begun and the German <a href="/wiki/4th_Army_(German_Empire)" title="4th Army (German Empire)">4th Army</a> and <a href="/wiki/5th_Army_(German_Empire)" title="5th Army (German Empire)">5th Army</a> advanced through the Ardennes on 19 August towards <a href="/wiki/Neufch%C3%A2teau,_Luxembourg_Province" title="Neufchâteau, Luxembourg Province">Neufchâteau</a>. An offensive by French Third and Fourth Armies through the Ardennes began on 20 August, in support of the French invasion of Lorraine. The opposing armies met in thick fog and the French mistook the German troops for screening forces. On 22 August, the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ardennes" title="Battle of the Ardennes">Battle of the Ardennes</a> <span class="nowrap">(21–28 August)</span> began with French attacks, which were costly to both sides and forced the French into a disorderly retreat late on 23 August. The Third Army recoiled towards Verdun, pursued by the 5th Army and the Fourth Army retreated to Sedan and <a href="/wiki/Stenay" title="Stenay">Stenay</a>. Mulhouse was recaptured again by German forces and the Battle of the Meuse <span class="nowrap">(26–28 August),</span> caused a temporary halt of the German advance.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19228–9_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19228–9-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg/220px-Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="170" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg/330px-Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg/440px-Battle_of_Frontiers_-_Map.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1241" data-file-height="961" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Battle of the Frontiers, 1914 (expandable)</div></figcaption></figure> <p><a href="/wiki/Li%C3%A8ge" title="Liège">Liège</a> was occupied by the Germans on 7 August, the first units of the BEF landed in France and French troops crossed the German frontier. On 12 August, the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Haelen" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of Haelen">Battle of Haelen</a> was fought by German and Belgian cavalry and infantry and was a Belgian defensive success. The BEF completed its move of four divisions and a cavalry division to France on 16 August, as the last Belgian fort of the <a href="/wiki/Fortified_Position_of_Li%C3%A8ge" class="mw-redirect" title="Fortified Position of Liège">Fortified Position of Liège</a> surrendered. The Belgian government withdrew from Brussels on 18 August and the German army attacked the Belgian field army at the Battle of the Gete. Next day the Belgian army began to retire towards Antwerp, which left the route to Namur open; <a href="/wiki/Longwy" title="Longwy">Longwy</a> and Namur were besieged on 20 August. Further west the Fifth Army had concentrated on the Sambre by 20 August, facing north either side of <a href="/wiki/Charleroi" title="Charleroi">Charleroi</a> and east towards the Belgian <a href="/wiki/Fortified_Position_of_Namur" class="mw-redirect" title="Fortified Position of Namur">Fortified Position of Namur</a>. On the left, the Cavalry Corps (General <a href="/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Sordet" title="André Sordet">André Sordet</a>) linked with the BEF at <a href="/wiki/Mons,_Belgium" title="Mons, Belgium">Mons</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19227–8_16-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19227–8-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Fifth Army was confronted by the German <a href="/wiki/3rd_Army_(German_Empire)" title="3rd Army (German Empire)">3rd Army</a> and <a href="/wiki/2nd_Army_(German_Empire)" title="2nd Army (German Empire)">2nd Army</a> from the east and the north. Before the Fifth Army could attack over the Sambre the 2nd Army attacked at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Charleroi" title="Battle of Charleroi">Battle of Charleroi</a> and at Namur on 21 August. The 3rd Army crossed the Meuse and attacked the French right flank and on 23 August, the Fifth Army began a retirement southwards to avoid encirclement. After the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_St._Quentin_(1914)" title="Battle of St. Quentin (1914)">Battle of St. Quentin</a>, the French withdrawal continued. On 22 August, the BEF advanced and on 23 August fought the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Mons" title="Battle of Mons">Battle of Mons</a>, a delaying action against the German 1st Army, to protect the left flank of the French Fifth Army. The BEF was forced to retreat when the 1st Army began to overrun the British defences on the right flank and the Fifth Army retired from the area south of the Sambre, exposing the British right flank to envelopment. Namur capitulated on 25 August and a Belgian sortie from <a href="/wiki/National_redoubt_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="National redoubt of Belgium">Antwerp</a> led to the Battle of Malines <span class="nowrap">(25–27 August).</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19228–9_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19228–9-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After the French defeat during the Battle of Lorraine, the French Second Army retreated to the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Couronn%C3%A9" title="Grand Couronné">Grand Couronné</a> heights near Nancy and dug in, on an arc from <a href="/wiki/Pont-%C3%A0-Mousson" title="Pont-à-Mousson">Pont-à-Mousson</a> to <a href="/wiki/Champenoux" title="Champenoux">Champenoux</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lun%C3%A9ville" title="Lunéville">Lunéville</a> and <a href="/wiki/Dombasle-sur-Meurthe" title="Dombasle-sur-Meurthe">Dombasle-sur-Meurthe</a> by 3 September. The <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Couronn%C3%A9" title="Battle of Grand Couronné">Battle of Grand Couronné</a> (4–13 September) began next day, when the German 7th and 6th Armies attacked simultaneously at St. Dié and Nancy, as the Second Army sent reinforcements to the Third Army. Costly fighting continued until 12 September but the French were able to withdraw more than four corps to reinforce the armies on the left flank.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETyng200773_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETyng200773-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 13 September, Pont-à-Mousson and Lunéville were recaptured by the French and the advance continued close to the <a href="/wiki/Seille_(Moselle)" title="Seille (Moselle)">Seille</a> river, where the front stabilised. The battles kept a large number of German troops in Lorraine, as the Great Retreat further west culminated on the Marne.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke192210–11_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke192210–11-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Great_Retreat,_24_August_–_5_September"><span id="The_Great_Retreat.2C_24_August_.E2.80.93_5_September"></span>The Great Retreat, 24 August – 5 September</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: The Great Retreat, 24 August – 5 September"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Great_Retreat" title="Great Retreat">Great Retreat</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:German_and_Allied_positions,_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/German_and_Allied_positions%2C_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg/220px-German_and_Allied_positions%2C_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="182" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/German_and_Allied_positions%2C_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg/330px-German_and_Allied_positions%2C_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/German_and_Allied_positions%2C_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg/440px-German_and_Allied_positions%2C_23_August_-_5_September_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="732" data-file-height="606" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">German and Allied positions, 23 August – 5 September 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>The French Fifth Army fell back about 6.2 mi (10 km) from the Sambre during the Battle of Charleroi (22 August) and began a greater withdrawal from the area south of the Sambre on 23 August. The BEF fought the Battle of Mons on 24 August, by when the French First and Second armies had been pushed back by attacks of the German 7th and 6th armies between St. Dié and Nancy, the Third Army held positions east of Verdun against attacks by the 5th Army, the Fourth Army held positions from the junction with the Third Army south of Montmédy, westwards to Sedan, Mezières and <a href="/wiki/Fumay" title="Fumay">Fumay</a>, facing the 4th Army and the Fifth Army was between Fumay and Maubeuge, with the 3rd Army advancing up the Meuse valley from <a href="/wiki/Dinant" title="Dinant">Dinant</a> and <a href="/wiki/Givet" title="Givet">Givet</a> into a gap between the Fourth and Fifth Armies and the 2nd Army pressed forward into the angle between the Meuse and Sambre directly against the Fifth Army. On the far west flank of the French, the BEF prolonged the line from Maubeuge to <a href="/wiki/Valenciennes" title="Valenciennes">Valenciennes</a> against the 1st Army and Army Detachment <a href="/wiki/Hans_Hartwig_von_Beseler" title="Hans Hartwig von Beseler">von Beseler</a> masked the Belgian Army at Antwerp.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETyng2007128_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETyng2007128-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 26 August, German forces captured Valenciennes and conducted the <a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Maubeuge" title="Siege of Maubeuge">Siege of Maubeuge</a> <span class="nowrap">(24 August – 7 September).</span> <a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a> (Louvain) was sacked by German troops and the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Le_Cateau" title="Battle of Le Cateau">Battle of Le Cateau</a> was fought by the BEF and the 1st Army. Longwy was surrendered by its garrison and next day, British <a href="/wiki/Royal_Marines" title="Royal Marines">Royal Marines</a> and a party of the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Naval_Air_Service" title="Royal Naval Air Service">Royal Naval Air Service</a> (RNAS) landed at <a href="/wiki/Ostend" title="Ostend">Ostend</a>; <a href="/wiki/Lille" title="Lille">Lille</a> and Mezières were occupied by German troops. <a href="/wiki/Arras" title="Arras">Arras</a> was occupied on 27 August and a French counter-offensive began at the Battle of St. Quentin (also known as the Battle of Guise <span class="nowrap">29–30 August).</span> On 29 August the Fifth Army counter-attacked the 2nd Army south of the Oise, from <a href="/wiki/Vervins" title="Vervins">Vervins</a> to Mont Dorigny and west of the river from Mont Dorigny to Moy towards St. Quentin on the Somme, while the British held the line of the Oise west of <a href="/wiki/La_F%C3%A8re" title="La Fère">La Fère</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETyng2007154_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETyng2007154-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Laon" title="Laon">Laon</a>, La Fère and <a href="/wiki/Roye,_Somme" title="Roye, Somme">Roye</a> were captured by German troops on 30 August and <a href="/wiki/Amiens" title="Amiens">Amiens</a> the next day. On 1 September, <a href="/wiki/Craonne" title="Craonne">Craonne</a> and <a href="/wiki/Soissons" title="Soissons">Soissons</a> were captured and on 5 September the BEF ended its retreat from Mons, German troops reached Claye, 6.2 mi (10 km) from Paris, Reims was captured, German forces withdrew from Lille and the <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="First Battle of the Marne">First Battle of the Marne</a> (Battle of the Ourcq) <span class="nowrap">(5–12 September)</span> began, marking the end of the Great Retreat of the western flank of the Franco-British armies.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19229_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19229-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By 4 September, the First and Second Armies had slowed the advance of the 7th and 6th armies west of St. Dié and east of Nancy, from where the Second Army had withdrawn its left flank, to face north between Nancy and Toul. A gap between the left of the Second Army and the right of the Third Army at Verdun, which faced north-west, on a line towards <a href="/wiki/Revigny-sur-Ornain" title="Revigny-sur-Ornain">Revigny</a> against the 5th Army advance, west of the Meuse between <a href="/wiki/Varennes-en-Argonne" title="Varennes-en-Argonne">Varennes</a> and St. Ménéhould. The Fourth Army had withdrawn to <a href="/wiki/Sermaize-les-Bains" title="Sermaize-les-Bains">Sermaize</a>, west to the Marne at <a href="/wiki/Vitry-le-Fran%C3%A7ois" title="Vitry-le-François">Vitry-le-François</a> and then across the river to Sompons, against the 4th Army, which had advanced from <a href="/wiki/Rethel" title="Rethel">Rethel</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Suippes" title="Suippes">Suippes</a> and the west of <a href="/wiki/Ch%C3%A2lons-en-Champagne" title="Châlons-en-Champagne">Châlons</a>. The new <a href="/wiki/Ninth_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ninth Army (France)">Ninth Army</a> held a line from Mailly against the 3rd Army, which had advanced from Mézières, over the Vesle and the Marne west of Châlons. The 2nd Army had advanced from <a href="/wiki/Marle,_Aisne" title="Marle, Aisne">Marle</a> on the Serre, across the Aisne and the Vesle, between <a href="/wiki/Reims" title="Reims">Reims</a> and <a href="/wiki/Fismes" title="Fismes">Fismes</a> to Montmort, north of the junction of the Ninth and Fifth Armies at <a href="/wiki/S%C3%A9zanne" title="Sézanne">Sézanne</a>. The Fifth Army and the BEF had withdrawn south of the Oise, Serre, Aisne and Ourq, pursued by the 2nd Army on a line from Guise to Laon, Vailly and <a href="/wiki/Dormans" title="Dormans">Dormans</a> and by the 1st Army from <a href="/wiki/Montdidier,_Somme" title="Montdidier, Somme">Montdidier</a>, towards <a href="/wiki/Compi%C3%A8gne" title="Compiègne">Compiègne</a> and then south-east towards <a href="/wiki/Montmirail,_Marne" title="Montmirail, Marne">Montmirail</a>. The new French <a href="/wiki/Sixth_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sixth Army (France)">Sixth Army</a>, linked with the left of the BEF, west of the Marne at <a href="/wiki/Meaux" title="Meaux">Meaux</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Pontoise" title="Pontoise">Pontoise</a> north of Paris. French garrisons were besieged at Strasbourg, Metz, Thionville, Longwy, Montmédy and Maubeuge. The Belgian army was invested at Antwerp in the National Redoubt and at Liège, fortress troops continued the defence of the forts.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETyng2007173,_210_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETyng2007173,_210-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Eastern_Front">Eastern Front</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Eastern Front"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:EasternFront1914a.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/EasternFront1914a.jpg/220px-EasternFront1914a.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="170" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/EasternFront1914a.jpg/330px-EasternFront1914a.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/EasternFront1914a.jpg/440px-EasternFront1914a.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1242" data-file-height="961" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Eastern Front, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia on 28 July and on 1 August, military operations began on the Polish border. <a href="/wiki/Liep%C4%81ja" title="Liepāja">Libau</a> was bombarded by a German cruiser on 2 August and on 5 August Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary. On 6 August, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and Serbia declared war on Germany; war began between Montenegro and Germany on 8 August. The <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Stallup%C3%B6nen" title="Battle of Stallupönen">Battle of Stallupönen</a> (17 August) caused a minor check to the Russian invasion of East Prussia and on 12 August, Britain and France declared war on Austria-Hungary, as Austrian forces crossed the Save and seized Shabatz. Next day, Austrian forces crossed the Drina and began the first invasion of Serbia. The <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Cer" title="Battle of Cer">Battle of Cer</a> (Battle of the Jadar, <span class="nowrap">17–21 August)</span> began and the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Gumbinnen" title="Battle of Gumbinnen">Battle of Gumbinnen</a> in East Prussia took place from <span class="nowrap">19–20 August.</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19225–9_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19225–9-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 21 August, Austro-Hungarian forces withdrew from Serbia. The <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg" title="Battle of Tannenberg">Battle of Tannenberg</a> <span class="nowrap">(26–30 August)</span> began in East Prussia and in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Galicia" title="Battle of Galicia">Battle of Galicia</a> <span class="nowrap">(23 August – 11 September)</span> the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Kra%C5%9Bnik" title="Battle of Kraśnik">First Battle of Kraśnik</a> was fought in Poland from <span class="nowrap">23–25 August.</span> Shabatz was retaken by Serbian forces and the last Austrian troops retired across the Drina, ending the First Austrian Invasion of Serbia. The First Battle of Lemberg <span class="nowrap">(26–30 August)</span> began in Galicia and the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Komar%C3%B3w_(1914)" title="Battle of Komarów (1914)">Battle of Komarów</a> <span class="nowrap">(26 August – 2 September)</span> and the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Gnila_Lipa" title="Battle of Gnila Lipa">Battle of Gnila Lipa</a> <span class="nowrap">(26–30 August)</span> began in Poland. A naval action took place off <a href="/wiki/%C3%85land" title="Åland">Åland</a> and a German cruiser <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/SMS_Magdeburg" title="SMS Magdeburg">SMS Magdeburg</a></i></span> ran aground and was intercepted by a Russian squadron.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19225–9_24-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19225–9-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:EasternFront1914b.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/EasternFront1914b.jpg/220px-EasternFront1914b.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="170" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/EasternFront1914b.jpg/330px-EasternFront1914b.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/EasternFront1914b.jpg/440px-EasternFront1914b.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1242" data-file-height="961" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Silesia, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>On 3 September, Lemberg was captured by the Russian army and the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Rawa" title="Battle of Rawa">Battle of Rawa</a> (Battle of Tarnavka <span class="nowrap">7–9 September)</span> began in Galicia. The <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Masurian_Lakes" title="First Battle of the Masurian Lakes">First Battle of the Masurian Lakes</a> <span class="nowrap">(7–14 September)</span> began and on 8 September, the Austro-Hungarian army commenced the Second Invasion of Serbia, leading to the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Drina" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of Drina">Battle of Drina</a> <span class="nowrap">(6 September – 4 October).</span> The Second Battle of Lemberg <span class="nowrap">(8–11 September)</span> began and on 11 September, Austrian forces in Galicia retreated. The Battle of the Masurian Lakes ended on 15 September and Czernowitz in Bukovina was taken by the Russian army. On 17 September, Serbian forces in Syrmia were withdrawn and Semlin evacuated, as the Battle of the Drina ended. Next day General <a href="/wiki/Paul_von_Hindenburg" title="Paul von Hindenburg">Paul von Hindenburg</a> was appointed <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten</i></span> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Ober_Ost" title="Ober Ost">Ober Ost</a></i></span>, Commander-in-Chief of German Armies in the Eastern Theatre).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200799-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 21 September, Jaroslaw in Galicia was taken by the Russian army. On 24 September, <a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Przemy%C5%9Bl" title="Siege of Przemyśl">Przemyśl</a> was isolated by Russian forces, beginning the First Siege as Russian forces conducted the First Invasion of North Hungary <span class="nowrap">(24 September – 8 October).</span> Military operations began on the Niemen <span class="nowrap">(25–29 September)</span> but German attacks were suspended on 29 September. The retreat of Austro-Hungarian forces in Galicia ended and Maramaros-Sziget was captured by the Russian army; an Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive began on 4 October and Maramaros-Sziget was retaken. On 9 October, the First German Offensive against Warsaw began with the battles of Warsaw <span class="nowrap">(9–19 October)</span> and Ivangorod <span class="nowrap">(9–20 October).</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke192210–12_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke192210–12-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As the situation on the eastern front deteriorated in September, the new German high command under General Falkenhayn attempted to retrieve the situation in France and inflict a decisive defeat.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200799-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Tactical_developments">Tactical developments</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Tactical developments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Operations_in_Belgium,_August–October_1914"><span id="Operations_in_Belgium.2C_August.E2.80.93October_1914"></span>Operations in Belgium, August–October 1914</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Operations in Belgium, August–October 1914"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/German_invasion_of_Belgium_(1914)" title="German invasion of Belgium (1914)">German invasion of Belgium (1914)</a> and <a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Antwerp_(1914)" title="Siege of Antwerp (1914)">Siege of Antwerp (1914)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:German_advance_through_Belgium,_August_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/German_advance_through_Belgium%2C_August_1914.jpg/220px-German_advance_through_Belgium%2C_August_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="149" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/German_advance_through_Belgium%2C_August_1914.jpg/330px-German_advance_through_Belgium%2C_August_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/German_advance_through_Belgium%2C_August_1914.jpg/440px-German_advance_through_Belgium%2C_August_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="895" data-file-height="608" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">German invasion of Belgium, August 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>On 2 August 1914, the Belgian government refused the passage of German troops through Belgium to France and on the night of <span class="nowrap">3/4 August,</span> the Belgian General Staff ordered the Third Division to Liège to obstruct a German advance. Covered by the Third Division, the Liège fortress garrison, a screen of the Cavalry Division and detachments from Liège and Namur, the rest of the Belgian field army closed up to the river Gete by 4 August, covering central and western Belgium and the communications towards Antwerp. The German invasion began on 4 August, when an advanced force of six German brigades from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies, crossed the German-Belgian border. Belgian resistance and German fear of <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr"><a href="/wiki/Francs-tireurs" title="Francs-tireurs">Francs-tireurs</a></i></span>, led the Germans to implement a policy of <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Schrecklichkeit" title="Schrecklichkeit">Schrecklichkeit</a></i></span> (frightfulness) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion, in which massacres, executions, hostage taking and the burning of towns and villages took place and became known as the <a href="/wiki/Rape_of_Belgium" title="Rape of Belgium">Rape of Belgium</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETerraine199225_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETerraine199225-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 5 August, the advanced German forces tried to capture Liège and the forts of the Fortified Position of Liège by <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr"><a href="/wiki/Coup_de_main" title="Coup de main">coup de main</a></i></span>. The city fell on 6 August but the forts were not captured and on 12 August, five German super-heavy 420 mm (17 in) howitzers and four batteries of Austrian 305 mm (12.0 in) howitzers, began systematically to bombard the Belgian defences, until the last fort fell on 16 August.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001211_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001211-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 18 August, the Germans began to advance along the Meuse River towards Namur and the Belgian field army began a withdrawal from its positions along the Gete, to the National Redoubt at Antwerp. On 20 August, the German 1st Army took <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a> unopposed and the Belgian field army reached Antwerp, with little interference from German advanced parties, except for an engagement between the 1st Division and the German IX Corps near Tienen, in which the Belgians had <span class="nowrap">1,630 casualties.</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192634_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192634-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>While the BEF and the French armies conducted the Great Retreat into France <span class="nowrap">(24 August – 28 September),</span> small detachments of the Belgian, French and British armies conducted operations in Belgium against German cavalry and <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/J%C3%A4ger_(military)" class="mw-redirect" title="Jäger (military)">Jäger</a></i></span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192539–65_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192539–65-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 27 August, a squadron of the RNAS had flown to Ostend, for air reconnaissance sorties between <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a> and Ypres.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERaleigh1969371–374_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTERaleigh1969371–374-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> British marines landed at <a href="/wiki/Dunkirk" title="Dunkirk">Dunkirk</a> on the night of <span class="nowrap">19/20 September</span> and on 28 September occupied Lille. The rest of the brigade occupied <a href="/wiki/Cassel,_Nord" title="Cassel, Nord">Cassel</a> on 30 September and scouted the country in motor cars. An RNAS Armoured Car Section was created, by fitting vehicles with bullet-proof steel.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERaleigh1969375–390_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTERaleigh1969375–390-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECorbett2009168–170_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECorbett2009168–170-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 2 October, the Marine Brigade was moved to Antwerp, followed by the rest of the Naval Division on 6 October, having landed at Dunkirk on the night of <span class="nowrap">4/5 October.</span> From <span class="nowrap">6–7 October,</span> the 7th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division landed at <a href="/wiki/Zeebrugge" title="Zeebrugge">Zeebrugge</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925405_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925405-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Naval forces collected at Dover were formed into a separate unit, which became the <a href="/wiki/Dover_Patrol" title="Dover Patrol">Dover Patrol</a>, to operate in the Channel and off the French-Belgian coast.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECorbett2009170–202_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECorbett2009170–202-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg/220px-DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="171" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg/330px-DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg/440px-DEFENCE_OF_ANTWERP.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1106" data-file-height="862" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Fortified Region of Antwerp</div></figcaption></figure> <p>Antwerp was invested to the south and east by German forces after 20 August, while the main German armies chased the French and British over the border southwards to the Marne. Belgian forces in Antwerp tried to assist the French and British with sorties on <span class="nowrap">24–26 August,</span> <span class="nowrap">9–13 September</span> and <span class="nowrap">26–27 September.</span> On 28 September, German heavy and super-heavy artillery began to bombard Belgian fortifications around Antwerp.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005100–102_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005100–102-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 1 October, the Germans attacked forts <a href="/wiki/Sint-Katelijne-Waver" title="Sint-Katelijne-Waver">Sint-Katelijne-Waver</a> and Walem and the Bosbeek and Dorpveld redoubts, held by the 5th Reserve and Marine divisions. By <span class="nowrap">11:00 a.m.,</span> Fort Walem was severely damaged and Fort Lier was hit by 16 in (410 mm) shells but Fort Koningshooikt, the Tallabert and Bosbeek redoubts were mostly intact; the intervening ground between Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Dorpveld redoubt had been captured. Despite reinforcement by the Royal Naval Division from 2 October, the Germans penetrated the outer ring of forts. When the German advance began to compress a corridor from the west of the city along the Dutch border to the coast, the Belgian field army withdrew from Antwerp westwards towards the coast. On 9 October, the remaining garrison surrendered and the Germans occupied the city. Some British and Belgian troops escaped to the <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, where they were interned for the duration of the war. The Belgian withdrawal was protected by a French Marine brigade, Belgian cavalry and the British 7th Division around Ghent. On 15 October, the Belgian army occupied a defensive line along the Yser river in west Flanders, from Diksmuide to the coast.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="First_Battle_of_the_Marne,_5–12_September"><span id="First_Battle_of_the_Marne.2C_5.E2.80.9312_September"></span>First Battle of the Marne, 5–12 September</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: First Battle of the Marne, 5–12 September"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="First Battle of the Marne">First Battle of the Marne</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg/220px-Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="170" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg/330px-Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg/440px-Battle_of_the_Marne_-_Map.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1241" data-file-height="961" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Battle of the Marne, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>Joffre used the railways which had transported French troops to the German frontier to move troops back from Lorraine and Alsace to form a new Sixth Army under General <a href="/wiki/Michel-Joseph_Maunoury" title="Michel-Joseph Maunoury">Michel-Joseph Maunoury</a> with nine divisions and two cavalry divisions. By 10 September, twenty divisions and three cavalry divisions had been moved west from the German border to the French centre and left and the balance of force between the German <span class="nowrap">1st, 2nd and 3rd armies</span> and the Third, Fourth, Ninth, Fifth armies, the BEF and Sixth Army had changed to <span class="nowrap">44:56 divisions.</span> Late on 4 September, Joffre ordered the Sixth Army to attack eastwards over the Ourcq towards Château Thierry as the BEF advanced towards Montmirail and the Fifth Army attacked northwards, with its right flank protected by the Ninth Army along the St. Gond marshes. The French First, Second, Third and Fourth armies to the east, were to resist the attacks of the German <span class="nowrap">5th, 6th and 7th armies</span> between Verdun and Toul and repulse an enveloping attack on the defences south of Nancy from the north. The 6th and 7th armies were reinforced by heavy artillery from Metz and attacked again on 4 September along the Moselle.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001243–253_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001243–253-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 5 September, the Sixth Army advanced eastwards from Paris and met the German IV Reserve Corps, which had moved into the area that morning and stopped the French advance short of high ground north of Meaux. Overnight, the IV Reserve Corps withdrew to a better position 6.2 mi (10 km) east and French air reconnaissance observed German forces moving north to face the Sixth Army. General <a href="/wiki/Alexander_von_Kluck" title="Alexander von Kluck">Alexander von Kluck</a> the 1st Army commander, ordered the II Corps to move back to the north bank of the Marne, which began a redeployment of all four 1st Army corps to the north bank by 8 September. The swift move to the north bank prevented the Sixth Army from crossing the Ourcq but created a gap between the 1st and 2nd armies. The BEF advanced from <span class="nowrap">6–8 September,</span> crossed the Petit Morin, captured bridges over the Marne and established a bridgehead 5.0 mi (8 km) deep. The Fifth Army also advanced into the gap and by 8 September, had crossed the Petit Morin, which forced Bülow to withdraw the right flank of the 2nd Army. Next day the Fifth Army re-crossed the Marne and the German 1st and 2nd armies began to retire as the French Ninth, Fourth and Third Armies fought defensive battles against the 3rd Army which then had to retreat with the 1st and 2nd armies on 9 September.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200592–95_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200592–95-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Further east, the Third Army was forced back to the west of Verdun as German attacks were made on the Meuse Heights to the south-east but managed to maintain contact with Verdun and the Fourth Army to the west. German attacks against the Second Army south of Verdun from 5 September, almost forced the French to retreat but on 8 September, the crisis eased. By 10 September, the German armies west of Verdun were retreating towards the Aisne and the Franco-British were following-up, collecting stragglers and equipment. On 12 September, Joffre ordered an outflanking move to the west and an attack northwards by the Third Army, to cut off the German retreat. The pursuit was too slow and by 14 September, the German armies had dug in north of the Aisne and the Allies met trench lines, rather than rearguards. Frontal attacks by the Ninth, Fifth and Sixth armies were repulsed from <span class="nowrap">15–16 September,</span> which led Joffre to begin the transfer of the Second Army west to the left flank of the Sixth Army, the first phase of the operations to outflank the German armies, which from 17 September to <span class="nowrap">17–19 October,</span> moved the opposing armies through Picardy and Flanders, to the North Sea coast.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200595–98_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200595–98-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="First_Battle_of_the_Aisne,_13–28_September"><span id="First_Battle_of_the_Aisne.2C_13.E2.80.9328_September"></span>First Battle of the Aisne, 13–28 September</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: First Battle of the Aisne, 13–28 September"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Aisne" title="First Battle of the Aisne">First Battle of the Aisne</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Opposing_positions_5_September_(dashed_line)_13_September_(black_line).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Opposing_positions_5_September_%28dashed_line%29_13_September_%28black_line%29.jpg/290px-Opposing_positions_5_September_%28dashed_line%29_13_September_%28black_line%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="290" height="163" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Opposing_positions_5_September_%28dashed_line%29_13_September_%28black_line%29.jpg/435px-Opposing_positions_5_September_%28dashed_line%29_13_September_%28black_line%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Opposing_positions_5_September_%28dashed_line%29_13_September_%28black_line%29.jpg/580px-Opposing_positions_5_September_%28dashed_line%29_13_September_%28black_line%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="989" data-file-height="557" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Opposing positions: 5 September (dashed red line) 13 September (solid red line)</div></figcaption></figure> <p>On 10 September, the French armies and the BEF advanced to exploit the victory of the Marne and the armies on the left flank advanced, opposed only by rearguards. On <span class="nowrap">11 and 12 September,</span> Joffre ordered outflanking manoeuvres but the advance was too slow to catch the Germans, who on 14 September, began to dig in on high ground on the north bank of the Aisne, which reduced the French advance from <span class="nowrap">15–16 September</span> to a few local gains. French troops had begun to move westwards on 2 September, over undamaged railways which could move a corps to the left flank in from <span class="nowrap">5–6 days.</span> On 17 September, the French Sixth Army attacked from Soissons to Noyon, with the XIII and IV corps, supported by the 61st and 62nd divisions of the 6th Group of Reserve Divisions, after which the fighting moved north to <a href="/wiki/Lassigny" title="Lassigny">Lassigny</a> and the French dug in around <a href="/wiki/Nampcel" title="Nampcel">Nampcel</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926388_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926388-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The French Second Army arrived from the eastern flank and took over command of the left-hand corps of the Sixth Army, as indications appeared that German troops were also being moved from the eastern flank.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200597–99_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200597–99-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The German IX Reserve Corps arrived from Belgium by 15 September and next day attacked with the 1st Army to the south-west with the IV Corps and the 4th and 7th cavalry divisions, against the attempted French envelopment. The attack was cancelled and the corps withdrew behind the right flank of the 1st Army. The 2nd and 9th cavalry divisions were sent next day but the French attack reached <a href="/wiki/Carlepont" title="Carlepont">Carlepont</a> and Noyon, before being contained on 18 September. In the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Flirey" title="Battle of Flirey">Battle of Flirey</a>, the German armies attacked from Verdun west to Reims and the Aisne on 20 September, cut the main railway from Verdun to Paris and created the <a href="/wiki/St_Mihiel" class="mw-redirect" title="St Mihiel">St Mihiel</a> salient. The main German effort remained on the western flank, which the French discovered by intercepting wireless messages.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–401_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–401-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By 28 September, the Aisne front had stabilised and the BEF began to withdraw on the night of <span class="nowrap">1/2 October,</span> with the first troops arriving in the <a href="/wiki/Abbeville" title="Abbeville">Abbeville</a> area on <span class="nowrap">8/9 October.</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926407–408_44-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926407–408-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Prelude">Prelude</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Prelude"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="German_plan">German plan</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: German plan"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>After the defeat on the Marne, Moltke ordered a retirement to the Aisne by the 1st and 2nd armies on the German right wing and a withdrawal to Reims and a line eastwards past the north of Verdun, by the 3rd, 4th and 5th armies. The 6th and 7th armies were ordered to end their attacks and dig in.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200798_45-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200798-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The withdrawal was intended to make time for the 7th Army to be transferred from Alsace to the right-wing near the Oise but Franco-British attacks led to the 7th Army being sent to fill the gap between the 1st and 2nd armies instead. Moltke was replaced by Falkenhayn on 14 September, by when the 1st Army had reached the Aisne, with its right flank on the Oise and the 7th Army had assembled on the Aisne, between the 1st and 2nd armies. Further east the 3rd, 4th and 5th armies had dug in from <a href="/wiki/Prosnes" title="Prosnes">Prosnes</a> to Verdun, secure from frontal attacks. The 1st Army was still vulnerable on its northern flank, to attacks by French troops transferred from the south, which could be moved faster over undamaged railways, than German troops using lines damaged during the Great Retreat.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799_25-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200799-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> General <a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_Groener" title="Wilhelm Groener">Wilhelm Groener</a>, head of the Railway Department of the OHL, suggested three alternatives, a frontal attack from the new positions, a defence of the line of the Aisne while reserves were transferred to the right flank or to continue the withdrawal and comprehensively regroup the German armies, ready to conduct an offensive on the right flank.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 15 September, Falkenhayn wanted to continue the withdrawal and ordered the 1st Army to fall back and dig in from Artems to La Fère and <a href="/wiki/Nouvion-et-Catillon" title="Nouvion-et-Catillon">Nouvion-et-Catillon</a>, to protect the right flank from a French offensive, while the 6th Army moved from Lorraine to the western flank, ready for a general offensive to begin progressively on 18 September from the 5th Army in the east, pinning French troops down westwards, until the 6th Army enveloped the French, beyond the right of the 1st Army. The plan was cancelled soon afterwards, when <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Oberst</i></span> (Colonel) <a href="/wiki/Gerhard_Tappen" title="Gerhard Tappen">Gerhard Tappen</a> (OHL Operations Branch), reported from a tour of inspection at the front that the French were too exhausted to begin an offensive, that a final push would be decisive and that more withdrawals would compromise the morale of the German troops, after the defeat on the Marne.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100_46-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From <span class="nowrap">15–19 September</span> Falkenhayn ordered the 1st, 2nd and 7th armies, temporarily under the command of General <a href="/wiki/Karl_von_B%C3%BClow" title="Karl von Bülow">Karl von Bülow</a>, to attack southwards and the <span class="nowrap">3rd, 4th and 5th armies</span> to attack with the intention of weakening the French and preventing troops from being moved westwards. The 6th Army began to move to the western flank on 17 September, ready for a decisive battle (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Schlachtentscheidung</i></span>) but French attacks on 18 September, led Falkenhayn to order the 6th Army to operate defensively to secure the German flank.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="French_plan_of_attack">French plan of attack</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: French plan of attack"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>French attempts to advance after the German retirement to the Aisne were frustrated after 14 September, when German troops were discovered to have stopped their retirement and dug in on the north bank of the Aisne. Joffre ordered attacks on the German 1st and 2nd armies but attempts by the Fifth, Ninth and Sixth armies to advance from 15 to 16 September had little success. The <a href="/wiki/Deuxi%C3%A8me_Bureau" title="Deuxième Bureau">Deuxième Bureau</a> (French Military Intelligence) also reported German troop movements from east to west, which led Joffre to continue the transfer of French troops from the east, which had begun on 2 September with the IV Corps and continued on 9 September with the XX Corps, 11 September with the XIII Corps and the XIV Corps on 18 September. The depletion of the French forces in the east, took place just before the Battle of Flirey, a German attack on 20 September against the Third Army on either side of Verdun, the Fifth Army north of Reims and the Sixth Army along the Aisne, which ended with the creation of the St. Mihiel Salient. Joffre maintained the French emphasis on the western flank, after receiving intercepted wireless messages, showing that the Germans were moving an army to the western flank and continued to assemble the Second Army to the north of the Sixth Army. On 24 September the Second Army was attacked and found difficulty in holding ground, rather than advancing around the German flank as intended.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598–100_47-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598–100-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Battle">Battle</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Battle"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="First_phase,_25_September_–_4_October"><span id="First_phase.2C_25_September_.E2.80.93_4_October"></span>First phase, 25 September – 4 October</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: First phase, 25 September – 4 October"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_Picardy,_22–26_September"><span id="Battle_of_Picardy.2C_22.E2.80.9326_September"></span>Battle of Picardy, 22–26 September</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Battle of Picardy, 22–26 September"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Picardy" title="First Battle of Picardy">First Battle of Picardy</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Initial_moves,_Frano-German_Race_to_the_Sea,_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Initial_moves%2C_Frano-German_Race_to_the_Sea%2C_1914.jpg/220px-Initial_moves%2C_Frano-German_Race_to_the_Sea%2C_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="298" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Initial_moves%2C_Frano-German_Race_to_the_Sea%2C_1914.jpg/330px-Initial_moves%2C_Frano-German_Race_to_the_Sea%2C_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Initial_moves%2C_Frano-German_Race_to_the_Sea%2C_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="389" data-file-height="527" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Initial moves, Franco-German Race to the Sea, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>The French Sixth Army began to advance along the Oise, west of Compiègne on 17 September. French reconnaissance aircraft were grounded during bad weather and cavalry were exhausted, which deprived the French commanders of information. As news reached Joffre that two German corps were moving south from Antwerp, the Sixth Army was forced to end its advance and dig in around Nampcel and Roye. The IV and XIII corps were transferred to the Second Army, along with the 1st, 5th, 8th and 10th Cavalry divisions of the Cavalry Corps (General Louis Conneau), the XIV and XX Corps were withdrawn from the First and the original Second Army to assemble south of Amiens, with a screen of the 81st, 82nd, 84th and 88th Territorial divisions, to protect French communications. The French advanced on 22 September, on a line from Lassigny northwards to Roye and <a href="/wiki/Chaulnes" title="Chaulnes">Chaulnes</a> around the German flank but met the German <a href="/wiki/II_Corps_(German_Empire)" title="II Corps (German Empire)">II Corps</a>, which had arrived on the night of <span class="nowrap">18/19 September,</span> on the right flank of the <a href="/wiki/IX_Reserve_Corps_(German_Empire)" title="IX Reserve Corps (German Empire)">IX Reserve Corps</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599_48-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Despite the four divisions of the <a href="/wiki/II_Cavalry_Corps_(German_Empire)" title="II Cavalry Corps (German Empire)">II Cavalry Corps</a> (General <a href="/wiki/Georg_von_der_Marwitz" title="Georg von der Marwitz">Georg von der Marwitz</a>), the Germans were pushed back to a line from <a href="/wiki/Rib%C3%A9court-la-Tour" title="Ribécourt-la-Tour">Ribécourt</a> to Lassigny and Roye, which menaced German communications through <a href="/wiki/Ham,_Somme" title="Ham, Somme">Ham</a> and St. Quentin. On 24 September, the French were attacked by the XVIII Corps as it arrived from Reims, which forced back the French IV Corps at Roye on the right flank. To the north, the French reached <a href="/wiki/P%C3%A9ronne,_Somme" title="Péronne, Somme">Péronne</a> and formed a bridgehead on the east bank of the Somme, only for the German XIV Reserve Corps to reach <a href="/wiki/Bapaume" title="Bapaume">Bapaume</a> to the north on 26 September. The offensive capacity of the Second Army was exhausted and defensive positions were occupied, while Joffre sent four more corps to reinforce. Over the next week, the northern flank of the Second Army moved further north and on 29 September, a <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">subdivision d'armée</i></span> (General <a href="/wiki/Louis_de_Maud%27huy" title="Louis de Maud'huy">Louis de Maud'huy</a>) was formed, to control the northern corps of the Second Army as they assembled near Arras.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599–100_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599–100-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_Albert,_25–29_September"><span id="Battle_of_Albert.2C_25.E2.80.9329_September"></span>Battle of Albert, 25–29 September</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Battle of Albert, 25–29 September"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Albert_(1914)" title="Battle of Albert (1914)">Battle of Albert (1914)</a></div> <p>On 21 September, Falkenhayn decided to concentrate the 6th Army near Amiens, to attack westwards to the coast and then envelop the French northern flank south of the Somme. The offensive by the French Second Army forced Falkenhayn to divert the XXI and I Bavarian Corps as soon as they arrived, to extend the front northwards from Chaulnes to Péronne on 24 September and drive the French back over the Somme. On 26 September, the French Second Army dug in on a line from Lassigny to Roye and <a href="/wiki/Bray-sur-Somme" title="Bray-sur-Somme">Bray-sur-Somme</a>; German cavalry moved north to enable the II Bavarian Corps to occupy the ground north of the Somme. On 27 September, the German II Cavalry Corps drove back the 61st and 62nd Reserve divisions (General <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Brug%C3%A8re" title="Joseph Brugère">Joseph Brugère</a>, who had replaced General <a href="/wiki/Albert_d%27Amade" title="Albert d'Amade">Albert d'Amade</a>), to clear the front for the XIV Reserve Corps and link with the right flank of the II Bavarian Corps. The French <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">subdivision d'armée</i></span> began to assemble at Arras and Maud'huy found that instead of making another attempt to get around the German flank, the <i>subdivision</i> was menaced by a German offensive.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402_50-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The German II Bavarian and XIV Reserve corps pushed back a French Territorial division from Bapaume and advanced towards Bray-sur-Somme and Albert.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402_50-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From <span class="nowrap">25–27 September,</span> the French XXI and X Corps north of the Somme, with support on the right flank by the 81st, 82nd, 84th and 88th Territorial divisions and the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 10th Cavalry divisions of the French II Cavalry Corps, defended the approaches to Albert. On 28 September, the French were able to stop the German advance on a line from <a href="/wiki/Maricourt,_Somme" title="Maricourt, Somme">Maricourt</a> to <a href="/wiki/Fricourt" title="Fricourt">Fricourt</a> and <a href="/wiki/Thiepval" title="Thiepval">Thiepval</a>. The German II Cavalry Corps was stopped near Arras by the French cavalry. On 29 September, Joffre added X Corps, 12 mi (20 km) north of Amiens, to the French II Cavalry Corps south-east of Arras and a provisional corps (General <a href="/wiki/Victor_d%27Urbal" title="Victor d'Urbal">Victor d'Urbal</a>), which had a Reserve division in Arras and one in <a href="/wiki/Lens,_Pas-de-Calais" title="Lens, Pas-de-Calais">Lens</a>, to a new <a href="/wiki/Tenth_Army_(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tenth Army (France)">Tenth Army</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926402–403_51-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926402–403-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Second_phase,_4–15_October"><span id="Second_phase.2C_4.E2.80.9315_October"></span>Second phase, 4–15 October</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Second phase, 4–15 October"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="First_Battle_of_Arras,_1–4_October"><span id="First_Battle_of_Arras.2C_1.E2.80.934_October"></span>First Battle of Arras, 1–4 October</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: First Battle of Arras, 1–4 October"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1914)" title="Battle of Arras (1914)">Battle of Arras (1914)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Attacks_on_Arras,_October_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Attacks_on_Arras%2C_October_1914.jpg/220px-Attacks_on_Arras%2C_October_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="273" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Attacks_on_Arras%2C_October_1914.jpg/330px-Attacks_on_Arras%2C_October_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Attacks_on_Arras%2C_October_1914.jpg/440px-Attacks_on_Arras%2C_October_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="757" data-file-height="939" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Attacks on Arras, October 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>On 1 October, the French at Arras were pushed back from <a href="/wiki/Gu%C3%A9mappe" title="Guémappe">Guémappe</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wancourt" title="Wancourt">Wancourt</a> and <a href="/wiki/Monchy-le-Preux" title="Monchy-le-Preux">Monchy-le-Preux</a>, until the arrival of X Corps.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196_52-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By 1 October, two more French corps, three infantry and two cavalry divisions had been sent northwards to Amiens, Arras, Lens and Lille, which increased the Second Army to eight corps, along a front of 62 mi (100 km). Joffre ordered Castelnau to operate defensively, while Maud'huy and the <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">subdivision d'armée</i></span> advanced on Arras. On 28 September, Falkenhayn had ordered the 6th Army to conduct an offensive by the IV, Guard and I Bavarian corps near Arras and more offensives further north.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268_53-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>c<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Rupprecht intended to halt the French west of Arras and envelop them around the north side of the city.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268_53-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 1 October, the French attacked to the south-east, expecting only a cavalry screen.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926403–404_56-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926403–404-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Germans attacked from Arras to <a href="/wiki/Douai" title="Douai">Douai</a> on 1 October, forestalling the French. On 3 October, Rupprecht reinforced the 6th Army north of Arras and ordered the IV Cavalry Corps from Valenciennes to Lille. From 3 to 4 October, German attacks on Arras and the vicinity were costly failures. On 4 October, German troops entered Lens, <a href="/wiki/Souchez" title="Souchez">Souchez</a>, <a href="/wiki/Neuville-Saint-Vaast" title="Neuville-Saint-Vaast">Neuville-Saint-Vaast</a> and gained a footing on the <a href="/wiki/Notre_Dame_de_Lorette" title="Notre Dame de Lorette">Lorette Spur</a>. German attacks were made from the north of Arras to reach the <a href="/wiki/Scarpe_(river)" title="Scarpe (river)">Scarpe</a> but were eventually repulsed by X Corps.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196_52-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By 4 October, German troops had also reached <a href="/wiki/Givenchy-en-Gohelle" title="Givenchy-en-Gohelle">Givenchy-en-Gohelle</a> and on the right flank of the French further south, the Territorial divisions were separated from X Corps, prompting Castelnau and Maud'huy to recommend a retreat. Joffre made Maud'huy's <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">subdivision d'armée</i></span> independent as the Tenth Army and told Castelnau to keep the Second Army in position because the increasing number of troops arriving further north would divert German pressure.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268–269_57-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268–269-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By 6 October, the Second Army front from the Oise to the Somme and the Tenth Army front from Thiepval to Arras and Souchez had been stabilised.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405_58-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A German cavalry attack to the north of the 6th Army, pushed back the French Territorial divisions from Lens to Lille and on 5 October, Marwitz ordered the cavalry to advance westwards to Abbeville on the Channel coast and cut the railways leading south. At the end of 6 October, Falkenhayn terminated attempts by the 2nd Army to break through in Picardy. To the north, I Cavalry Corps and II Cavalry Corps attacked between Lens and Lille, quickly being forced back behind the Lorette Spur. The next day, the cavalry was attacked by the first troops of the French XXI Corps to arrive as they advanced eastwards from Béthune.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405_58-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Third_phase,_15_October–November"><span id="Third_phase.2C_15_October.E2.80.93November"></span>Third phase, 15 October–November</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Third phase, 15 October–November"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_La_Bassée,_10_October_–_2_November"><span id="Battle_of_La_Bass.C3.A9e.2C_10_October_.E2.80.93_2_November"></span>Battle of La Bassée, 10 October – 2 November</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Battle of La Bassée, 10 October – 2 November"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_La_Bass%C3%A9e" title="Battle of La Bassée">Battle of La Bassée</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee,_1915.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee%2C_1915.jpg/220px-Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee%2C_1915.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="299" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee%2C_1915.jpg/330px-Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee%2C_1915.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee%2C_1915.jpg/440px-Neuve_Chapelle_to_La_Bassee%2C_1915.jpg 2x" data-file-width="928" data-file-height="1263" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">La Bassée area, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>The German 6th Army took Lille before a British force could secure the town and the 4th Army attacked the exposed British flank at <a href="/wiki/Ypres" title="Ypres">Ypres</a>. On 9 October, the German XIV Corps arrived opposite the French and the German 1st and 2nd Cavalry corps tried a flanking move between <a href="/wiki/La_Bass%C3%A9e" title="La Bassée">La Bassée</a> and <a href="/wiki/Armenti%C3%A8res" title="Armentières">Armentières</a> but the French cavalry stopped the Germans north of La Bassée Canal. The German 4th Cavalry Corps passed through Ypres on 7 October and was forced back to <a href="/wiki/Bailleul,_Nord" title="Bailleul, Nord">Bailleul</a> by French Territorial troops.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192569–70_59-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192569–70-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From <span class="nowrap">8–9 October</span> the British II Corps arrived by rail at Abbeville and advanced on Béthune. By the end of 11 October, II Corps held a line from Béthune to <a href="/wiki/Hinges,_Pas-de-Calais" title="Hinges, Pas-de-Calais">Hinges</a> and <a href="/wiki/Chocques" title="Chocques">Chocques</a>, with flanking units on the right, 2.2 mi (3.5 km) south of Béthune and on the left 2.8 mi (4.5 km) to the west.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192568–71_60-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192568–71-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 12 October, II Corps attacked to reach <a href="/wiki/Givenchy-l%C3%A8s-la-Bass%C3%A9e" title="Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée">Givenchy</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hem,_Nord" title="Hem, Nord">Pont du Hem</a>, 3.7 mi (6 km) north of La Bassée Canal. The German I and II Cavalry corps and attached <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Jäger</i></span> tried to delay the advance but the British repulsed a counter-attack near Givenchy.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192577–81_61-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192577–81-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>From 14 to 15 October, II Corps attacked eastwards up La Bassée Canal and managed short advances on the flanks, with help from French cavalry but lost <span class="nowrap">967 casualties.</span> From <span class="nowrap">16–18 October</span> the corps attacks pivoted on the right and the left flank advanced to <a href="/wiki/Aubers" title="Aubers">Aubers</a> against German opposition at every ditch and bridge. A foothold was established on Aubers Ridge on 17 October and French cavalry captured <a href="/wiki/Fromelles" title="Fromelles">Fromelles</a>. On 18 October, the German XIII Corps arrived, reinforced the VII Corps and gradually forced the British II Corps to a halt. On 19 October, parties of British infantry and French cavalry captured the village of Le Pilly, which later was recaptured by the Germans. The fresh German 13th and 14th divisions arrived and counter-attacked the II Corps front. By 21 October, II Corps was ordered to dig in from the canal near Givenchy to <a href="/wiki/Violaines" title="Violaines">Violaines</a>, <a href="/wiki/Illies,_Nord" title="Illies, Nord">Illies</a>, <a href="/wiki/Herlies" title="Herlies">Herlies</a> and Riez, while offensive operations continued to the north. The <a href="/wiki/3rd_(Lahore)_Division" title="3rd (Lahore) Division">Lahore Division</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Indian_Corps" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian Corps">Indian Corps</a> arrived and the British repulsed German attacks until early November, when both sides concentrated their resources on the <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres" title="First Battle of Ypres">First Battle of Ypres</a> and the battle at La Bassée ended.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192581–87_62-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192581–87-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_Messines,_12_October_–_2_November"><span id="Battle_of_Messines.2C_12_October_.E2.80.93_2_November"></span>Battle of Messines, 12 October – 2 November</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Battle of Messines, 12 October – 2 November"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_(1914)" title="Battle of Messines (1914)">Battle of Messines (1914)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Messines_area,_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Messines_area%2C_1914.jpg/220px-Messines_area%2C_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Messines_area%2C_1914.jpg/330px-Messines_area%2C_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Messines_area%2C_1914.jpg/440px-Messines_area%2C_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1059" data-file-height="679" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Messines area, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>The III Corps reached <a href="/wiki/Saint-Omer" title="Saint-Omer">St. Omer</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hazebrouck" title="Hazebrouck">Hazebrouck</a> from <span class="nowrap">10–12 October,</span> then advanced eastwards towards Lille. The British cavalry advanced and found the Germans dug in on <a href="/wiki/Mont_des_Cats" title="Mont des Cats">Mont des Cats</a> and at <a href="/wiki/Fl%C3%AAtre" title="Flêtre">Flêtre</a> on the road from Cassel to Bailleul. The 3rd Cavalry Brigade attacked Mont des Cats and occupied Mt. Noir, 1.9 mi (3 km) north of Bailleul. On 14 October, the cavalry advanced north-eastwards, occupied <a href="/wiki/Dranoutre" class="mw-redirect" title="Dranoutre">Dranoutre</a> and <a href="/wiki/Heuvelland" title="Heuvelland">Kemmel</a> against slight opposition, then reached a line from Dranoutre to <a href="/wiki/Wijtschate" class="mw-redirect" title="Wijtschate">Wytschaete</a> (Wijtschate), linking with the 3rd Cavalry Division of IV Corps, which had been operating in Belgium since early October.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95_63-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 15 October, <a href="/wiki/Estaires" title="Estaires">Estaires</a> was captured by French cavalry but the Germans prevented an advance beyond <a href="/wiki/Comines,_Nord" title="Comines, Nord">Comines</a>, 3.4 mi (5.5 km) west of <a href="/wiki/Menen" title="Menen">Menin</a> (Menen), where German troops had arrived during the night. A foothold was gained at <a href="/wiki/Warneton" title="Warneton">Warneton</a> and German outposts west of the Ypres–Comines canal were pushed back to the far side. By 16 October, the Cavalry Corps and the 3rd Cavalry Division held the <a href="/wiki/Leie" class="mw-redirect" title="Leie">Lys</a> river from Armentières to Comines and the Comines canal to Ypres. The BEF was ordered to make a general advance on 16 October, as the German forces were falling back. The cavalry was ordered to cross the Lys between Armentières and Menin as the III Corps advanced north-east to gain touch with the 7th Division near Ypres.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104_64-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104-64"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Fog grounded <a href="/wiki/Royal_Flying_Corps" title="Royal Flying Corps">Royal Flying Corps</a> (RFC) reconnaissance aircraft and made artillery observation impossible. The Lys was 45–60 ft (14–18 m) wide and 5 ft (1.5 m) deep and flanked by water meadows.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104_64-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104-64"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The banks were cut by boggy streams and dykes, which kept the cavalry on the roads; German outposts were pushed back but dismounted cavalry attacks could not dislodge the German defenders and the cavalry in Warneton town were withdrawn during the night. The attack was resumed on 18 October, when the cavalry attacked from <a href="/wiki/De%C3%BBl%C3%A9mont" title="Deûlémont">Deûlémont</a> to Tenbrielen but made no progress against a strong and well-organised German defence, ending the day opposite Deûlémont in the south to the railway at Tenbrielen to the north. From <span class="nowrap">9–18 October,</span> the Cavalry Corps had <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 175 casualties.</span> The encounter battle ended and subsequent operations in the Battle of Messines took place after the end of the "Race to the Sea".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123_65-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123-65"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_Armentières,_13_October_–_2_November"><span id="Battle_of_Armenti.C3.A8res.2C_13_October_.E2.80.93_2_November"></span>Battle of Armentières, 13 October – 2 November</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Battle of Armentières, 13 October – 2 November"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Armenti%C3%A8res" title="Battle of Armentières">Battle of Armentières</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies,_19_October_1914.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies%2C_19_October_1914.png/220px-Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies%2C_19_October_1914.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="243" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies%2C_19_October_1914.png/330px-Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies%2C_19_October_1914.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies%2C_19_October_1914.png/440px-Locations_of_the_Allied_and_German_armies%2C_19_October_1914.png 2x" data-file-width="543" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Locations of the Allied and German armies, 19 October 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>On 11 October, the British III Corps comprising the 4th and 6th divisions arrived by rail at St. Omer and Hazebrouck and then advanced behind the left flank of II Corps, towards Bailleul and Armentières.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926408_66-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926408-66"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> II Corps was to advance around the north of Lille and III Corps was to reach a line from Armentières to Wytschaete, with the Cavalry Corps (Lieutenant-General <a href="/wiki/Edmund_Allenby,_1st_Viscount_Allenby" title="Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby">Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby</a>) on the left as far as Ypres. French troops were to relieve the II Corps at Béthune to move north and link with the right of III Corps but this did not occur. On the northern flank of III Corps, in front of the Cavalry Corps, was a line of hills from Mont des Cats to Mt. Kemmel, about 400 ft (120 m) above sea level, with spurs running south across the British line of advance, occupied by the German IV Cavalry Corps with three divisions. On 12 October, the British cavalry advanced and captured the Mont des Cats.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95_63-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 13 October, III Corps found German troops dug in along the Meterenbecque. A corps attack from La Couronne to Fontaine Houck began at <span class="nowrap">2:00 p.m.</span> in wet and misty weather and by evening had captured Outtersteene and <a href="/wiki/M%C3%A9teren" title="Méteren">Méteren</a>, at a cost of <span class="nowrap">708 casualties.</span> On the right, French cavalry attempted to support the attack but without howitzers, could not advance in level terrain, dotted with cottages used as improvised strong points. The German defenders slipped away from defences in front of houses, hedges and walls, well sighted to keep the soldiers invisible, dug earth having been scattered rather than used for a parapet, which would have been visible. III Corps was to attack the next German line of defence before German reinforcements could reach the scene. Rain and mist made air reconnaissance impossible on 14 October but patrols found that the Germans had fallen back beyond Bailleul and crossed the Lys.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98_67-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98-67"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>64<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Allied forces completed a continuous line to the North Sea when British cavalry and infantry reached a line from <a href="/wiki/Steenwerck" title="Steenwerck">Steenwerck</a>–Dranoutre, after a slow advance against German rearguards, in poor visibility and close country. III Corps closed up to the river at Sailly, Bac St. Maur, <a href="/wiki/Erquinghem-Lys" title="Erquinghem-Lys">Erquinghem</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nieppe" title="Nieppe">Pont de Nieppe</a>, linking with the cavalry at Romarin. On 16 October, the British secured the Lys crossings and late in the afternoon, German attacks began at <a href="/wiki/Diksmuide" title="Diksmuide">Diksmuide</a> and the next day the III Corps occupied Armentières. On 18 October, the III Corps was ordered to join an offensive by the BEF and the French army, by attacking down the Lys valley. Part of <a href="/wiki/P%C3%A9renchies" title="Pérenchies">Pérenchies</a> ridge was captured but much stronger German defences were encountered and the infantry were ordered to dig in.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98_67-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98-67"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>64<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On the night of <span class="nowrap">18/19 October,</span> the III Corps held a line from <a href="/wiki/Radinghem-en-Weppes" title="Radinghem-en-Weppes">Radinghem</a> to Pont Rouge, west of Lille. The encounter battle ended and subsequent operations in the Battle of Armentières took place after the end of the <i>Race to the Sea</i> during the First Battle of Ypres <span class="nowrap">(19 October – 22</span> November).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123_65-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123-65"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Aftermath">Aftermath</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Aftermath"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Analysis">Analysis</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Analysis"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:German_and_Allied_operations,_Artois_and_Flanders,_September-_November_1914.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/German_and_Allied_operations%2C_Artois_and_Flanders%2C_September-_November_1914.png/220px-German_and_Allied_operations%2C_Artois_and_Flanders%2C_September-_November_1914.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="356" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/German_and_Allied_operations%2C_Artois_and_Flanders%2C_September-_November_1914.png/330px-German_and_Allied_operations%2C_Artois_and_Flanders%2C_September-_November_1914.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/German_and_Allied_operations%2C_Artois_and_Flanders%2C_September-_November_1914.png 2x" data-file-width="371" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">German and Allied operations, Artois and Flanders, September–November 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>From 17 September to 17 October, the belligerents had made unsuccessful reciprocal attempts to turn the northern flank of their opponent. A German offensive began by 21 October but the 4th and 6th armies were only able to take small amounts of ground at great cost to both sides, at the Battle of the Yser <span class="nowrap">(16–31 October)</span> and further south at Ypres. Falkenhayn then attempted to achieve a limited goal of capturing Ypres and Mount Kemmel, in the First Battle of Ypres <span class="nowrap">(19 October – 22 November).</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005103–104_68-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005103–104-68"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>65<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By 8 November, Falkenhayn concluded that the attempt to advance along the coast had failed and that taking Ypres was impossible.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102–103_69-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102–103-69"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>66<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The French and Germans had not been able to assemble forces near the northern flank fast enough to obtain a decisive advantage. Where the opposing forces had attempted to advance, they had quickly been stopped and forced to improvise field defences, against which attacks were costly failures. By the end of the First Battle of Ypres both sides were exhausted, short of ammunition and suffering from collapses in morale and refusals of orders by some infantry units.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007104_70-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007104-70"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>67<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In October 1914, French and British artillery commanders met to discuss means for supporting infantry attacks, the British practice being to keep the artillery silent until targets were identified and the French firing a <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">rafale</i></span> (preliminary bombardment) which ceased as the infantry began the assault. A moving barrage of fire was proposed as a combination of both methods and became a standard practice later in the war as guns and ammunition were accumulated in sufficient quantity.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFarndale198671_71-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFarndale198671-71"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>68<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Falkenhayn issued memoranda on 7 and 25 January 1915, defining a theory of defensive warfare to be used on the Western Front, intended to enable ground to be held with the fewest possible troops. By economising on manpower in the west, a larger number of divisions could be sent to the Eastern Front.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17_72-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17-72"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>69<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The front line was to be fortified to enable its defence with small numbers of troops indefinitely and the captured ground was to be recovered by counter-attacks. A second trench was to be dug behind the front line, to shelter the trench garrison and to have easy access to the front line, through covered communication trenches. Should counter-attacks fail to recover the front trench, a rearward line was to be connected to the remaining parts of the front line, limiting the loss of ground to a bend (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Ausbeulung</i></span>) in the line, rather than a breakthrough. The building of the new defences took until the autumn of 1915 and confronted Franco-British offensives with an evolving system of field fortifications, which was able to absorb the increasing power and sophistication of breakthrough attempts.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17_72-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17-72"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>69<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin:0 0 1em 1em"> <caption>British casualties<br /><small>August–December 1914</small><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWar_Office1922253_73-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWar_Office1922253-73"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>70<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Month </th> <th>Losses </th></tr> <tr> <td>August</td> <td>14,409 </td></tr> <tr> <td>September</td> <td>15,189 </td></tr> <tr> <td>October</td> <td>30,192 </td></tr> <tr> <td>November</td> <td>24,785 </td></tr> <tr> <td>December</td> <td>11,079 </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>Total</b></td> <td><b>95,654</b> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>During the mobile operations of 1914, armies operating in hostile territory had relied on wireless communication to a far greater extent than anticipated, having expected to use telegraphs, telephones and dispatch riders. None of the armies had established cryptographic systems sufficient to prevent eavesdropping and all of the armies sent messages containing vital information in plain language. From September–November, the British and French intercepted <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 50 German</span> messages, which showed the disorganisation of the German command in mid-September and the gap between the 1st and 2nd armies on the eve of the Battle of the Marne. Similar plain language messages and the reading of crudely coded German messages, gave warnings to the British of the times, places and strengths of eight attacks by four German corps or more, during the Race to the Sea and the battles in Flanders.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFerris19924–5_74-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFerris19924–5-74"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>71<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Casualties">Casualties</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Casualties"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>By the end of the battles at Ypres, German army casualties in the west were <span class="nowrap">800,000 men,</span> including <span class="nowrap">116,000 dead.</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103–104_75-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103–104-75"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>72<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The French army casualty total from <span class="nowrap">October–November</span> was <span class="nowrap">125,000 men,</span> which, with losses of <span class="nowrap">329,000 men</span> from <span class="nowrap">August–September,</span> gave a total of <span class="nowrap">454,000 casualties</span> by the end of the year.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChurchill19381424_76-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChurchill19381424-76"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>73<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2001, Strachan recorded <span class="nowrap">80,000</span> German casualties at Ypres, <span class="nowrap">89,964 British</span> casualties since the beginning of the war, <span class="nowrap">(54,105 incurred</span> at Ypres) and that <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 50</span> per cent of the Belgian army had become casualties.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001278_77-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001278-77"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>74<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Subsequent_operations">Subsequent operations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Subsequent operations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="First_Battle_of_Flanders">First Battle of Flanders</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: First Battle of Flanders"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Battle_of_the_Yser,_18_October_–_30_November"><span id="Battle_of_the_Yser.2C_18_October_.E2.80.93_30_November"></span>Battle of the Yser, 18 October – 30 November</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Battle of the Yser, 18 October – 30 November"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Yser" title="Battle of the Yser">Battle of the Yser</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Franco-Belgian_littoral,_1914.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Franco-Belgian_littoral%2C_1914.png/220px-Franco-Belgian_littoral%2C_1914.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="149" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Franco-Belgian_littoral%2C_1914.png/330px-Franco-Belgian_littoral%2C_1914.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Franco-Belgian_littoral%2C_1914.png/440px-Franco-Belgian_littoral%2C_1914.png 2x" data-file-width="796" data-file-height="540" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Map of Yser area, 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>During the Allied retreat from Antwerp, the British IV Corps moved north of Ypres on 14 October, where I Corps arrived on 19 October, with cavalry covering a gap to the south of the town. The Battle of the Yser <span class="nowrap">(18 October – 30 November 1914)</span> was fought, along a 22 mi (35 km) stretch of the Yser river and Yperlee Canal in Belgium. Falkenhayn created a new 4th Army to capture Dunkirk and Calais to inflict an "annihilating blow".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102_78-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102-78"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>75<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The retreat of the Belgians to the Yser ended the "Race to the Sea", with the Belgians holding a 9.3 mi (15 km) front southwards from the coast and Belgian, French and British troops holding another 9.3 mi (15 km) beyond, the BEF holding 25 mi (40 km) and the Tenth Army holding another 16 mi (25 km) on the extreme right flank of the northern front.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103_37-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>German attacks began on 18 October and on 22 October German troops gained a foothold over the river at Tervaete. The French 42nd Division at Nieuwpoort was sent as reinforcements on 23 October, when the Belgians were pushed back between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort. German heavy artillery was countered on the coast by Allied ships under British command, which forced Germans to attack further inland.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESheldon201079_79-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESheldon201079-79"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>76<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 24 October, fifteen German attacks crossed the Yser for 3.1 mi (5 km) and the French sent the rest of the 42nd Division. By 26 October, the Belgian Commander General <a href="/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Wielemans" title="Félix Wielemans">Félix Wielemans</a>, had decided to retreat but French objections and orders from <a href="/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium" title="Albert I of Belgium">King Albert</a> led to a withdrawal being cancelled. The next day, the Belgians opened <a href="/wiki/Sluice" title="Sluice">sluice</a> gates on the coast at Nieuwpoort, flooding the area between the Yser and the railway embankment. On 30 October, a German attack crossed the embankment at Ramscapelle but was repulsed on the following evening; the inundations reduced the fighting to local operations.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001275–276_80-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001275–276-80"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>77<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="First_Battle_of_Ypres,_19_October_–_22_November"><span id="First_Battle_of_Ypres.2C_19_October_.E2.80.93_22_November"></span>First Battle of Ypres, 19 October – 22 November</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: First Battle of Ypres, 19 October – 22 November"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres" title="First Battle of Ypres">First Battle of Ypres</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Forces_at_Ypres,_October_1914.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Forces_at_Ypres%2C_October_1914.jpg/220px-Forces_at_Ypres%2C_October_1914.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="323" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Forces_at_Ypres%2C_October_1914.jpg/330px-Forces_at_Ypres%2C_October_1914.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Forces_at_Ypres%2C_October_1914.jpg/440px-Forces_at_Ypres%2C_October_1914.jpg 2x" data-file-width="757" data-file-height="1112" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Opposing forces at Ypres, October 1914</div></figcaption></figure> <p>The First Battle of Ypres (part of the First Battle of Flanders) began on 19 October, with attacks by the German 6th and 4th armies, as the BEF attacked towards Menin and <a href="/wiki/Roeselare" title="Roeselare">Roeselare</a> (Roulers). On 21 October, the 4th Army was repulsed in mutually costly fighting and from <span class="nowrap">23–24 October,</span> the Germans attacked on the Yser with the 4th Army and with the 6th Army to the south. French attacks by a new Eighth Army were made towards Roeselare and <a href="/wiki/Torhout" title="Torhout">Torhout</a> (Thourout), which diverted German troops from British and Belgian positions. A new German attack was planned where the 4th and 6th armies would pin down Allied troops and <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">armeegruppe von Fabeck</i></span> with six new divisions and more than <span class="nowrap">250 heavy</span> guns, attacked north-west between Messines and <a href="/wiki/Gheluvelt" class="mw-redirect" title="Gheluvelt">Gheluvelt</a>, against the British I Corps. The Germans took ground on the Menin road on 29 October and drove back the British cavalry next day, to a line 1.9 mi (3 km) from Ypres. Three French battalions were sent south and on 31 October, a British battalion counter-attacked and drove back the German troops from the Gheluvelt crossroads.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001276–277_81-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001276–277-81"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>78<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By 1 November, the BEF was close to exhaustion and the French XIV Corps was moved north from the Tenth Army and the French IX Corps attacked southwards towards Becelaere, which relieved the pressure on the British flanks. German attacks began to diminish on 3 November, by when <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">armeegruppe von Fabeck</i></span> had lost <span class="nowrap">17,250 casualties.</span> A French offensive was planned for 6 November towards <a href="/wiki/Langemark" title="Langemark">Langemarck</a> (Langemark) and Messines but was forestalled by German attacks from <span class="nowrap">5–8 November</span> and <span class="nowrap">10–11 November.</span> The main attack on 10 November was made by the 4th Army between Langemarck and Diksmuide, in which Diksmuide was lost by the Franco-Belgian garrison. Next day, the British were subjected to an unprecedented bombardment between Messines and <a href="/wiki/Polygon_Wood,_Zonnebeke" title="Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke">Polygon Wood</a> and then attacked by the <a href="/wiki/Gardes_du_Corps_(Prussia)" class="mw-redirect" title="Gardes du Corps (Prussia)">Prussian Guard</a>, which broke into British positions along the Menin road, before being forced back by counter-attacks.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001277–278_82-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001277–278-82"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>79<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From mid-October to early November, the German 4th Army lost <span class="nowrap">52,000 and</span> the 6th Army lost <span class="nowrap">28,000 casualties.</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103_83-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103-83"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>80<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Writers and historians have criticised the term Race to the Sea and used several date ranges for the period of mutual attempts to outflank the opposing armies, on their northern flanks. In 1925, <a href="/wiki/James_Edward_Edmonds" title="James Edward Edmonds">James Edmonds</a>, the British <a href="/wiki/Official_history" title="Official history">official historian</a>, used dates of <span class="nowrap">15 September</span> – <span class="nowrap">15 October</span> and in 1926 <span class="nowrap">17 September</span> – <span class="nowrap">19 October</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192527–100_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192527–100-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–408_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–408-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1929, Hermann Mertz von Quirnheim, the fifth volume of the German official history <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Der Weltkrieg</i></span>, described the progress of German outflanking attempts without labelling them.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMertz_von_Quirnheim192914_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMertz_von_Quirnheim192914-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2001, Strachan used <span class="nowrap">15 September</span> – <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> and in 2003, Clayton gave dates of <span class="nowrap">17 September</span> – <span class="nowrap">7 October</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001266–273_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001266–273-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClayton200359_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEClayton200359-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2005, Doughty used the period <span class="nowrap">17 September</span> – <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> and Foley from 17 September to a period between <span class="nowrap">10–21 October.</span><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2010 Sheldon placed the beginning of the "erroneously named" race from the end of the Battle of the Marne to the beginning of the Battle of the Yser.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESheldon2010x_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESheldon2010x-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">German armies are rendered in numerals: 7th Army and French armies in words: Second Army.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The I Cavalry Corps with the Guard and 4th Cavalry divisions, II Cavalry Corps with the 2nd, 7th and 9th Cavalry divisions and the IV Cavalry Corps of the 3rd, 6th and Bavarian Cavalry divisions.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926404_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926404-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Footnotes">Footnotes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Footnotes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 20em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192527–100-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192527–100_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 27–100.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–408-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–408_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, pp. 400–408.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMertz_von_Quirnheim192914-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMertz_von_Quirnheim192914_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMertz_von_Quirnheim1929">Mertz von Quirnheim 1929</a>, p. 14.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001266–273-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001266–273_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 266–273.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEClayton200359-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClayton200359_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFClayton2003">Clayton 2003</a>, p. 59.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, p. 98.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007101–102_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, pp. 101–102.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTESheldon2010x-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESheldon2010x_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFSheldon2010">Sheldon 2010</a>, p. x.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001194-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001194_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, p. 194.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001195–198-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001195–198_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 195–198.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001167–169-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001167–169_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 167–169.</span> </li> <li 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href="#CITEREFTyng2007">Tyng 2007</a>, p. 128.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTETyng2007154-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTETyng2007154_21-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFTyng2007">Tyng 2007</a>, p. 154.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19229-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19229_22-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFSkinnerStacke1922">Skinner & Stacke 1922</a>, p. 9.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTETyng2007173,_210-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTETyng2007173,_210_23-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFTyng2007">Tyng 2007</a>, pp. 173, 210.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19225–9-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESkinnerStacke19225–9_24-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a 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class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECorbett2009170–202_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFCorbett2009">Corbett 2009</a>, pp. 170–202.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005100–102-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005100–102_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 100–102.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103_37-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005102–103_37-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 102–103.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001243–253-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001243–253_38-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 243–253.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200592–95-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200592–95_39-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 92–95.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200595–98-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200595–98_40-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 95–98.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926388-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926388_41-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, p. 388.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200597–99-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200597–99_42-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 97–99.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–401-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926400–401_43-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, pp. 400–401.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926407–408-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926407–408_44-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, pp. 407–408.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200798-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200798_45-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, p. 98.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100_46-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley200799–100_46-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, pp. 99–100.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598–100-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200598–100_47-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 98–100.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599_48-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, p. 99.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599–100-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty200599–100_49-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 99–100.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402_50-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926401–402_50-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, pp. 401–402.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926402–403-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926402–403_51-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, pp. 402–403.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196_52-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMichelin19196_52-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMichelin1919">Michelin 1919</a>, p. 6.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268_53-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268_53-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, p. 268.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926404-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926404_54-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, p. 404.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926403–404-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926403–404_56-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, pp. 403–404.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268–269-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001268–269_57-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 268–269.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405_58-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926405_58-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, p. 405.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192569–70-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192569–70_59-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 69–70.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192568–71-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192568–71_60-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 68–71.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192577–81-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192577–81_61-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 77–81.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192581–87-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192581–87_62-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 81–87.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95_63-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192594–95_63-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 94–95.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104_64-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1925100–104_64-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 100–104.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123_65-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192598–123_65-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 98–123.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926408-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds1926408_66-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1926">Edmonds 1926</a>, p. 408.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98_67-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdmonds192595–98_67-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmonds1925">Edmonds 1925</a>, pp. 95–98.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005103–104-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoughty2005103–104_68-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDoughty2005">Doughty 2005</a>, pp. 103–104.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102–103-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102–103_69-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, pp. 102–103.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007104-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007104_70-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, p. 104.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFarndale198671-71"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFarndale198671_71-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFarndale1986">Farndale 1986</a>, p. 71.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17-72"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17_72-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWynne197615–17_72-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWynne1976">Wynne 1976</a>, pp. 15–17.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWar_Office1922253-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWar_Office1922253_73-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWar_Office1922">War Office 1922</a>, p. 253.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFerris19924–5-74"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFerris19924–5_74-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFerris1992">Ferris 1992</a>, pp. 4–5.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103–104-75"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103–104_75-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, pp. 103–104.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEChurchill19381424-76"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChurchill19381424_76-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFChurchill1938">Churchill 1938</a>, p. 1424.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001278-77"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001278_77-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, p. 278.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102-78"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007102_78-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, p. 102.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTESheldon201079-79"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESheldon201079_79-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFSheldon2010">Sheldon 2010</a>, p. 79.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001275–276-80"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001275–276_80-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 275–276.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001276–277-81"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001276–277_81-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 276–277.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001277–278-82"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStrachan2001277–278_82-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFStrachan2001">Strachan 2001</a>, pp. 277–278.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103-83"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFoley2007103_83-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFoley2007">Foley 2007</a>, p. 103.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMichelin1919" class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/arraslensdouaiba00cler"><i>Arras, Lens–Douai and the Battles of Artois</i></a> (English ed.). Clermont-Ferrand: Michelin & Cie. 1919. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/154114243">154114243</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 February</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Arras%2C+Lens%E2%80%93Douai+and+the+Battles+of+Artois&rft.place=Clermont-Ferrand&rft.edition=English&rft.pub=Michelin+%26+Cie&rft.date=1919&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F154114243&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Farraslensdouaiba00cler&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChurchill1938" class="citation book cs1">Churchill, W. S. (1938). <i>The World Crisis 1911–1918</i>. London: Odhams. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/4945014">4945014</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+World+Crisis+1911%E2%80%931918&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Odhams&rft.date=1938&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F4945014&rft.aulast=Churchill&rft.aufirst=W.+S.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFClayton2003" class="citation book cs1">Clayton, A. (2003). <i>Paths of Glory: The French Army 1914–18</i>. London: Cassell. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-304-35949-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-304-35949-3"><bdi>978-0-304-35949-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Paths+of+Glory%3A+The+French+Army+1914%E2%80%9318&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Cassell&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=978-0-304-35949-3&rft.aulast=Clayton&rft.aufirst=A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCorbett2009" class="citation book cs1">Corbett, J. S. (2009) [1938]. <i>Naval Operations</i>. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. I (2nd repr. Naval & Military Press ed.). London: Longman. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84342-489-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-84342-489-5"><bdi>978-1-84342-489-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Naval+Operations&rft.place=London&rft.series=History+of+the+Great+War+Based+on+Official+Documents+by+Direction+of+the+Historical+Section+of+the+Committee+of+Imperial+Defence&rft.edition=2nd+repr.+Naval+%26+Military+Press&rft.pub=Longman&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-1-84342-489-5&rft.aulast=Corbett&rft.aufirst=J.+S.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDoughty2005" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Robert_A._Doughty" title="Robert A. Doughty">Doughty, R. A.</a> (2005). <i>Pyrrhic victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War</i>. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674-01880-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-674-01880-8"><bdi>978-0-674-01880-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Pyrrhic+victory%3A+French+Strategy+and+Operations+in+the+Great+War&rft.place=Cambridge%2C+MA&rft.pub=Belknap+Press&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=978-0-674-01880-8&rft.aulast=Doughty&rft.aufirst=R.+A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEdmonds1926" class="citation book cs1">Edmonds, J. E. (1926). <i>Military Operations France and Belgium 1914: Mons, the Retreat to the Seine, the Marne and the Aisne August–October 1914</i>. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. I (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/58962523">58962523</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Military+Operations+France+and+Belgium+1914%3A+Mons%2C+the+Retreat+to+the+Seine%2C+the+Marne+and+the+Aisne+August%E2%80%93October+1914&rft.place=London&rft.series=History+of+the+Great+War+Based+on+Official+Documents+by+Direction+of+the+Historical+Section+of+the+Committee+of+Imperial+Defence&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Macmillan&rft.date=1926&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F58962523&rft.aulast=Edmonds&rft.aufirst=J.+E.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEdmonds1925" class="citation book cs1">Edmonds, J. E. (1925). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/3edmilitaryopera02edmouoft"><i>Military Operations France and Belgium, 1914: Antwerp, La Bassée, Armentières, Messines and Ypres October–November 1914</i></a>. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/220044986">220044986</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. London: Royal Artillery Institution. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-870114-00-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-870114-00-4"><bdi>978-1-870114-00-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Western+Front+1914%E2%80%9318&rft.place=London&rft.series=History+of+the+Royal+Regiment+of+Artillery&rft.pub=Royal+Artillery+Institution&rft.date=1986&rft.isbn=978-1-870114-00-4&rft.aulast=Farndale&rft.aufirst=M.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFerris1992" class="citation book cs1">Ferris, J. (1992). <i>The British Army and Signals Intelligence During the First World War</i>. Publications of the Army Records Society. 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A.</a> (1969) [1922]. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/warinairbeingst01rale"><i>The War in the Air: Being the Story of the Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force</i></a>. Vol. I (repr. Hamish Hamilton, London ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/785856329">785856329</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">27 May</span> 2014</span> – via Archive foundation.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+War+in+the+Air%3A+Being+the+Story+of+the+Part+played+in+the+Great+War+by+the+Royal+Air+Force&rft.place=Oxford&rft.edition=repr.+Hamish+Hamilton%2C+London&rft.pub=Clarendon+Press&rft.date=1969&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F785856329&rft.aulast=Raleigh&rft.aufirst=W.+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fwarinairbeingst01rale&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSheldon2010" class="citation book cs1">Sheldon, J. (2010). <i>The German Army at Ypres 1914</i> (1st ed.). Barnsley: Pen and Sword Military. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84884-113-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-84884-113-0"><bdi>978-1-84884-113-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+German+Army+at+Ypres+1914&rft.place=Barnsley&rft.edition=1st&rft.pub=Pen+and+Sword+Military&rft.date=2010&rft.isbn=978-1-84884-113-0&rft.aulast=Sheldon&rft.aufirst=J.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSkinnerStacke1922" class="citation book cs1">Skinner, H. T.; Stacke, H. Fitz M. (1922). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/principalevents100grea"><i>Principal Events 1914–1918</i></a>. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. London: <a href="/wiki/HMSO" class="mw-redirect" title="HMSO">HMSO</a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/17673086">17673086</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">7 February</span> 2014</span> – via Archive org.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Principal+Events+1914%E2%80%931918&rft.place=London&rft.series=History+of+the+Great+War+Based+on+Official+Documents+by+Direction+of+the+Historical+Section+of+the+Committee+of+Imperial+Defence&rft.pub=HMSO&rft.date=1922&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F17673086&rft.aulast=Skinner&rft.aufirst=H.+T.&rft.au=Stacke%2C+H.+Fitz+M.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fprincipalevents100grea&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWar_Office1922" class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/statisticsofmili00grea"><i>Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War, 1914–1920</i></a>. London: HMSO. 1922. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/610661991">610661991</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 January</span> 2014</span> – via Archive Foundation.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Statistics+of+the+Military+Effort+of+the+British+Empire+During+the+Great+War%2C+1914%E2%80%931920&rft.place=London&rft.pub=HMSO&rft.date=1922&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F610661991&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fstatisticsofmili00grea&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStrachan2001" class="citation book cs1">Strachan, H. (2001). <i>The First World War: To Arms</i>. Vol. I. Oxford: OUP. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-926191-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-926191-8"><bdi>978-0-19-926191-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+First+World+War%3A+To+Arms&rft.place=Oxford&rft.pub=OUP&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=978-0-19-926191-8&rft.aulast=Strachan&rft.aufirst=H.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTerraine1992" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/John_Terraine" title="John Terraine">Terraine, J.</a> (1992) [1980]. <i>The Smoke and the Fire: Myths and Anti-Myths of War, 1861–1945</i> (Leo Cooper ed.). London: Sidgwick & Jackson. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-85052-330-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-85052-330-0"><bdi>978-0-85052-330-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Smoke+and+the+Fire%3A+Myths+and+Anti-Myths+of+War%2C+1861%E2%80%931945&rft.place=London&rft.edition=Leo+Cooper&rft.pub=Sidgwick+%26+Jackson&rft.date=1992&rft.isbn=978-0-85052-330-0&rft.aulast=Terraine&rft.aufirst=J.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTyng2007" class="citation book cs1">Tyng, S. (2007) [1935]. <i>The Campaign of the Marne 1914</i> (Westholme ed.). New York: Longmans, Green and Co. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59416-042-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-59416-042-4"><bdi>978-1-59416-042-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Campaign+of+the+Marne+1914&rft.place=New+York&rft.edition=Westholme&rft.pub=Longmans%2C+Green+and+Co&rft.date=2007&rft.isbn=978-1-59416-042-4&rft.aulast=Tyng&rft.aufirst=S.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWynne1976" class="citation book cs1">Wynne, G. C. (1976) [1939]. <i>If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West</i> (Greenwood Press, NY ed.). Connecticut: Faber. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8371-5029-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8371-5029-1"><bdi>978-0-8371-5029-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=If+Germany+Attacks%3A+The+Battle+in+Depth+in+the+West&rft.place=Connecticut&rft.edition=Greenwood+Press%2C+NY&rft.pub=Faber&rft.date=1976&rft.isbn=978-0-8371-5029-1&rft.aulast=Wynne&rft.aufirst=G.+C.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239549316"><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEdmonds1922" class="citation book cs1">Edmonds, J. E. (1922). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/militaryoperatio01edmouoft"><i>Military Operations France and Belgium 1914: Mons, the Retreat to the Seine, the Marne and the Aisne August–October 1914</i></a>. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. I (1st ed.). London: Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/58962523">58962523</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">4 January</span> 2014</span> – via Archive org.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Military+Operations+France+and+Belgium+1914%3A+Mons%2C+the+Retreat+to+the+Seine%2C+the+Marne+and+the+Aisne+August%E2%80%93October+1914&rft.place=London&rft.series=History+of+the+Great+War+Based+on+Official+Documents+by+Direction+of+the+Historical+Section+of+the+Committee+of+Imperial+Defence&rft.edition=1st&rft.pub=Macmillan&rft.date=1922&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F58962523&rft.aulast=Edmonds&rft.aufirst=J.+E.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fmilitaryoperatio01edmouoft&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJerrold2009" class="citation book cs1">Jerrold, D. (2009) [1923]. <i>The Royal Naval Division</i> (repr. Naval & Military Press ed.). London: Hutchinson. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84342-261-7" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-84342-261-7"><bdi>978-1-84342-261-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Royal+Naval+Division&rft.place=London&rft.edition=repr.+Naval+%26+Military+Press&rft.pub=Hutchinson&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-1-84342-261-7&rft.aulast=Jerrold&rft.aufirst=D.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKluck1920" class="citation book cs1">Kluck, A. (1920). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/marchonparisbatt00klucuoft"><i>The March on Paris and the Battle of the Marne, 1914</i></a>. London: Edward Arnold. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/2513009">2513009</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 March</span> 2014</span> – via Archive org.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+March+on+Paris+and+the+Battle+of+the+Marne%2C+1914&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Edward+Arnold&rft.date=1920&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F2513009&rft.aulast=Kluck&rft.aufirst=A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fmarchonparisbatt00klucuoft&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/statisticsofmili00grea"><i>Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War, 1914–1920</i></a>. London: <a href="/wiki/HMSO" class="mw-redirect" title="HMSO">HMSO</a>. 1922. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/610661991">610661991</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 January</span> 2014</span> – via Archive org.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Statistics+of+the+Military+Effort+of+the+British+Empire+During+the+Great+War%2C+1914%E2%80%931920&rft.place=London&rft.pub=HMSO&rft.date=1922&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F610661991&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fstatisticsofmili00grea&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARace+to+the+Sea" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Race_to_the_Sea&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></a></span> Media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Race_to_the_Sea" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Race to the Sea">Race to the Sea</a> at Wikimedia Commons</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.carto1418.fr/anim-course-a-la-mer-mini.php">Animation of the Race to the Sea (French)</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="World_War_I" style=";wide;padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2" style="background-color:#C3D6EF;color:inherit;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:World_War_I" title="Template:World War I"><abbr title="View this template" style="color:inherit">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:World_War_I" title="Template talk:World War I"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:inherit">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:World_War_I" title="Special:EditPage/Template:World War I"><abbr title="Edit 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href="/wiki/Home_front_during_World_War_I" title="Home front during World War I">Home fronts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_War_I_memorials" title="World War I memorials">Memorials</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Opposition_to_World_War_I" title="Opposition to World War I">Opposition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_War_I_in_popular_culture" title="World War I in popular culture">Popular culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propaganda_in_World_War_I" title="Propaganda in World War I">Propaganda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_World_War_I_puppet_states" title="List of World War I puppet states">Puppet states</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_I" title="Technology during World War I">Technology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:left;">Theatres</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/European_theatre_of_World_War_I" title="European theatre of World War I">European</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Balkans_theatre" title="Balkans theatre">Balkans</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Serbian_campaign" title="Serbian campaign">Serbia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Eastern Front (World War I)">Eastern Front</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Romania_in_World_War_I" title="Romania in World War I">Romania</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italian_front_(World_War_I)" title="Italian front (World War I)">Italian Front</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Middle_Eastern_theatre_of_World_War_I" title="Middle Eastern theatre of World War I">Middle Eastern</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gallipoli_campaign" title="Gallipoli campaign">Gallipoli</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sinai_and_Palestine_campaign" title="Sinai and Palestine campaign">Sinai and Palestine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caucasus_campaign" title="Caucasus campaign">Caucasus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Persian_campaign_(World_War_I)" title="Persian campaign (World War I)">Persia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mesopotamian_campaign" title="Mesopotamian campaign">Mesopotamia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arab_Revolt" title="Arab Revolt">Hejaz & Levant</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/African_theatre_of_World_War_I" title="African theatre of World War I">African</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/South_West_Africa_campaign" title="South West Africa campaign">South West</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_African_campaign_(World_War_I)" title="East African campaign (World War I)">East</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kamerun_campaign" title="Kamerun campaign">Kamerun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Togoland_campaign" title="Togoland campaign">Togoland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_operations_in_North_Africa_during_World_War_I" title="Military operations in North Africa during World War I">North</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Asian_and_Pacific_theatre_of_World_War_I" title="Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I">Asian and Pacific</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Tsingtao" title="Siege of Tsingtao">Tsingtao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_German_Samoa" title="Occupation of German Samoa">German Samoa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Australian_occupation_of_German_New_Guinea" class="mw-redirect" title="Australian occupation of German New Guinea">German New Guinea</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Naval_warfare_of_World_War_I" title="Naval warfare of World War I">Naval warfare</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/U-boat_campaign" title="U-boat campaign">U-boat campaign</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Atlantic_U-boat_campaign_of_World_War_I" title="Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I">North Atlantic</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naval_warfare_in_the_Mediterranean_during_World_War_I" title="Naval warfare in the Mediterranean during World War I">Mediterranean</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:left;"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Principal<br />participants</div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I" title="Allies of World War I">Entente Powers</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Allied_leaders_of_World_War_I" title="Allied leaders of World War I">Leaders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belgium_in_World_War_I" title="Belgium in World War I">Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brazil_during_World_War_I" title="Brazil during World War I">Brazil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/China_during_World_War_I" title="China during World War I">China</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_Army_in_World_War_I" title="French Army in World War I">France</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/French_colonial_empire" title="French colonial empire">French Empire</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greece_during_World_War_I" title="Greece during World War I">Greece</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hejaz" title="Kingdom of Hejaz">Hejaz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_I" title="Military history of Italy during World War I">Italy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Japan_during_World_War_I" title="Japan during World War I">Japan</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Empire_of_Japan" title="Empire of Japan">Empire of Japan</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Montenegro#World_War_I" title="History of Montenegro">Montenegro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portugal_during_World_War_I" title="Portugal during World War I">Portuguese Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romania_in_World_War_I" title="Romania in World War I">Romania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russia_in_the_First_World_War" title="Russia in the First World War">Russia</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Russia_(1894%E2%80%931917)#Russia_at_war,_1914–1916" title="History of Russia (1894–1917)">Russian Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Republic" title="Russian Republic">Russian Republic</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Serbia#Serbia_in_World_War_I_(1914–1918)" title="History of Serbia">Serbia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siam_in_World_War_I" title="Siam in World War I">Siam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom_during_the_First_World_War" title="History of the United Kingdom during the First World War">United Kingdom</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_States_in_World_War_I" title="United States in World War I">United States</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Central_Powers" title="Central Powers">Central Powers</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Leaders_of_the_Central_Powers_of_World_War_I" title="Leaders of the Central Powers of World War I">Leaders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Austria-Hungary_during_World_War_I" title="History of Austria-Hungary during World War I">Austria-Hungary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ottoman_Empire_in_World_War_I" title="Ottoman Empire in World War I">Ottoman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bulgaria_during_World_War_I" title="Bulgaria during World War I">Bulgaria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Senussi_Campaign" class="mw-redirect" title="Senussi Campaign">Senussi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maritz_Rebellion" class="mw-redirect" title="Maritz Rebellion">South African Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Invasion_of_Darfur" title="Invasion of Darfur">Darfur</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_I" title="Timeline of World War I">Timeline</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Pre-War conflicts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War" title="Franco-Prussian War">Franco-Prussian War</a> (1870–71)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scramble_for_Africa" title="Scramble for Africa">Scramble for Africa</a> (1880–1914)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War" title="Russo-Japanese War">Russo-Japanese War</a> (1905)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Moroccan_Crisis" title="First Moroccan Crisis">Tangier Crisis</a> (1905–06)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bosnian_Crisis" title="Bosnian Crisis">Bosnian Crisis</a> (1908–09)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agadir_Crisis" title="Agadir Crisis">Agadir Crisis</a> (1911)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italo-Turkish_War" title="Italo-Turkish War">Italo-Turkish War</a> (1911–12)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Balkan_War" title="First Balkan War">First Balkan War</a> (1912–13)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Balkan_War" title="Second Balkan War">Second Balkan War</a> (1913)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Prelude</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_I" title="Causes of World War I">Origins</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Historiography_of_the_causes_of_World_War_I" title="Historiography of the causes of World War I">Historiography</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand" title="Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand">Sarajevo assassination</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anti-Serb_riots_in_Sarajevo" title="Anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo">Anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/July_Crisis" title="July Crisis">July Crisis</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">1914</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_invasion_of_Belgium_(1914)" title="German invasion of Belgium (1914)">German invasion of Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Frontiers" title="Battle of the Frontiers">Battle of the Frontiers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Cer" title="Battle of Cer">Battle of Cer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Galicia" title="Battle of Galicia">Battle of Galicia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_East_Prussia_(1914)" title="Russian invasion of East Prussia (1914)">Russian invasion of East Prussia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg" title="Battle of Tannenberg">Battle of Tannenberg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Tsingtao" title="Siege of Tsingtao">Siege of Tsingtao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Masurian_Lakes" title="First Battle of the Masurian Lakes">First Battle of the Masurian Lakes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Couronn%C3%A9" title="Battle of Grand Couronné">Battle of Grand Couronné</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="First Battle of the Marne">First Battle of the Marne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Przemy%C5%9Bl" title="Siege of Przemyśl">Siege of Przemyśl</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Race to the Sea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres" title="First Battle of Ypres">First Battle of Ypres</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Black_Sea_raid" title="Black Sea raid">Black Sea raid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Kolubara" title="Battle of Kolubara">Battle of Kolubara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Sarikamish" title="Battle of Sarikamish">Battle of Sarikamish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christmas_truce" title="Christmas truce">Christmas truce</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">1915</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Masurian_Lakes" title="Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes">Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_%C5%81om%C5%BCa" title="Battle of Łomża">Battle of Łomża</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Ypres" title="Second Battle of Ypres">Second Battle of Ypres</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania" title="Sinking of the RMS Lusitania">Sinking of the RMS <i>Lusitania</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gallipoli_campaign" title="Gallipoli campaign">Battle of Gallipoli</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Artois" title="Second Battle of Artois">Second Battle of Artois</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battles_of_the_Isonzo" title="Battles of the Isonzo">Battles of the Isonzo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gorlice%E2%80%93Tarn%C3%B3w_offensive" title="Gorlice–Tarnów offensive">Gorlice–Tarnów offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Retreat_(Russia)" title="Great Retreat (Russia)">Great Retreat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bug%E2%80%93Narew_Offensive" title="Bug–Narew Offensive">Bug-Narew Offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Novogeorgievsk" title="Siege of Novogeorgievsk">Siege of Novogeorgievsk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vistula%E2%80%93Bug_offensive" title="Vistula–Bug offensive">Vistula–Bug offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Champagne" title="Second Battle of Champagne">Second Battle of Champagne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kosovo_offensive_(1915)" title="Kosovo offensive (1915)">Kosovo offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Kut" title="Siege of Kut">Siege of Kut</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Loos" title="Battle of Loos">Battle of Loos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Robat_Karim" title="Battle of Robat Karim">Battle of Robat Karim</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">1916</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Erzurum_offensive" title="Erzurum offensive">Erzurum offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun" title="Battle of Verdun">Battle of Verdun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lake_Naroch_offensive" title="Lake Naroch offensive">Lake Naroch offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Asiago" title="Battle of Asiago">Battle of Asiago</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland" title="Battle of Jutland">Battle of Jutland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme" title="Battle of the Somme">Battle of the Somme</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_day_on_the_Somme" title="First day on the Somme">first day</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brusilov_offensive" title="Brusilov offensive">Brusilov offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baranovichi_offensive" title="Baranovichi offensive">Baranovichi offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Romani" title="Battle of Romani">Battle of Romani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monastir_offensive" title="Monastir offensive">Monastir offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Transylvania" title="Battle of Transylvania">Battle of Transylvania</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_I_(1917%E2%80%931918)" title="Timeline of World War I (1917–1918)">1917</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fall_of_Baghdad_(1917)" title="Fall of Baghdad (1917)">Capture of Baghdad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/February_Revolution" title="February Revolution">February Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zimmermann_telegram" title="Zimmermann telegram">Zimmermann telegram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917)" title="Battle of Arras (1917)">Second battle of Arras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_battle_of_the_Aisne" class="mw-redirect" title="Second battle of the Aisne">Second battle of the Aisne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kerensky_offensive" title="Kerensky offensive">Kerensky offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_M%C4%83r%C4%83%C8%99ti" title="Battle of Mărăști">Battle of Mărăști</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele" title="Battle of Passchendaele">Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_M%C4%83r%C4%83%C8%99e%C8%99ti" title="Battle of Mărășești">Battle of Mărășești</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Oituz" title="Third Battle of Oituz">Third Battle of Oituz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Caporetto" title="Battle of Caporetto">Battle of Caporetto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southern_Palestine_offensive" title="Southern Palestine offensive">Southern Palestine offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/October_Revolution" title="October Revolution">October Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_La_Malmaison" title="Battle of La Malmaison">Battle of La Malmaison</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Cambrai_(1917)" title="Battle of Cambrai (1917)">Battle of Cambrai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_of_Foc%C8%99ani" title="Armistice of Focșani">Armistice of Focșani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_between_Russia_and_the_Central_Powers" title="Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers">Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_I_(1917%E2%80%931918)" title="Timeline of World War I (1917–1918)">1918</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Operation_Faustschlag" title="Operation Faustschlag">Operation Faustschlag</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk" title="Treaty of Brest-Litovsk">Treaty of Brest-Litovsk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_spring_offensive" title="German spring offensive">German spring offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zeebrugge_Raid" title="Zeebrugge Raid">Zeebrugge Raid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1918)" title="Treaty of Bucharest (1918)">Treaty of Bucharest of 1918</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Goychay" title="Battle of Goychay">Battle of Goychay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Piave_River" title="Second Battle of the Piave River">Second Battle of the Piave River</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Marne" title="Second Battle of the Marne">Second Battle of the Marne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hundred_Days_Offensive" title="Hundred Days Offensive">Hundred Days Offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vardar_offensive" title="Vardar offensive">Vardar offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Megiddo_(1918)" title="Battle of Megiddo (1918)">Battle of Megiddo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Third_Transjordan_attack" title="Third Transjordan attack">Third Transjordan attack</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive" title="Meuse–Argonne offensive">Meuse–Argonne offensive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Vittorio_Veneto" title="Battle of Vittorio Veneto">Battle of Vittorio Veneto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_of_Salonica" title="Armistice of Salonica">Armistice of Salonica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_of_Mudros" title="Armistice of Mudros">Armistice of Mudros</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_of_Villa_Giusti" title="Armistice of Villa Giusti">Armistice of Villa Giusti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Romanian_campaign_of_World_War_I" title="Second Romanian campaign of World War I">Second Romanian campaign</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_of_11_November_1918" title="Armistice of 11 November 1918">Armistice with Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bollettino_della_Vittoria_Navale" title="Bollettino della Vittoria Navale">Naval Victory Bulletin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armistice_of_Belgrade" title="Armistice of Belgrade">Armistice of Belgrade</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Co-belligerent conflicts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Somaliland_campaign" title="Somaliland campaign">Somaliland campaign</a> (1900–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mexican_Revolution" title="Mexican Revolution">Mexican Revolution</a> (1910–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maritz_rebellion" title="Maritz rebellion">Maritz rebellion</a> (1914–15)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Muscat_rebellion" title="Muscat rebellion">Muscat rebellion</a> (1913–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zaian_War" title="Zaian War">Zaian War</a> (1914–1921)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kurdish_rebellions_during_World_War_I" title="Kurdish rebellions during World War I">Kurdish rebellions</a> (1914–1917)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ovambo_Uprising" title="Ovambo Uprising">Ovambo Uprising</a> (1914–1917)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kelantan_rebellion" title="Kelantan rebellion">Kelantan rebellion</a> (1915)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Senussi_campaign" title="Senussi campaign">Senussi campaign</a> (1915–1917)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Volta-Bani_War" title="Volta-Bani War">Volta-Bani War</a> (1915–1917)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_Protection_War" title="National Protection War">National Protection War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arab_Revolt" title="Arab Revolt">Arab Revolt</a> (1916–1918)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Asian_revolt_of_1916" title="Central Asian revolt of 1916">Central Asian Revolt</a> (1916–17)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Invasion_of_Darfur" title="Invasion of Darfur">Invasion of Darfur</a> (1916)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Easter_Rising" title="Easter Rising">Easter Rising</a> (1916)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kaocen_revolt" title="Kaocen revolt">Kaocen revolt</a> (1916–17)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Revolution" title="Russian Revolution">Russian Revolution</a> (1917)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Finnish_Civil_War" title="Finnish Civil War">Finnish Civil War</a> (1918)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Post-War conflicts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a> (1917–1921)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ukrainian%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Ukrainian–Soviet War">Ukrainian–Soviet War</a> (1917–1921)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armenian%E2%80%93Azerbaijani_war_(1918%E2%80%931920)" title="Armenian–Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)">Armenian–Azerbaijani War</a> (1918–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armeno-Georgian_War" title="Armeno-Georgian War">Armeno-Georgian War</a> (1918)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_Revolution_of_1918%E2%80%931919" class="mw-redirect" title="German Revolution of 1918–1919">German Revolution</a> (1918–19)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Revolutions_and_interventions_in_Hungary_(1918%E2%80%931920)" title="Revolutions and interventions in Hungary (1918–1920)">Revolutions and interventions in Hungary</a> (1918–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hungarian%E2%80%93Romanian_War" title="Hungarian–Romanian War">Hungarian–Romanian War</a> (1918–19)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_Poland_uprising_(1918%E2%80%931919)" title="Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919)">Greater Poland Uprising</a> (1918–19)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Estonian_War_of_Independence" title="Estonian War of Independence">Estonian War of Independence</a> (1918–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latvian_War_of_Independence" title="Latvian War of Independence">Latvian War of Independence</a> (1918–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Wars_of_Independence" title="Lithuanian Wars of Independence">Lithuanian Wars of Independence</a> (1918–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Ukrainian_War" title="Polish–Ukrainian War">Polish–Ukrainian War</a> (1918–19)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Third_Anglo-Afghan_War" title="Third Anglo-Afghan War">Third Anglo-Afghan War</a> (1919)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/1919_Egyptian_revolution" title="1919 Egyptian revolution">Egyptian Revolution</a> (1919)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_War" title="Polish–Lithuanian War">Polish–Lithuanian War</a> (1919–1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Polish–Soviet War">Polish–Soviet War</a> (1919–1921)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence" title="Irish War of Independence">Irish War of Independence</a> (1919–1921)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkish_War_of_Independence" title="Turkish War of Independence">Turkish War of Independence</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_during_the_Turkish_War_of_Independence" title="United Kingdom during the Turkish War of Independence">Anglo-Turkish War</a> (1918–1923)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Franco-Turkish_War" title="Franco-Turkish War">Franco-Turkish War</a> (1918–1921)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919%E2%80%931922)" title="Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)">Greco-Turkish War</a> (1919–1922)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkish%E2%80%93Armenian_War" title="Turkish–Armenian War">Turkish–Armenian War</a> (1920)</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iraqi_Revolt" title="Iraqi Revolt">Iraqi Revolt</a> (1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vlora_War" title="Vlora War">Vlora War</a> (1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Franco-Syrian_War" title="Franco-Syrian War">Franco-Syrian War</a> (1920)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_Army_invasion_of_Georgia" title="Red Army invasion of Georgia">Soviet–Georgian War</a> (1921)</li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;text-align:left;">Aspects</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Warfare</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aviation_in_World_War_I" title="Aviation in World War I">Aviation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_I" title="Strategic bombing during World War I">Strategic bombing</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chemical_weapons_in_World_War_I" title="Chemical weapons in World War I">Chemical weapons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_War_I_cryptography" title="World War I cryptography">Cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Horses_in_World_War_I" title="Horses in World War I">Horses</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Logistics_in_World_War_I" title="Logistics in World War I">Logistics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naval_warfare_of_World_War_I" title="Naval warfare of World War I">Naval warfare</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Convoys_in_World_War_I" title="Convoys in World War I">Convoy system</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trench_warfare" title="Trench warfare">Trench warfare</a></li></ul> </div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th id="Conscription" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Conscription</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/World_War_I_conscription_in_Australia" title="World War I conscription in Australia">Australia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conscription_Crisis_of_1917" title="Conscription Crisis of 1917">Canada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Seferberlik" title="Seferberlik">Ottoman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Recruitment_to_the_British_Army_during_World_War_I" title="Recruitment to the British Army during World War I">United Kingdom</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Conscription_Crisis_of_1918" title="Conscription Crisis of 1918">Ireland</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Selective_Service_Act_of_1917" title="Selective Service Act of 1917">United States</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/World_War_I_casualties" title="World War I casualties">Casualties</a> /<br />Civilian impact</div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>British casualties <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_British_parliamentarians_who_died_in_the_First_World_War" title="List of British parliamentarians who died in the First World War">Parliamentarians</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ottoman_casualties_of_World_War_I" title="Ottoman casualties of World War I">Ottoman casualties</a></li> <li>Sports <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_international_rugby_union_players_killed_in_World_War_I" title="List of international rugby union players killed in World War I">Rugby</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Olympians_killed_in_World_War_I" title="List of Olympians killed in World War I">Olympians</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Disease</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1899%E2%80%931923_cholera_pandemic" title="1899–1923 cholera pandemic">1899–1923 cholera pandemic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1915_typhus_and_relapsing_fever_epidemic_in_Serbia" title="1915 typhus and relapsing fever epidemic in Serbia">1915 typhus epidemic in Serbia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_flu" title="Spanish flu">Spanish flu</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Occupations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_occupation_of_Serbia" title="Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia">Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia</a></li> <li>Bulgarian occupations <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bulgarian_occupation_of_Albania" title="Bulgarian occupation of Albania">Albania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bulgarian_occupation_of_Serbia_(World_War_I)" title="Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World War I)">Serbia</a></li></ul></li> <li>German occupations <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Belgium_during_World_War_I" title="German occupation of Belgium during World War I">Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Luxembourg_during_World_War_I" title="German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I">Luxembourg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_north-east_France_during_World_War_I" title="German occupation of north-east France during World War I">Northeast France</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ober_Ost" title="Ober Ost">Ober Ost</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Occupied_Enemy_Territory_Administration" title="Occupied Enemy Territory Administration">Occupied Enemy Territory Administration</a></li> <li>Russian occupations <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Russian_occupation_of_Eastern_Galicia_(1914%E2%80%931915)" title="Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia (1914–1915)">Eastern Galicia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_Western_Armenia" title="Occupation of Western Armenia">Western Armenia</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Prisoners_of_war_in_World_War_I" title="Prisoners of war in World War I">POWs</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>Germans <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_United_States" title="German prisoners of war in the United States">in the United States</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italian_prisoners_of_war_in_World_War_I" title="Italian prisoners of war in World War I">Italians</a></li> <li>POW locations <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_World_War_I_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_Canada" title="List of World War I prisoner-of-war camps in Canada">Canada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_War_I_prisoners_of_war_in_Germany" title="World War I prisoners of war in Germany">Germany</a> / <a href="/wiki/German_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_World_War_I" title="German prisoner-of-war camps in World War I">camps</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prisoner_of_war_camps_in_Switzerland_during_World_War_I" title="Prisoner of war camps in Switzerland during World War I">Switzerland</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Refugees_of_World_War_I" title="Refugees of World War I">Refugees</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>Belgian refugees <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Belgian_refugees_in_the_Netherlands_during_the_First_World_War" title="Belgian refugees in the Netherlands during the First World War">Netherlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belgian_refugees_in_Britain_during_the_First_World_War" title="Belgian refugees in Britain during the First World War">United Kingdom</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/War_crimes_in_World_War_I" title="War crimes in World War I">War crimes</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>Allied blockades <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Blockade_of_the_Eastern_Mediterranean" title="Blockade of the Eastern Mediterranean">Eastern Mediterranean</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Great_Famine_of_Mount_Lebanon" title="Great Famine of Mount Lebanon">Mount Lebanon famine</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blockade_of_Germany_(1914%E2%80%931919)" title="Blockade of Germany (1914–1919)">Germany</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deportations_from_East_Prussia_during_World_War_I" title="Deportations from East Prussia during World War I">Deportations from East Prussia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Destruction_of_Kalisz" title="Destruction of Kalisz">Destruction of Kalisz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sack_of_Dinant" title="Sack of Dinant">Sack of Dinant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Late_Ottoman_genocides" title="Late Ottoman genocides">Late Ottoman genocides</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Armenian_genocide" title="Armenian genocide">Armenian genocide</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sayfo" title="Sayfo">Assyrian genocide (Sayfo)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greek_genocide" title="Greek genocide">Pontic Greek genocide</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rape_of_Belgium" title="Rape of Belgium">Rape of Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Asian_revolt_of_1916" title="Central Asian revolt of 1916">Urkun (Kyrgyzstan)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Massacres_of_Albanians_in_World_War_I" title="Massacres of Albanians in World War I">Massacres of Albanians</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_Canadian_internment" title="Ukrainian Canadian internment">Ukrainian Canadian internment</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Diplomatic_history_of_World_War_I" title="Diplomatic history of World War I">Diplomacy</a></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0;;wide"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Entry into the war</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_entry_into_World_War_I" title="Austro-Hungarian entry into World War I">Austria-Hungary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_entry_into_World_War_I" title="French entry into World War I">France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_entry_into_World_War_I" title="German entry into World War I">Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italian_entry_into_World_War_I" title="Italian entry into World War I">Italy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Japanese_entry_into_World_War_I" title="Japanese entry into World War I">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ottoman_entry_into_World_War_I" title="Ottoman entry into World War I">Ottoman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_entry_into_World_War_I" title="Russian entry into World War I">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_entry_into_World_War_I" title="British entry into World War I">United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I" title="American entry into World War I">United States</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Declarations_of_war_during_World_War_I" title="Declarations of war during World War I">Declarations of war</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/To_my_peoples" title="To my peoples">Austria-Hungary against Serbia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_declaration_of_war_upon_Germany_(1914)" title="United Kingdom declaration of war upon Germany (1914)">UK against Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ottoman_Empire_in_World_War_I#Declaration_of_jihad" title="Ottoman Empire in World War I">Ottomans against the Triple Entente</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_States_declaration_of_war_on_Germany_(1917)" title="United States declaration of war on Germany (1917)">USA against Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_States_declaration_of_war_on_Austria-Hungary" title="United States declaration of war on Austria-Hungary">USA against Austria-Hungary</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Agreements</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Constantinople_Agreement" title="Constantinople Agreement">Constantinople Agreement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_London_(1915)" title="Treaty of London (1915)">Treaty of London</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Damascus_Protocol" title="Damascus Protocol">Damascus Protocol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bulgaria%E2%80%93Germany_treaty_(1915)" title="Bulgaria–Germany treaty (1915)">Bulgaria–Germany treaty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Darin" title="Treaty of Darin">Treaty of Darin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement" title="Sykes–Picot Agreement">Sykes–Picot Agreement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sazonov%E2%80%93Pal%C3%A9ologue_Agreement" title="Sazonov–Paléologue Agreement">Sazonov–Paléologue Agreement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paris_Economy_Pact" title="Paris Economy Pact">Paris Economy Pact</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1916)" title="Treaty of Bucharest (1916)">Treaty of Bucharest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agreement_of_Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne" title="Agreement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne">Agreement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Peace treaties</div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Modus_vivendi_of_Acroma" title="Modus vivendi of Acroma">Modus vivendi of Acroma</a></li> <li>Treaties of Brest-Litovsk <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk" title="Treaty of Brest-Litovsk">Russia–Central Powers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk_(Ukraine%E2%80%93Central_Powers)" title="Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Ukraine–Central Powers)">Ukraine–Central Powers</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1918)" title="Treaty of Bucharest (1918)">Treaty of Bucharest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paris_Peace_Conference_(1919%E2%80%931920)" title="Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)">Paris Peace Conference</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Saint-Germain-en-Laye_(1919)" title="Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)">Treaty of St. Germain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Neuilly-sur-Seine" title="Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine">Treaty of Neuilly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Trianon" title="Treaty of Trianon">Treaty of Trianon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_S%C3%A8vres" title="Treaty of Sèvres">Treaty of Sèvres</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne" title="Treaty of Lausanne">Treaty of Lausanne</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em;background-color:#DCDCDC;color:inherit;font-weight:normal;">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a 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