Etrepilly

The previous attack on Etrepilly having been repulsed. General Quiquandon ordered the 4th Batallion of the 2nd bis RMZ to attack the village at night. This lock had to be blown up to open a passage in the Therouanne valley, and thus threaten the German artilleiy positions. Around 8 pm, …

1914-09-07

33

The previous attack on Etrepilly having been repulsed. General Quiquandon ordered the 4th Batallion of the 2nd bis RMZ to attack the village at night. This lock had to be blown up to open a passage in the Therouanne valley, and thus threaten the German artilleiy positions. Around 8 pm, after a French bombardment, the Zouaves rush into the village. After some street fighting, they climb the heights and arrive on the plateau, overlooking the village. Facing the cemetery of Etrepiliy, the battle is lit by the gleams of fire from a hangar which reveals to the Germans the weakness of the French forces. They counterattack! The combat is fierce, often hand-to-hand. Around 10 pm, the French must fall back and evacuate the village, leaving it to the Germans. The next day the front freezes and Etrepilly is evacuated by the German troops and the German artillery retreats. On September 10, the French troops set off again in pursuit of von Kluck’s army.

Etrepilly, France

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris. Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), began to plan for a full British retreat to port cities on the English Channel for an immediate evacuation. The military governor of Paris, Joseph Simon Gallieni, wanted the Franco–British units to counter-attack the Germans along the Marne River and halt the German advance. Allied reserves would restore the ranks and attack the German flanks. On 5 September, the counter-offensive by six French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) began.

Wikipedia: First Battle of the Marne

German

French