RACE TO THE SEA 17 SEPTEMBER – 30 NOVEMBER 1914

The term ‘race to the sea’ during the opening months of World War I is something of a misnomer. Rather than a race, the series of movements by the opposing German and Allied armies involved attempts by each side to turn the northern flank of its enemy. Following the opening Battle of the Frontiers in August and September 1914, the German offensive into France was stopped during desperate fighting at the First Battle of the Marne from 5-12 September and during the British-French counteroffensive that resulted in the Battle of the Aisne through the end of the month.

“EMPHASIS ON MOVING TO THE WEST AND NORTH INTENSIFIED, RESULTING IN THE “RACE” AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRENCH WARFARE”

Four weeks of northward manoeuvres continued, leading to a series of encounter battles that ended in late-October with the two sides still opposing one another, although their disputed northern flanks were anchored on the coast of the North Sea. After the German defeat at the Marne, General Erich von Falkenhayn ordered much of his command to dig in along the Aisne to protect his right flank, while additional troops were moved west in preparation for a renewed offensive to turn the French left. This plan was discarded in favour of a general offensive with three armies attacking to the south, while a fourth executed a westward march to hit the enemy flank.

French attacks beginning on 18 September disrupted the German offensive, and Field Marshal Joseph Joffre altered his initial plan for a counteroffensive when the Germans