The Marne: The Battle That Saved Paris and Changed the Course of the First World War (Prion Lost Treasures) [Paperback]

Georges Blond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | Series: Prion Lost Treasures

One of the decisive battles of the 20th century began on August 29, 1914 with the cry that echoed throughout France: “The Prussians are coming!” It ended on September 10th, that same year. Earlier, more than a million German troops—five massive armies—poured into Belgium and France. The French army began the biggest retreat in its history, and Germany seemed about to triumph. But the German right wing, instead of wheeling to the east of Paris, as the famous Schlieffen Plan required, crossed to the west of Paris, exposing its anks. The counterattack was led from Paris, using the city’s taxi eets in a famous dash to take soldiers to the front. The German plan was thwarted, and the Kaiser’s army was forced to retreat. It was an astonishing and costly victory: over 300,000 French soldiers died. As stirring as a novel, The Marne is a classic of military history.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

French commander Joseph Joffre reputedly said of 1914's Battle of the Marne that he did not know who won it but knew who would be blamed if the French had lost. A sprawling series of slugfests, the battle's narrative parts have produced colorful vignettes--the famous Paris taxis rushing troops to the front--and a fateful delegation of authority to a German colonel, who initiated the collapse of German strategy by sounding the retreat. These anecdotes are prominent in this history of the battle by a French author, who, writing in the early 1960s, embroidered it with his childhood memory of the look of French soldiery, archaic even at that time in its red pantaloons and blue tunics. Blond also textures the work with the campaign and death of an individual French soldier, one Charles Peguy, to display the toil and toll of fighting World War I's opening salvos. A dramatic composition, conversant rather than lecturing, Blond's work will tap into readers of Barbara Tuchman's enduring The Guns of August (1962). Gilbert Taylor
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From the Publisher

One of the decisive battles of the 20th century began on August 29, 1914 with the cry that echoed throughout France: “The Prussians are coming!” It ended on September 10th, that same year. Earlier, more than a million German troops—five massive armies—poured into Belgium and France. The French army began the biggest retreat in its history, and Germany seemed about to triumph. But the German right wing, instead of wheeling to the east of Paris, as the famous Schlieffen Plan required, crossed to the west of Paris, exposing its flanks. The counterattack was led from Paris, using the city’s taxi fleets in a famous dash to take soldiers to the front. The German plan was thwarted, and the Kaiser’s army was forced to retreat. It was an astonishing and costly victory: over 300,000 French soldiers died. As stirring as a novel, The Marne is a classic of military history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Prion (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185375479X
• ISBN-13: 978-1853754791
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)