End of the Battle of the Meuse
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Western Front
- Date:
- 28 August 1914
- Author:
- Natalia
- Battle:
- Battle of the Meuse
- Tags:
- France, Germany, Fernand de Langle de Cary
On 28 August 1914, according to a British chronicle of the war, the Battle of the Meuse came to an end. For several days the French 4th Army of General Fernand de Langle de Cary had held the line of the river between Mézières and Stenay against the German 4th Army of Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, supported by the 3rd Army of General Max von Hausen.
After their defeat in the Ardennes the French fell back behind the Meuse, as we describe in the article Battle of the Meuse begins. The Germans crossed the river at several points, among them at Donchery near Sedan, but the French counter-attacked and in places threw them back to the water’s edge. The fighting was fierce and costly for both sides.
Despite local successes, the 4th Army could not hold on along the Meuse while the armies on either side of it continued to fall back. On the orders of the commander-in-chief, General Joseph Joffre, it resumed its retreat southwards. Some sources, especially French ones, extend the battle to 29 August, because on that day rearguard units, among them the Moroccan Division at Signy-l’Abbaye, were still fighting hard. The Battle of the Meuse did not stop the Germans, but it delayed their advance and allowed the French army to withdraw in good order.
Remember the articles you have read? Only in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.How it works
Read ·
Spotted a mistake?Report an error
Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 28 August 1914 · War at seaBattle of Heligoland BightOn 28 August 1914 British ships surprised the Germans off Heligoland. They sank three light cruisers and a torpedo boat without losing a single ship.
- 27 August 1914 · PoliticsAlexandre Millerand becomes French minister of warOn 27 August 1914 Alexandre Millerand was named minister of war. He replaced Messimy in Viviani's reshuffled government, a government of national unity.
- 29 August 1914 · Eastern FrontZeppelin Z V shot down near MławaAt the end of August 1914 the German airship Z V, hit by the Russians during a raid on the station at Mława, made a forced landing. Its crew was captured.
- 26 August 1914 · PoliticsDelcassé becomes French foreign ministerOn 26 August 1914 Théophile Delcassé, architect of the Entente Cordiale, replaced Gaston Doumergue as French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 25 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Meuse beginsOn 25 August 1914 the French Fourth Army, pulled back from the Ardennes, took post behind the Meuse from Mézières to Stenay. The fight for the crossings began.
- 24 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Ardennes endsOn 24 August 1914 the French Third and Fourth Armies, beaten in the Ardennes, fell back behind the Meuse on Joffre's orders. A bloody frontier battle was over.
- 22 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Ardennes beginsOn 22 August 1914 French armies advancing through the Ardennes ran into strong German forces. It was the bloodiest day in the history of the French army.
- 6 September 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Marne beginsOn 6 September 1914 the French armies and the British went over to the counter-offensive from Paris to Verdun. The battle that decided 1914 had begun.