German cavalry at the gates of Lille
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Western Front
- Date:
- 27 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
On 27 August 1914 a British chronicle of the war recorded that Lille, a large industrial city in northern France, had been occupied by German cavalry. The reality was more complicated. At the end of August the city had indeed been left undefended, and German mounted patrols appeared in its vicinity. The Germans began their permanent occupation, however, only in October, after a short siege.
An open city
Lille lay right by the Belgian border and was surrounded by a ring of outdated forts. As early as the beginning of August the French government declared it an open city, that is, one that would not be defended. After the defeats in the Battle of the Frontiers the command tried for a few days to prepare the city for defence after all, but on 24 August the Minister of War confirmed the earlier decision. The army and the authorities left Lille in haste and disorder, abandoning weapons, equipment and supplies.
During these days the right wing of the German 1st Army was marching south of Lille. According to French accounts the cavalry corps of General Georg von der Marwitz covering it passed about 10 kilometres from the line of forts, and uhlans were seen in nearby villages. News of them, repeated by refugees, easily turned into rumours that the city itself had been taken.
September and October
The first sizeable German detachment entered Lille on 2 September. According to local sources it numbered several thousand soldiers and stayed in the city for three days, and members of the municipal authorities were held as hostages. Then the Germans moved off south, towards the Marne.
After the Battle of the Marne the front shifted north. In early October German troops surrounded Lille, now defended only by a small garrison. After a heavy bombardment that destroyed hundreds of houses in the centre, the defenders capitulated (sources give 12 or 13 October), and on 13 October the Germans entered the city. Lille remained under occupation until October 1918.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
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Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 5 September 1914 · Western FrontGermans leave LilleOn 5 September 1914 the German detachment that had entered Lille three days earlier left the city. The Germans returned for good only in October.
- 12 October 1914 · Western FrontCapitulation of LilleOn 12 October 1914, after heavy bombardment, the French garrison of Lille surrendered. For the city a German occupation lasting four years began.
- 26 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of Le CateauOn 26 August 1914 Smith-Dorrien's II Corps stood and fought at Le Cateau against the wishes of GHQ. It paid a high price but halted the German pursuit.
- 9 October 1914 · Western FrontGermans occupy Armentières, Hazebrouck, Merville and EstairesA British chronicle records the German capture of four towns in French Flanders on 9 October 1914. In reality these were cavalry raids.