Germans occupy Douai

A British chronology of the war records under the date of 26 August 1914 the capture by the Germans of Douai, a town in the Nord department, south of Lille. In the last days of August the right wing of the German First Army did indeed pass through the area around the town, pushing southwards the French territorial divisions fighting near Orchies, Bouchain and Cambrai. French sources, however, do not confirm that the Germans occupied Douai itself as early as 26 August.

According to historians who have studied the town’s history, the inhabitants of Douai were caught by surprise by the first alarms at the end of August, and at the beginning of September the town went through a brief occupation. Some accounts speak of a small German detachment that was quartered in Douai for about a week. After the Battle of the Marne the Germans withdrew eastwards, and Douai returned to French hands for several weeks.

At the end of September, as the two sides tried to outflank each other ever further north, fighting again took place around Douai. On 1 October 1914 the town was occupied for good by Bavarian units of the German Sixth Army. The front came to a halt a dozen or so kilometres west of the town, and Douai remained under occupation until October 1918.