The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread to discuss what Keegan meant by the "Race to the Sea" in World War I.

One book that discusses World War I is:

by John Keegan

The Race to the Sea is a name given to the period early in World War I when the two sides were still engaged in mobile warfare on the Western Front.

With the German advance stalled at the First Battle of the Marne, the opponents continually attempted to outflank each other through north-eastern France.

This brought the forces to positions prepared under British Admiralty guidance, on the North Sea coast in Western Belgium. The nature of operations then changed to trench warfare, which is very large scale siege warfare.

This produced a continuous front line of trench fortifications more than 200 miles long, which by the following Spring extended from the coast to the Swiss border.

The Race to the Sea began in September 1914 in Champagne, at the end of the German advance into France, and ended at the North Sea in November of that year. In the battles fought in Picardy, Artois and Flanders, neither side could gain the advantage, and with repeated attempts to find the open flank, the line was extended until it reached the coast.

The term "Race to the Sea" suggests that all the forces began in Champagne: in reality, significant German Army units arrived from Belgium, after the fall of Antwerp, and much of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived from England by way of the Channel coast of France. The movement towards the North Sea was the result of continual failed attempts at flanking manoeuvres.

The eventual "finish line" of the race was actually already occupied by two forces. The Belgian army, later reinforced by the British Royal Naval Division, had been holding out in Antwerp, which finally fell on October 10. The Belgian and British forces had withdrawn to a line on the River Yser (IJzer), which flows into the North Sea at Nieuwpoort.

The race began in late September 1914, after the end of the Battle of the Aisne, the unsuccessful Allied counter-offensive against the German forces halted during the preceding First Battle of the Marne.

The route of the race was largely governed by the north-south railways available to each side, the French through Amiens and the Germans through Lille.

The race involved a number of battles, from the First Battle of the Aisne (13 to 28 September), the First Battle of Picardy (22 to 26 September), the Battle of Albert (25 to 29 September), the First Battle of Artois (27 September to 10 October), the Battle of La Bassée (10 October to 2 November), the Battle of Messines (1914) (12 October to 2 November), the Battle of Armentières (13 October to 2 November) and the Battle of the Yser (18 October to 30 November).

The French Tenth Army began to assemble at Amiens from mid-September, and on September 25 began to push eastwards. The German Sixth Army had reached Bapaume on September 26 and advanced to Thiepval on the following day, in the middle of what was to become the Somme battlefield of 1916.

The German aim was to drive westward to the English Channel, seizing the industrial and agricultural regions of Northern France, cutting off the supply route of the BEF and isolating Belgium. Meanwhile, six of the eleven German cavalry divisions would sweep through Flanders to the coast.

However, between October 1 and October 6 the German Sixth Army's offensive north of the Somme was halted by the French under the direction of General Ferdinand Foch. The German cavalry encountered the French XXI Corps near Lille and were likewise halted. The only gap remaining was in Flanders, with the Belgians on the Yser to the north and the French in Picardy to the south.
Attention now turned to Artois and Flanders, where the BEF had begun to redeploy to shorten their supply route through Boulogne and Calais. The Germans reached Lille on October 13 and the British reached Balleuil (Belle) the next day. The line formed in Artois was established by the Battle of La Bassée between October 12 and October 27: the British held Arras while the Germans were in Lens.

In Flanders, the British 7th Division had moved in to Ypres (Ieper) on October 14. The Germans had actually occupied the town with a small detachment on October 3, but were forced to withdraw.

The British planned to advance along the road to Menen (Menin) but were stopped by a superior German force. On October 21, during the Battle of the Yser, King Albert of Belgium ordered the sea-locks at Nieuwpoort to be opened, creating an impassable flooded marshland up to a mile wide as far south as Diksmuide.
The German effort to achieve a breakthrough now concentrated at Ypres.

In what was to become the First Battle of Ypres, the German attack began on October 21. Fighting would continue until late November but, while the British forces were dangerously stretched, no breakthrough came.

While the race to the sea was over when the offensive at Ypres ceased, the Western Front still contained gaps. In particular, no front was established in the Vosges Mountains until early 1915.

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_...

This book contains the communications between the BEF commanders and the Parliament in the rush for the sea.

British Battles of World War I - 1914-1915

by Tim Coates (no photo)

Synopsis

Despatches written by the generals at the Front and published in the London Gazette, the official newspaper of Parliament. They describe some of the battles that took place in 1914 and 1915, in France and Belgium, a naval attack off the Belgian coast and the capture of the Emden off the Cocos Islands, an air attack on the Zeppelin base in Germany, and Army and Navy reports of the Gallipoli landing. Uncovered Editions are historic official papers now available in popular form.

A fierce battle in the race to the sea that established the dreaded Western Front.

Battle on the Aisne 1914: The BEF and the Birth of the Western Front

by Jerry Murland (no photo)

Synopsis

The Battle on the Aisne 1914 Studies the fiercely fought battles of the British Expeditionary Force September 1914. In depth analysis of a little known battle by expert published author Full description

This all-encompassing book of the first years of the war pays special attention to the race to the sea

The Western Front, 1914 Trilogy

by Edmund Dane (no photo)

Synopsis:

This Leonaur special edition, published to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, collects three of Edmund Dane's well regarded, concise histories of warfare Never before published in this form, this substantial trilogy covers events from the outbreak of hostilities in late July, 1914, to the battle of Neuve Chapelle in early March, 1915-approximately the first six months of the conflict. Germany had long planned this war. It had its well equipped army's inexorable advance mapped out in every detail, taking into account the French fortifications along it's borders and the terrain to be traversed. German commanders decided to march through the northern flank of Belgium and present this as a 'fait de complete' to the Belgians, sweetened by terms they thought would not be refused. However, the Belgians and their small archaic army, fought back. This resistance, a story of unparalleled bravery and tenacity has been substantially forgotten due to the world-wide carnage that followed. The German Army did, of course, advance through Belgium, into France and towards Paris. The French Army fought as it stubbornly retired and the small regular British Army was quickly transported to the battle line. The B. E. F stood and fought at Mons, but could not endure the seemingly endless supply of German troops thrown at it or the vast superiority in well-served artillery at the disposal of the invaders. A dogged retreat to the Marne was fought, with actions around Le Cateau that saved the British Army from annihilation. The British and French armies turned before Paris and counter-attacked driving the Germans north over the Marne and Aisne. Towards the end of the year the Germans stood at the First Battle of Ypres-a pivotal engagement that marked the beginning of the war of stalemate. From this point on the great armies of the Western Front would gain little on the tortured battleground of blood, mud and wire. Neuve Chapelle was the first of many offensives that defined the conflict-typified by an appalling loss of life for no significant gain. The days of mobility were over and the armies began to dig into the ground for the long haul to 1918.

This is the battle that began the "race to the sea" and established the dreaded Western Front.

First Battle of the Aisne

by Jesse Russell(no photo)

Synopsis:

The First Battle of the Aisne (French: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) Second Army (led by Karl von B low) as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne earlier in September 1914. The offensive began on the evening of 13 September, after a hasty pursuit of the Germans.

This book outlines the fighting tactics of trench warfare which came into full flower in the Battle of Artois during the "race to the sea".

Early Trench Tactics in the French Army

by Jonathan Krause (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the English-speaking world the First World War is all too often portrayed primarily as a conflict between Britain and Germany. The vast majority of books focus on the Anglo-German struggle, and ignore the dominant part played by the French, who for most of the war provided the bulk of the soldiers fighting against the central powers.

A very interesting short film on the Race to the Sea, featuring original footage, can be found at the following link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG-_q...

(Source: Youtube)

This was the first battle in the "race for the sea" but the Channel ports were kept safe by the BEF.

Ypres: The First Battle - 1914

by Ian F.W. Beckett (no photo)

Synopsis

In late 1914 the Germans attempted to capture the Channel ports, an enterprise intended to seriously weaken the Anglo-French alliance. They were halted in desperate & sustained fighting at Ypres in Belgium by the British Expeditionary Force.

Marshall Foch, commanding the French troops, stopped the German advance in their race for the sea.

Marshall Ferdinand Foch: His Life and His Theory of Modern War

by Andrew Hilliard Atteridge (no photo)

Synopsis:

The author focusses on the celebrated Marshal Ferdinand Foch: Atteridge documents Foch’s rise from military theorist of high repute before the First World War to the pinnacle of command as the general in chief of the entire war effort. Not a dry analysis of dates and figures, the entire methodology of Foch’s theory of warfare is discussed; from the foundations from Foch’s time at the Ecole de Guerre to the application of them against the invading forces of Germany.

The Nivelle Offensive & The Battle of the Aisne 1917 (Pen & Sword)

by Andrew Uffindell (no photo)

Synopsis:

Andrew Uffindell has written a number of books on the Great War and Napoleonic history, including a really good guidebook to the Marne 1914 battlefields which I used on the ground a while back.

This new title The Nivelle Offensive & The Battle of the Aisne 1917 (Pen & Sword 2015, ISBN 978 1 78303 034 7, 197pp, £14.99) is an in-depth battlefield guide to the battlefields where the Neville Offensive took place on the Chemin des Dames in 1917, and where the French Army mutinied.

The book breaks the battlefield up into sectors from Laffaux in the west to Malmaison and Craonne. The maps and illustrations are excellent, and there is a good mix of history and battlefield information.

The section on the first use of tanks by the French is especially interesting. Another great battlefield guide to a neglected aspect of the First World War.

About the Author:

Andrew Uffindel is one of the leading experts on the Napoleonic era. He is the author of many books and articles in this field, including The National Army Museum book of Wellington's Armies.

Betsy for your edification - if you had read Keegan's book it was used by him in relationship to the following AREA and to the River AISNE region which this book takes folks on a tour of (the same areas). That is why it is relevant. I think everyone knows the timeline.

If you have some other books which you feel are "more relevant" - by all means add them - book cover, by, the author's photo and the author's link. If there is no author's photo - simply add (no photo) after the author's link.





Race to the Sea WWI
It refers to the confused struggle between the German and Franco-British Armies in the months of September and October 1914 on the plains of Northern France after the defeat of the German Army on the river Marne and its subsequent withdrawal to the river Aisne. The book added takes folks on a tour of the battlefields.

Here is some information on the first battle of the Aisne:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_B...
https://www.britishbattles.com/first-...

Here is some information on the second battle of the Aisne:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_...

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...

Same river Betsy - various years