The Battle of the Aisne 2

It wasn't clear at this stage to Joffre and the Allies as to whether the Germans were just holding positions on the high ground north of the Aisne, or whether they were digging in for the longer term. He ordered a general advance along the whole western end of the front to test them out. On the 13th and 14th September, the allies made slow but steady progress; on the 15th, fierce German counter attacks repelled them - in some cases back across the Aisne - and then on 16th reinforcements arrived for the BEF in the shape of the 6th Division. On 17th Maunoury attacked again and regained all of his lost ground, and started to move his left to the north to outflank Kluck. By 18th, German reinforcements were in place along most of this part of the front, and the entrenchments began in earnest. However, the Battle of the Aisne, and the second phase of war on the Western front, ended more formally on 
16 October, when (as we shall see) the BEF relinquished its positions to the French 8^th army, and set off for the coast and Ypres. 


On the 14th Maunoury carried the line along the river between Compiegne and Soisssons. By evening he was on the plateau and became the first allied commander to appreciate the strength of the German defence awaiting. To the east, the British also ran into strong defence on the Bucy uplands between Vregny and Chivres. Haig’s 1^st Corps had the main thrust of the attack. It was ordered to push  four miles to the north to attack the Chemin des Dames, which provided a perfect vantage point, with views north to Laon, and west as far as Verdun.They reached the hamlet of Troyon by around noon, and heavy fighting continued to dusk, by which time the 1^st Corps held a line entrenched on the plateau itself, but still short of the Chemin des Dames.

Looking north from the allied trench positions
toward the Chemin des Dames

Further east, the 5^th army still made no progress towards the Craonne plateau, and Foch’s 9^th army had fallen back on the Suippe until just outside Rheims. The Germans were now on the hills north of the city on the heights of Brimont, and were able to shell the city. The battle resolved itself into an artillery duel that was to last for months, and all but destroyed the Cathedral, but was eventually pushed back out of range of Rheims.

Bombardment of Reims Cathedral
18th September 1914

The focus of attention gradually developed from a complete stalemate across Champagne, to the unfolding siege of Verdun, where Sarrail’s army prepared for an expected major offensive by the Germans. In the event the Germans captured only St. Mihiel to the south of Verdun and north of Toul, but they held it right to the end of the war.

18^th September may be taken as the last day of the battle in its strict sense. It marked the end of the allies' attempt to break down the German line by full frontal assault. For the next 3 weeks the forces were too evenly matched to produce anything other than stalemate. Trench warfare began. Sporadic attacks had to be faced, especially at Troyon, and there were many counter-attacks, but trench warfare and endless artillery barrages became established.

Strategically, the allied situation was poor, despite their great victory of the Marne. It had needed the counter offensive to produce more speedy results than the full frontal bludgeon of the Aisne plateau attempts. Accordingly, Joffre changed his strategy, as early as 16 September and resolved to push out Maunoury’s left to envelop if possible Kluck’s right wing, hence the significance of Maunoury’s progress up the Oise towards Noyon. Success here would threaten the whole supply and communications line of the German I and II armies, and would require a retreat of the German right. The German response to this was vigorous, and the outflanking manoeuvres rapidly turned into the race for the sea.