First Battle of the Marne The Battle of the Marne ( ) ( also known as the Miracle of the Marne ) was a First World War battle fought between the 5th and the 12th of September 1914 . It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger . The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had reached the outskirts of Paris . The counterattack of six French field armies and one British army along the Marne River forced the German Imperial Army to abandon its push on Paris and retreat northeast , setting the stage for four years of trench warfare on the Western Front . The battle of the Marne was an immense strategic victory for the Allies , wrecking Germany ' s bid for a swift victory over France and forcing it into a protracted two - front war . Causes . The first month of the First World War had resulted in a series of victories by German forces in France and Belgium . By the end of August 1914 , most of the Allied army on the Western Front had been forced into a general retreat back between Paris and Verdun . Meanwhile , the five German armies that had just conquered Belgium continued to advance through France . It seemed that Paris would be taken as both the French Army and the British Expeditionary Force fell back towards the Marne River . French and British troops had suffered heavy casualties during the German attack into France . Field Marshal Sir John French , commander of the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) , blamed his heavy losses on French vacillation and uncoordinated French withdrawals . In particular , he blamed French General Lanrezac , commander of the French Fifth Army , for Lanrezac ' s alleged failure to fight and unannounced pullbacks , though these had effectively saved the French Fifth Army from defeat . Lanrezac , in turn , was furious with Field Marshal French for his refusal to support the Fifth Army ' s counter - attack at Guise - St . Quentin , the BEF ' s withdrawal exposing the flank of Lanrezac ' s army . Field Marshal French made plans to move all British troops back from the front along their lines of communication for rest and reorganisation . French Commander - In - Chief Joseph Joffre persuaded the British War Secretary , Herbert Kitchener , to intervene , and Kitchener met personally with Field Marshal French . Kitchener told Field Marshal French that a withdrawal by the British would be disastrous for both the French and British . Field Marshal French agreed to keep British troops on the front line as long as their flanks were not exposed by French withdrawals . As the German First and Second Armies approached Paris , they began to swerve to the south - east away from Paris in an attempt to envelop the retreating French armies , exposing their right flank to the allies . By 3 September , Joffre had become aware of the German armies ' tactical error . On 4 September , he made plans to halt the French and British withdrawal and attack the Germans all along the front with the French Sixth Army ( 150 , 000 men ) and the aid of the British Expeditionary Force ( 70 , 000 men ) under the command of Sir John French ( who was prompted to join this attack by the British war minister , Lord Kitchener ) . The attack was set to begin on the morning of 6 September . However , General Alexander von Kluck , the commander of the German First Army , detected the approach of the Allied forces on 5 September and , too late , began to wheel his Army to face the west . On the morning of 5 September , battle commenced when the advancing French Sixth Army came into contact with cavalry patrols from General Hans H . K . Gronau ' s IV Reserve Corps on the right flank of the German First Army near the Ourcq River . Seizing the initiative in the early afternoon , Gronau ' s two divisions attacked with light artillery and infantry into the gathering Sixth Army and pushed it back into a defensive posture before the planned allied assault for the following day , but the threat to the French offensive by Kluck ' s wheeled First Army in this preliminary Battle of the Ourcq ( ) ignored the allied forces advancing against his right flank , and was later reduced both by the arrival of the taxicab reinforcements from Paris and orders for Kluck to retreat to the Aisne River , delivered by Moltke ' s staff officer , " Oberstleutnant " Richard Hentsch . Battle . Western flank . Von Kluck , in turning to meet the potential for attack on his right flank , opened up a - wide gap in the German lines between his First Army and the German Second Army , commanded by the cautious General Karl von Bülow , which was located to the left of the First Army . Allied reconnaissance planes discovered the gap and reported it to commanders on the ground . The Allies were prompt in exploiting the break in the German lines , dispatching troops from the BEF to join the French Fifth Army in pouring through the gap between the two German armies , the right wing of the Fifth Army simultaneously attacking the German Second Army ( the Battle of the Two Morins ( ) — named after the two rivers in the area , the Grand Morin and Petit Morin ) . The German forces still hoped to achieve a breakthrough against Maunoury ' s beleaguered Sixth Army between 6 and 8 September — the Sixth Army was aided on 7 September by 10 , 000 French reserve infantry troops ferried from Paris , 6 , 000 of whom were transported in 600 Parisian taxi cabs sent by General Joseph Gallieni , military governor of Paris . The " " taxis de la Marne " " became in France a symbol of unity and national solidarity beyond their strategical role in the battle . The following night , on 8 September , the aggressive French commander General Franchet d ' Esperey and his Fifth Army launched a surprise attack against the German Second Army , serving to further widen the gap between the German First and Second Armies . D ' Esperey was a recent appointment , Joffre having given him command of the Fifth Army in place of the dismissed General Charles Lanrezac , who was deemed by Joffre to be too cautious and lacking in " offensive spirit . " By 9 September , it looked as though the German First and Second Armies would be totally encircled and destroyed . General von Moltke suffered a nervous breakdown upon hearing of the danger . His subordinates took over and ordered a general retreat to the Aisne River to regroup . The Germans were pursued by the French and British , although the pace of the Allied advance was slow — a mere a day . The German armies ceased their retreat after , at a point north of the Aisne River , where they dug in , preparing trenches that were to last for several years . The German retreat between 9 and 13 September marked the abandonment of the Schlieffen Plan . Moltke is said to have reported to the Kaiser : " Your Majesty , we have lost the war . " In the aftermath of the battle , both sides dug in and four years of stalemate ensued . Eastern flank . On the eastern flank ( close to Verdun ) , by 6 September , serious fighting was taking place between the attacking German 3rd , 4th and 5th Armies , and the defending French 3rd , 4th and 9th Armies . Fighting included the capture of the village of Revigny ( the Battle of Revigny ( ) ) , and fighting from Vitry - le - François ( the Battle of Vitry ( ) ) to Sézanne ( the Battle of the Marshes of Saint - Gond ( ) ) . Aftermath . The war became a stalemate after the Allies won the Battle of the Marne . It was the second major clash on the Western Front ( after the Battle of the Frontiers ) and one of the most important single events of the war . The German defeat and subsequent retreat ended any hopes of a quick victory for Germany in the West . As a result , Germany was forced to face a long , costly war on two fronts . The Battle of Marne was also one of the first major battles in which reconnaissance planes played a decisive role , by discovering weak points in the German lines and allowing the Allies to take advantage of them . The mobility and destructive power of the numerous French 75 batteries engaged in the Battle of the Marne played a key role in slowing down and then halting German progress everywhere . The First Battle of the Marne is best remembered for the approximately 600 Parisian taxicabs , mainly Renault AG s , commandeered by French authorities and used to transport 6 , 000 French reserve infantry troops to the battle . Their arrival has traditionally been described as critical in stopping a possible German breakthrough against the Sixth Army . Today , some historians question their real impact . Their impact on morale , however , is undeniable : the " taxis de la Marne " were perceived as a manifestation of the " union sacrée " of the French civilian population and its soldiers at the front , reminiscent of the people in arms who had saved the French Republic in . Over two million men fought in the First Battle of the Marne and perhaps 500 , 000 were killed or wounded . French casualties totalled 250 , 000 , 80 , 000 of them dead . Of note , the French poet Charles Péguy was killed while leading his platoon ' s attack at the beginning of the battle . British casualties were 13 , 000 , 1 , 700 of them dead . The Germans suffered 220 , 000 casualties . No future battle on the Western Front would average so many casualties per day . Dramatization ' The genius of the Marne ' by John Balderston ( 1919 stage play )