Battle of Mulhouse The Battle of Mulhouse ( or Mülhausen ) ( also called the Battle of Alsace ( ) ) , which began on August 9 , 1914 , was the opening attack of World War I by the French army against Germany . The battle was part of a French attempt to recover the province of Alsace , which the French had been forced to cede to the newly formed German Empire following France ' s defeat by Prussia and other independent German states in the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 . It had been a goal of France to recover Alsace and Lorraine ever since . The assault ended in failure , with a full withdrawal on August 10 toward Belfort led by General Bonneau . Opposing forces . The French force under General Bonneau , detached from the 1st Army in Lorraine , consisted of the 7th Army Corps ( 14th and 41st infantry divisions reinforced by one brigade of the 57th reserve division from Belfort ) and the 8th cavalry division . It was part of the larger French offensive into Alsace - Lorraine according to the Plan XVII of operations . On the German side , the XIV . and XV . Army Corps of the 7th Army under Generaloberst Josias von Heeringen opposed the French advance . The battle . The Battle of Mulhouse , one of the August Battle of the Frontiers , comprised the opening French attack of the war , and began at 05 : 00 on 9 August 1914 . Forming a fundamental component of France war strategy , Plan XVII , the Battle of Mulhouse was intended to secure the recapture of Alsace ( with Lorraine to follow separately ) , territories lost to Germany as a consequence of losing the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 . Aside from the matter of national pride inherent in the capture of Alsace , French troops there would be well placed to guard the flank of subsequent French invasions further north . In command of the operation to take Mulhouse was General Bonneau , and he was assigned a detachment of the First Army , plus one cavalry and two infantry divisions . Ranged against him was the German Seventh Army under General von Heeringen . Having crossed the frontier on the morning of 7 August , the French quickly seized the border town of Altkirch with a bayonet charge . However Bonneau , suspicious of the light state of the German defences , was wary of advancing much further for fear of stepping into a carefully laid German trap . However , under orders to move to the Rhine next day , Bonneau continued his advance , taking Mulhouse shortly after its German occupants had left the town . The taking of Mulhouse , albeit without opposition , sparked wild celebrations in France . With the arrival of German reserves from Strasbourg , the Germans mounted a counter - attack on the morning of 9 August at nearby Cernay . In the absence of reserves of his own , and unable to mount a concentrated defence , Bonneau began a slow withdrawal the same day . Joseph Joffre , the French Commander - in - Chief , hastily despatched a reserve division to assist in the defence , but they arrived too late to save the town from recapture , Bonneau withdrawing towards Belfort , the only fort to have held out during the Franco - Prussian War , on 10 August in order to escape German encirclement . Bonneau ' s withdrawal to Belfort was seen as both an actual and symbolic humiliation by Joffre , and his response was immediate . Charging Bonneau with a lack of aggression , he was promptly relieved of command . Recognising the high profile of the loss , Joffre added four more divisions to the so - called ' Army of Alsace ' placed under the command of General Pau , which unsuccessfully advanced upon Lorraine later that month . Proclamation on Invasion of Alsace at Mulhouse . Having entered Mulhouse on August 7 , 1914 Joseph Joffre issued the following proclamation : French Proclamation on Invasion of Alsace at Mulhouse 7 August 1914 CHILDREN of ALSACE ! After forty - four years of sorrowful waiting , French soldiers once more tread the soil of your noble country . They are the pioneers in the great work of revenge . For them what emotions it calls forth , and what pride ! To complete the work they have made the sacrifice of their lives . The French nation unanimously urges them on , and in the folds of their flag are inscribed the magic words , " Right and Liberty . " Long live Alsace . Long live France . General - in - Chief of the French Armies , JOFFRE The Battle of Dornach . A French counter - attack in the wealthy Mulhouse suburb of Dornach began on the 19th of August and resulted in the retreat of the German troops to Ensisheim , 20 km to the north . In this engagement , future Generalissimo Colonel Robert Nivelle ' s artillery proved decisive . On the 24th August the French withdrew from Mulhouse to a line at Altkirch , to not return to Mulhouse itself until the Armistice . Aftermath . Due to the failure of his attack , General Joffre replaced General Bonneau , in command of the VIIth Corps with the reactivated General Paul Pau , and dismissed General Aubier , commander of the accompanying 8th Cavalry Division .