The Battle of the Marne started on September 5th 1914 with French and British forces launching a counterattack against the German army.
The attack halted Germany’s advance into France, that had taken place after the Batle of the Frontiers in August.
The Battle had six main phases – and was fought from 5–12th September 1914.
The counterattack of six French field armies and the British Expeditionary Force along the Marne River forced the German Army to abandon its push on Paris and retreat north-west, leading to the ‘Race to the Sea’.
Wikipedia: “The Battle of the Marne was a victory for the Allies and set the stage for four years of trench warfare on the Western Front”.
Source: Wikipedia
France is marking the centenary of the Battle of the Marne with commemorations in the city of Reims on September 12th 2014 – see here for more information.
Image from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF) website. The BNF has determined that this file is in the public domain in France.