September 11th, 1914

- At 4am, Moltke departs OHL to visit the headquarters of 3rd through 5th armies.  At 5th Army, its commander Crown Prince Wilhelm assures Moltke that the situation is satisfactory, and paints an overly-rosy picture of the previous days' assault.  At 11am he arrives at 3rd Army headquarters, where General Hausen argues that his force can hold its ground, despite several divisions being pushed back by Foch's 9th Army.  Moltke, however, is concerned that the overstretched 3rd Army is barely combat effective.  Just before 1pm Moltke arrives at 4th Army headquarters, where Duke Albrecht says he is confident he can hold his position and can loan units to 3rd Army to his west to shore up Hausen's line.  While there, however, a message from Bülow arrives, stating that indications are the French are driving on Vitry-le-François, which poses a grave threat to 3rd Army.  Moltke again gives in to his innate pessimism - fearing that 3rd Army is about to be shattered, he orders 3rd through 5th armies to retreat in conformity with 1st and 2nd Army.  Thus the retreat of German forces now encompasses all those west of Verdun.  Ground bitterly fought over and won in recent days is now yielded to the enemy and, his defeat now comprehensive, Moltke returns to the gloom of OHL.

The Germans are able to make good their retreat, as, despite a series of short, sharp fights between cavalry and German rearguards, the exhausted British and French forces remain unable to bring the bulk of the German armies to battle.  A sudden rainfall and cold snap further impedes the Entente advance, deep mud slows horse-drawn carts and artillery.  Clouds and mist, meanwhile, prevent aerial reconnaissance, leaving the Entente commanders in the dark as to German dispositions.  Crucially they are in the dark as to whether the Germans are in a disorganized rout or are conducting a well-managed retreat and likely to halt and fight in the next couple of days.  Overall, the British and French forces advance only fifteen kilometres.

- In Lorraine, under pressure from the counterattack of the French 2nd Army, the German 6th Army falls back from before Nancy.  Advancing French columns are able to reoccupy villages that the Germans had spent so much blood capturing in the previous week, and the Germans have left behind mountains of ammunition along with large numbers of wounded in their retreat.  However narrowly, the German threat to Nancy has been driven off, which allows Joffre to redeploy units as necessary from his right to his left.

- With the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army in full retreat, and the Russian 5th Army pouring around his northern flank unopposed, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army orders a retreat to the southwest today to avoid encirclement.  With two armies now retiring, even Conrad is able to realize that his armies in Galicia have suffered a decisive defeat, and understands that the continued advance in particular of the Russian 5th Army threatens their annihilation.  Facing the inevitable, Conrad orders all of his armies to retreat to the San River.  The retreat is chaotic and disorderly - no preparations had been made for a retreat, believing it would demoralize the soldiers, so roads are overcrowded and massive amounts of food and supplies have to be burnt as there is no transportation available to move them westwards.  Total casualties for both sides combined in the Battle of Rawa-Ruska are approximately 150 000.

The Austro-Hungarian retreat after the Battle of Rawa-Ruska, Sept. 11th to 26th, 1914.

- The Australian Squadron arrives this morning off Rabaul on the island of New Pommerania (modern New Britain), capital of the German colony of New Guinea (the colony also included Kaiser Wilhelmsland on the island of New Guinea itself, and other surrounding islands).  Naval reservists are sent ashore, and while Rabaul was undefended, a small force of German reservists and indigenous soldiers impeded the Australian advance to the wireless station at Bitapaka, the capture of which was a key reason for the invasion.  After several hours of fighting, the German force is defeated, and the wireless station occupied.

German New Guinea.

September 10th, 1914

- At 1240pm, Lieutenant-Colonel Hentsch returns to OHL in Luxembourg, and presents his report of his journey to Moltke.  He assigns blame for the retreat to General Kluck, whose withdrawal of III and IX Corps to the Ourcq had created the gap through which the British had advanced.  Perhaps to preempt criticism of himself, he claimed that 1st Army had already issued orders to retreat, and Hentsch's role was limited to indicated the direction in which they should withdraw.  At present the retreat was limited to 1st and 2nd armies - 3rd Army was expected to be able to regroup south of Châlons-sur-Marne, while 4th and 5th armies could remain in place.

On hearing Hentsch's report, Moltke's mood temporarily revives - the withdrawal will close the gap between 1st and 2nd armies, after which they can go back over to the attack, and the rest of the armies will not have to yield their gains.  Hentsch suggests to Moltke that he visit 3rd through 5th armies (but not 1st or 2nd) to see for himself their situations, and the Chief of the General Staff agrees to set out tomorrow morning.  Moltke also places Kluck under Bülow orders for their withdrawal, implicitly assigning blame to Kluck for the gap that opened between the two.

If Moltke's mood has improved, his fellow officers at OHL are all too aware that a successful retreat is hardly something to be celebrated, given the objective of the German army in the West at the start of the campaign.  Nor do they hesitate to assign blame, as General Moritz von Lyncker, chief of the Military Cabinet, commented today: 'In sum, one must appreciate that the entire operation - that is, the encirclement [of French forces] from the north and northwest - has been utterly unsuccessful.  Moltke is totally crushed by events; his nerves are not up to the situation.'

- As the German right withdraws, Joffre understands that the rapid pursuit of the enemy is now essential.  As he states in his Particular Instruction No. 21 issued today, 'to affirm and exploit the success, it is necessary to pursue energetically and leave the enemy no respite: victory depends on the legs of our infantry.'  The French armies, however, are exhausted from weeks of constant marching followed by the intense fighting along the Marne.  Many simply lack the physical strength to pursue the retreating Germans as quickly as necessary to catch the retreating Germans.  Today the most rapid advance is undertaken by the BEF - not surprising, given that it was much less involved in the fighting of the Marne than the French armies on either flank.  I Corps engages in severe fighting with the German rear-guard near Château-Thierry, taking two thousand prisoners.  However, the rear-guard does its job, allowing the bulk of the retreating German forces to avoid battle.

- In German ranks, the bitter disappointment at the order to retreat has not led to despair or disorder.  As exhausted as the German soldiers are, units remain intact and responsive to instructions from their commanding officers.  Already thoughts are turning to the next phase of the campaign.  Understanding that the war will now be longer than expected, orders are issued for the retreating soldiers to bring with them all equipment that might be of military value - in what could be seen as stereotypical Prussian efficiency, the dead are to be stripped of their weapons, ammunition, and even uniforms so they can be reused in the battles to come.

The retreat of the German armies from the Marne, indicated by the empty blue arrows above, September 10th to 13th, 1914.

- West of Verdun, Crown Prince Wilhelm, commanding 5th Army, orders a final attack on the French 3rd Army opposite.  His objective is to silent the dreaded French 75s, and decides to emulate the attack of Hausen's 3rd Army and launch a nighttime bayonet attack.  At 2am, in a cold rain, a hundred thousand German soldiers with bayonets fixed rush towards the French positions.  The attack is a dismal failure.  From the start, the artillery of two French corps slaughter the advancing Germans with rapid and accurate artillery fire, and at 745am the French counterattack, driving back the panicked and disorganized Germans.  The defeat breaks the offensive potential of 5th Army - among junior officers, leading from the front, casualties today are as high as 40%.

- In Lorraine the French 2nd Army launches a counterattack against the German 6th Army opposite.  In bitter combat the Germans begin to be pushed back.  The mobility of the French 75mm artillery pieces is a vital advantage, allowing them to keep up with the advancing infantry.

- In East Prussia I Corps seizes the town of Lyck as it advances to the northeast.  However, supply problems are bedeviling François' corps, and he is having trouble getting reserve forces to the front line.  Moreover, Rennenkampt of the Russian 1st Army is conducting a skilled retreat, shifting forces along his front to keep the pursuing Germans off-balance, and the Russians are withdrawing out of the envelopment that was briefly threatened by the attack of I Corps.

The retreat of the Russian 1st Army from the Battle of the Masurian Lakes, September 10th to 13th, 1914.

- Conrad today makes his first visit to the frontline, visiting 3rd Army.  His brief exposure to the plight of that force does little to raise his awareness of the difficulties his armies are facing and the nature of modern warfare.

- The German light cruiser Emden, detached from the German East Asiatic Squadron to raid commerce in the Indian Ocean, captures its first ship, the Greek collier Pontoporos.

September 7th, 1914

- Shortly after midnight, General Bülow orders X Reserve Corps on the western flank of his 2nd Army to retreat fifteen to twenty kilometres to take position behind the Petit Morin River.  He also gives the same orders to III and IX corps, located to the west of X Reserve Corps.  Though part of 1st Army, these two corps have been temporarily placed under his authority (as Kluck's attention is on the Ourcq and the French 6th Army).  This maneouvre is designed to protect the flank of 2nd Army after the heavy attack by the French 5th Army yesterday - Bülow's focus is on a pending offensive by his eastern corps, and wants to avoid a disruptive attack on his right.  In doing so, however, he has opened up a gap of thirty kilometres between the western flank of 2nd Army and the eastern flank of 1st Army.  Crucially, he does not bother to inform Kluck at 1st Army of his redeployment.

- The gap that Bülow has created between his 2nd Army and 1st Army to the west is now the vital pivot of the battle.  If Entente forces can occupy the gap, they can at minimum force the two German armies to retreat by threatening them with encirclement.  By another of war's coincidences, just as in late August the initial deployment of the BEF happened to place them directly in the line of advance of the strongest German army, now the advance of the BEF that began yesterday just so happens to be aimed directly at this gap.  The British march northeastwards thus is crucial to the entire success of the Entente forces in the Battle of the Marne.  As Joffre realizes the importance of the BEF advance, his focal point for the battle becomes ensuring the French armies hold off the Germans until the British can penetrate the gap.  This reliance on the speed of the British advance, of course, places Joffre in an awkward position.  He cannot issue orders to the BEF, and so can only encourage them to move faster.  On the other hand, given Sir John French's repeated pessimism, he is concerned that too strong words might cause him to overreact and try to take the BEF out of the battle entirely.  Today Joffre attempts positive encouragement - in a note to Kitchener his offers, with tongue undoubtedly in cheek, his 'warmest thanks' for French's 'energetic' advance, while he chides Gallieni to not badger the British commander too often with requests to move faster.  After another slow march today, advance guards of the BEF have crossed the Grand Morin.

- At 10am, 1st Army headquarters receives a reconnaissance report from an aviator that two columns of British soldiers have been spotted moving north from the Forest of Crécy towards the joint between 1st and 2nd armies.  Kluck understands that this has the potential for disaster, and makes a crucial decision - he will concentrate his entire army on defeating the attack of the French 6th Army before the British are in position to turn his flank.  He believes that 6th Army is the key piece of the French counteroffensive, while the BEF has been battered and is barely capable of effective action - better to destroy 6th Army first, in his mind, as the BEF is in no shape to do any immediate damage anyway.  Further, there are two German cavalry corps watching the line east of his battle with 6th Army.  To this end, he orders III and IX Corps to march immediately to the Ourcq to engage the French to join his other three corps.  Kluck's orders, meanwhile, widen the gap between 1st and 2nd armies to fifty kilometres - the two cavalry corps are weakened by constant movement and battle losses, and utterly lack the ability to stop any serious enemy advance.  The absence of communication between 1st and 2nd armies, and the inability of Moltke at OHL to co-ordinate their actions, has opened a major hole in the German line.

- Units continue to arrive in Paris from Lorraine, and General Gallieni moves them as quickly as possible to 6th Army fighting to the east.  Early this morning, soldiers of the 103rd and 104th regiments arrive at the front having taken a unique means of transportation: taxis.  Using his powers as Military Governor of Paris, Gallieni requisitioned 1200 taxis yesterday evening, and ordered them to take French soldiers to 6th Army.  Each taxi could carry five soldiers, including one in the trunk, and enter history as one of the most famous aspects of the Battle of the Marne.  Notwithstanding their patriotism, the taxi drivers still calculate the fare for each passenger, and send the bill to the French army, which will pay out 70 102 francs to the drivers.

The taxis of Paris conveying troops to the front, Sept. 7th, 1914.

- Just before the Ourcq River the French 6th Army and the German 1st Army continue to engage in a desperate struggle.  The arrival of the German IV Corps before dawn stabilizes the German line, and in fierce fighting several villages pass back and forth between the two sides.  One German attack at the village of Puisieux is repulsed only when Colonel Robert Nivelle, commander of the 5th Artillery Regiment, brings up five batteries and fires over open sights into the ranks of the advancing Germans from near-point blank range.  The episode wins Nivelle acclaim, which will be unfortunate for thousands of French soldiers later in the war.

- After yesterday's victory over the west flank of the German 2nd Army, the leftmost corps of the French 5th Army find the Germans have abandoned the field in front of them as they retreated to the Petit Morin.  Unlike yesterday, however, Franchet d'Espèrey does not drive his army forward, content instead with a methodical advance.

- On the east flank of the German 2nd Army, Bülow continues to push his corps against Foch's 9th Army, without success.  The German 3rd Army to the east also makes no progress - indeed, it spends most of the day being torn apart by fire from French 75 mm field guns, artillery pieces able to fire up to a thousand rounds a day.  Hausen is increasingly frustrated at his subordinate role to his neighbouring army commanders and inability to come to grips with the enemy.  Tonight, he decides to seize the initiative.  He believes the French cannot be strong everywhere, and given the pressure 1st and 2nd armies are under, concludes that the French opposite him must be weak.  In order to silence the dreaded French 75s, he orders a bayonet charge for the pre-dawn hours tomorrow.  No preliminary bombardment will be undertaken - the German soldiers are to approach the French lines in complete silence for maximum surprise.  He telegrams his plan to OHL, and receives Moltke's approval at midnight.

- The battle for Nancy reaches a climax today - three times the Bavarians of Rupprecht's 6th Army advance against the north front of the Grand Couronné, while murderous bayonet charges by the Germans continue into the night.  General Castlenau of the French 2nd Army is increasingly concerned at his position.  Furthermore, he is informed today that his son died in combat several days earlier.  In the shadow of personal loss Castlenau again telegrams Joffre that a withdrawal may be necessary.  This time, with the Battle of the Marne still in the balance, Joffre replies asking Castlenau to hang on for another twenty-four hours and suggesting that the Germans are likely no better off than his force.  2nd Army continues to cling to the Grand Couronné by its fingernails.

- At OHL Moltke has heard nothing from Kluck or Bülow since the French counteroffensive began early yesterday.  In the absence of information, Moltke's pessimism comes to the fore - has 1st Army already been encircled?  2nd Army forced back?  Writing to his wife today, he reflects on the death and destruction that has ensued from the invasion he is leading, and 'I often shudder when I think of this and feel as though I need to accept responsibility for this dreadfulness . . .'  Not exactly the desired mindset in the Chief of the General Staff at the supreme moment of crisis on the Western Front.

- In East Prussia, the first skirmishes occur in the Battle of the Masurian Lakes, as advance elements of the German 8th Army attack the defensive line of the Russian 1st Army.

The Battle of the Masurian Lakes, September 5th to 9th, 1914.

- On the home fronts of each of the major combatants, academics are among the most strident supporters of the war.  They take advantage of the public's belief in their intelligence and authority to defend the conduct of their own country and condemn that of their enemies.  In Germany today, a 'Declaration by German University Teachers' is published, in which hundreds of German academic renounce degrees they had received from British universities, on the basis that it was Britain that had started the war.

- In the Pacific, the German East Asiatic Squadron arrives today at Christmas Island.  Located on the equator, the island is a unoccupied British possession.  As Admiral Spee's ships arrive, they are rejoined by the light cruiser Nürnberg - as the squadron crossed the Pacific, Spee had ordered it to sail to Honolulu, in order to telegram Berlin as to his intentions to sail to the South American coast and learn the latest war news.  Nürnberg reports the capture of Samoa on August 30th by New Zealand troops, and Spee decides to launch a surprise attack on the island, hoping to catch British ships anchored in its port.

September 5th, 1914

- Today is the 35th day since the mobilization of the German Army.  According to the schedule of the Schlieffen Plan, the French are to be defeated by the 39th day.  The battle brewing on the Marne will thus be the decisive battle of the campaign, and indeed one of the most important in history.  A German triumph would mean victory over France and guarantee permanent German hegemony over the European continent, while defeat would plunge Germany into a prolonged war in which the weight of numbers would be against them.  It is a fight to determine the course of the 20th-century, and as the soldiers of both sides begin their marches this morning they advance into history.

The Western Front, Sept. 5th, 1914.

- At 3am, Joffre, desperate to confirm British confirmation in the impending offensive, sends a staff officer to BEF headquarters with a copy of General Instruction No. 6.  When the officer returns to Joffre's headquarters at 930am, he reports the British 'lukewarm' to the idea of joining the French attack.  Meanwhile, General Wilson takes General Instruction No. 6 to Sir John French, and spends the morning trying to persuade him of the merits of attack.

Joffre decides that a personal appeal must be made to secure British co-operation, so he drives the 115 miles to BEF headquarters, arriving at 2pm and meeting with Sir John French and his staff.  With every hour crucial, Joffre dispenses with formalities and immediately launches into a passionate appeal.  He says that this is the decisive moment of the war, and that every French soldier will be thrown into a fight upon which the future of France itself depended.  Turning to the British, he exclaims 'I cannot believe the British Army will refuse to do its share in this supreme crisis.'  Banging his fist on the table, he concludes 'The honour of England is at stake, Marshal!'

Silence fills the room as all eyes turn to the British Field Marshal.  He has been listening with rapt attention.  For the past two weeks he has struggled to preserve his command, in obedience to Kitchener's original instructions, only to be upbraided by Kitchener in Paris on the 1st.  Now, at the decisive moment, the emotional appeal of Joffre breaks through his fears.  His face reddens, and tears rolls down his cheek.  He struggles to say something in French before giving up.  Turning to Wilson, he cries out 'Damn it, I can't explain.  Tell him that all man can do our fellows will do.'

For Joffre it is a moment of great relief - the last piece of his counteroffensive is now in place.  The fact that, due to last night's march, the BEF is further south that originally believed, is a matter of mere detail.  On returning to his headquarters Joffre states simply to his staff: 'Gentlemen, we will fight on the Marne.'

- At 7am, Moltke's General Directive of yesterday arrives at 1st Army headquarters.  Again, the instructions for 1st Army to halt its advance makes no sense to General Kluck.  He has a growing awareness that the French army has not yet been decisively defeated, but to his mind this makes his advance that much more essential, in order to turn the flank of the French 5th Army as soon as possible.  Moreover, ignorant of the wider strategic situation, he is unaware of the extent to which French units have been redeployed from Lorraine to Paris, and thus continues to underrate the threat from the west.  Finally, by the time Kluck receives Moltke's General Directive, his army has already begun its morning march.  Kluck thus does not alter his orders for the day, and 1st Army crosses the Petit and Grand Morin Rivers, two tributaries of the Marne.

- Further to the east, two corps of 3rd Army have been in heavy combat with Foch's newly-renamed 9th Army.  This morning, 3rd Army commander General Hausen, believing his force exhausted and overstretched, orders it to rest for the day.  This order is a crucial gift to Foch - it allows him to close up a gap that had opened between his army and 4th Army to the west, and to entrench itself at the Saint-Gond Marshes.

- This evening a visitor arrives at 1st Army headquarters at Rebais between the two Morins - Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hentsch, head of OHL's Intelligence Section.  Moltke has sent Hentsch on the 175-mile drive from OHL headquarters in Luxembourg to explain the state of the fighting along the Western Front and ensure that his General Directive of yesterday is obeyed.  The information Hentsch brings hits Kluck like a bolt out of the blue.  The Colonel informs Kluck that 6th and 7th armies have failed to break through at Nancy, and 4th and 5th armies are making poor progress near Verdun.  This has allowed the French to redeploy significant forces to Paris, and that Kluck can expect an attack from that quarter any day.  Kluck at last grasps the reasons behind Moltke's instructions to halt his advance - the further he moves south, the less able he will be to parry a major French attack from Paris, one which IV Reserve Corps alone cannot halt.  At 10pm Kluck reluctantly orders 1st Army to turn around and retrace its steps northward beginning tomorrow morning back over the Marne.  It is portrayed as a redeployment to prevent the French from interrupting German attacks further to the east, but there is no disguising the fact that, on the 35th day after mobilization, the German army is not supposed to be marching north.

- Even as Hentsch is en route to Kluck, and Joffre on the road to BEF headquarters, the Battle of the Marne begins before either side expected it.  The French 6th Army is marching eastward out of Paris this morning towards the start line for its attack scheduled to begin tomorrow.  General Manoury expected no fighting today, his cavalry having informed him that there were no Germans directly on his line of advance.  However, his cavalry had missed the German IV Reserve Corps.  Its commander, General Hans von Gronau, has been informed this morning by his own cavalry patrols that the French are advancing in strength on his position.  Gronau is acutely aware of his place on the western flank of the German line - not only is he guarding the flank of 1st Army, but he is protecting the flank of the entire German army as it advances southward into France.  The rest of 1st Army has marched far enough south to leave Gronau's corps on its own, and it quickly becomes apparent that the approaching French force significantly outnumbers his own, and intends to push by him and roll up the German flank.  Gronau thus makes the courageous choice to attack - if the French advance can be disrupted, it might buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive from 1st Army.  At noon, as the French 6th Army approaches the Ourcq River near Meux north of the Marne, they come under heavy artillery and machine gun fire.  Taken by surprise, 6th Army goes to ground, engaging in a fierce firefight with IV Reserve Corps through the afternoon.  By nightfall, Gronau concludes that he has won enough time to avoid the risk of envelopment to 1st Army, and withdraws IV Reserve Corps to the defensive line the French expected to assault tomorrow.  In the last hours of the day, elements of the French 6th Army launch attacks on German positions that have already been abandoned.

- Heavy fighting continues around Nancy, and is particularly fierce near the Grand Couronné, where villages and even houses exchange hands several times today.  The unrelenting German pressure prompts 2nd Army commander Castlenau to inform Joffre that his army is under heavy attack and may have to withdraw.  Meanwhile, the Kaiser visits 6th Army headquarters today, in the expectation that he will witness the fall of Nancy.  His hopes are disappointed, and Rupprecht is not impressed by Wilhelm II's presence, decrying his 'crass dilettantism' and 'deficient knowledge' of the military situation.

- Moltke is increasingly concerned with the situation west of Verdun.  In addition to feeling that the decisive fight is on the front of 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies, a variety of reports prey on his pessimism.  One agent reports numerous British reinforcements have landed in Belgium, while another report is downright fantastical.  For the past two weeks, rumours have been rampant among the civilian population in Britain that tens of thousands of Russian troops have arrived in Scotland en route to the Western Front.  It seems everyone knows someone who has seen the Russians moving south to the Channel ports.  There is no factual basis for this rumour whatsoever, but by today the rumour has reached OHL, and Moltke, pessimistic and lacking confidence, is inclined to believe such reports.  He is thus convinced there is a massive Anglo-Russian force assembling in Belgium and the French Channel ports, ready to descend on the rear of his armies on the Marne and annihilate them.

To forestall such a disaster, Moltke decides to create a new army in Belgium.  His initial plan, however, is foiled by, of all people, the Kaiser.  When OHL telegrams Rupprecht to redeploy two 6th Army, Wilhelm II, present at 6th Army headquarters, vetoes the order, believing that Rupprecht is on the brink of victory.  Moltke lacks the will to overrule the Kaiser, so he has to scale down his plan.  Instead, only XV Corps, currently part of 7th Army, is withdrawn from Lorraine to Belgium.  In addition, General Heeringen and 7th Army headquarters accompanies XV Corps, and will assume command not only of XV Corps but of all other German forces in Belgium.

- In order to protect his own reputation in the worsening situation in Galicia, Conrad looks for scapegoats among his subordinate commanders - today he fires the commander of 3rd Army.

- The British light cruiser Pathfinder is torpedoed by the German submarine U-21 off the Scottish coast.  Pathfinder, which sink with over half of her crew of 360 lost, is the first British warship to be sunk by a German submarine.

- Britain, France, and Russia today sign the Declaration of London, in which each agrees not to sign a separate peace with Germany and to continue in the war together until absolute victory is achieved.

September 4th, 1914

- This morning, as 1st Army crosses the Marne River in strength, Kluck dispatches a lengthy telegram to OHL, informing Moltke for the first time that 1st Army, instead of following his General Directive of the 2nd and redeployed in echelon behind 2nd Army, has continued to advance, and is ahead of 2nd Army.  Kluck justifies his action by stating that obedience to Moltke's orders would eliminate any opportunity to envelop the flank of the French 5th Army.  Moreover, he believes that the BEF is out of the fight, posing no great danger, and that only second-rate French formations are at Paris, which can be held off by IV Reserve Corps, left behind for this reason.  Moltke does not reply to this admission of insubordination.

For its part 1st Army is no longer the force it was at the outbreak of the war.  In addition to suffering over twenty thousand casualties to this point, its supply position is precarious.  By today, its supply railhead at Chauny is 140 kilometres behind the army, and more than 60% of the trucks assigned to supply 1st Army have broken down.

- At 630am, XII Reserve Corps of 3rd Army comes under artillery fire in Rheims.  The source of the bombardment, however, is not the French, but rather artillery belonging to the 2nd Guard Division of 2nd Army.  About 170 shells are fired into the city before 2nd Guard Division realizes its error.  The episode is emblematic of the extent to which communications between the German armies on the right wing have completely broken down.

- Further aerial reconnaissance by flyers of the Paris garrison confirm that the German 1st Army continues to move southeast past the French capital.  At 910am Gallieni thus orders 6th Army, now reinforced to approximately 150 000 soldiers, to prepare to advance eastward, lead elements to begin moving this afternoon with the rest of the army following in the morning.

Meanwhile, Joffre has independently come to the same conclusion as Gallieni - the march of the Germans past Paris to the east creates the desired opportunity to counterattack the Germans and hit their flank.  Joffre agrees with Gallieni's order to 6th Army, but is still uncertain as to the timing of the attack.  The critical variable is when 5th Army will be able to halt its retreat, turn about, and attack.  Given its battered state and lengthy retreat, it is not immediately clear how early this can be done, so Joffre telegrams Franchet d'Espèrey asking if his army would be able to counterattack within the next several days.

As he waits for a reply, he takes the opinions of his staff, some of whom still prefer to retreat behind the Seine before counterattacking.  Taking leave of his staff, Joffre then steps outside and finds shade beneath a weeping ash tree in the playground of the school currently serving as his headquarters.  For most of the afternoon he sits here alone, weighing the choice before him.  He knows he has but one chance at a counteroffensive - if it fails, the French army would be broken and the war lost.  Is this the best opportunity?  Would patience and further retreat allow for an even greater chance of success?  His inclination is to attack, but the significance of the choice does not lend itself to a rapid decision.

Shortly after 630pm the reply from Franchet d'Espèrey arrives.  Despite only having been commander of 5th Army for less than 24 hours, he informs Joffre that his army will be able to attack as of the 6th.  He also states that he has met with General Wilson, Deputy Chief of Staff of the BEF, and the latter has agreed to BEF participation in the attack, provided its flanks are covered by 5th and 6th armies.  This is the information Joffre needed.  The decision made, Joffre instructs his staff to draft instructions for ending the retreat and going back over to the attack.  He originally selected September 7th as the day for the counteroffensive to begin, but compelling arguments delivered over the telephone by Gallieni convinced Joffre that 6th Army was best positioned to attack on the 6th, and thus the date for the general attack was moved up a day.  At 10pm Joffre issues General Instructions No. 6.  It orders the retreat of 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies, as well as Foch's army detachment (now renamed 9th Army), to halt and attack the Germans on September 6th.  Simultaneously, 6th Army would hit the German flank east of Paris, while the British were expected to co-operate by taking their position between 5th and 6th armies.

Meanwhile, this evening General Wilson returns to BEF headquarters to find that Chief of Staff General Archibald Murray has ordered a further night retreat of ten to fifteen miles, putting the BEF twenty-five miles from where Joffre believes it will be when the French counteroffensive is to begin.  When Sir John French arrived at BEF headquarters after a day reviewing the frontline commands, he decides that 'further study' is needed before committing the BEF to any particular action.  Wilson, a long-time advocate of Anglo-French co-operation, is heartbroken, and Captain Huguet, the French liaison officer attached to BEF headquarters, sends off an urgent telegram informing Joffre of the situation.  Just before midnight, the telegram arrives, and its news comes as a great shock.  Participation of the BEF is essential, and the orders sent out for the counteroffensive cannot now be adjusted.  Sir John French must be convinced of the necessity of joining in the attack, or all may yet be lost.

- After a week of preparation, Prince Rupprecht's 6th Army launches a major offensive against Nancy.  Though there is major fighting near Épinal and south of Nancy by divisions of 7th Army, the major objective of the attack is the Grand Couronné, a ridge northeast of Nancy, the capture of which would allow 6th Army to attack nearby French forts from the rear and unbalance the French defense of Nancy.  Opposing the Germans is the French 2nd Army under General Castelnau.  Beginning in the early hours of the morning, German forces advance under murderous French artillery fire raining down from the heights of the Grand Couronné.

The front at Nancy, September 4th to 7th, 1914.  Note the Grand Couronné north of Nancy.

- Late this evening Moltke issues another General Directive to the armies on the Western Front, ordering it delivered by automobile to ensure that each commanding general receives it.  It acknowledges that the French have transferred units from Lorraine to near Paris, and as such the original objective of driving the French armies to the Swiss frontier, as embodied in the Schlieffen Plan, was no longer practical.  Instead, 1st and 2nd armies are to hold their positions east of Paris, prepared to parry any French attacks from that direction.  On the other end of the front, 6th and 7th armies are to continue the offensive in Lorraine, to tie down as many French units as possible, while 4th and 5th armies west of Verdun are to push the French armies opposite southeast through the Argonne Forest.  Finally, 3rd Army would be available either to assist 4th and 5th armies to the east or 1st and 2nd armies to the west.  In concept this General Directive abandons all pretense of implementing the Schlieffen Plan.  Especially with respect to the new roles for 1st and 2nd armies, it is an admission that the German army lacks sufficient strength on the Western Front to achieve the decisive victory embodied in the Schlieffen Plan.

- In the aftermath of the annihilation of the Russian 2nd Army, 1st Army has formed a strong defensive line in East Prussia running north from the Masurian Lakes.  In addition, 10th Army is assembling to the southeast just inside the Russian border, to provide cover for 1st Army's southern flank.  Indeed, General Zhilinskii of North-West Front believes that his forces are capable of launching a further offensive, as he interprets continued actions by German reserve troops south of the Tannenberg battlefield as an indication that the German 8th Army will invade Poland.  As such, he hopes that a move westwards by 1st Army will be able to cut in behind the Germans.  General Rennenkampf, for his part, is more negative - he feels his army is in a dangerously exposed position, and in particular fears a sortie of strong German forces from the fortress of Königsberg to the northwest.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff, however, are not content to rest on the laurels earned at Tannenberg.  Instead, they are in the process of redeploying 8th Army, augmented by the arrival of II and Guard Reserve Corps from the Western Front, eastward to attack the Russian 1st Army.  Ludendorff's plan is to send his best units - François' I Corps and Mackensen's XVII Corps - to move south against the Russian left while the rest of 8th Army attacked the main defensive line of the Russian 1st Army.  The objective was to break through on the left and encircle the Russians, and thus repeating the decisive victory of Tannenberg.

- South of Lublin in Russian Poland, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is finding itself under increasing pressure from the Russian 4th and 9th armies to its north, and is gradually being forced backwards.  Meanwhile, to the east, the Russian 5th Army, which Conrad had assumed had been effectively destroyed at the Battle of Zamość-Komarów, has halted its retreat and gone back over onto the attack, advancing to the southwest into a gap that has emerged between the Austro-Hungarian 1st and 4th armies after the latter turned southeast as part of Conrad's plan to envelop the Russian 3rd and 8th armies.  The balance of numbers is increasingly tilting against the Austro-Hungarians as more divisions of the slower-mobilizing Russian army arrive on the front, and Conrad is encountering the inherent difficulties of attempting to surround a numerically-superior enemy with exhausted soldiers.