SuzannaGentle489

The French and Germans have argued about the territories of Alsace and Lorraine for centuries. In 1871, following losing the Franco-Prussian War, France was forced to cede the territories back to Prussia. When Germany invaded Belgium in 1914, France seized upon the opportunity to restore its honor and reclaim the coal wealthy regions of Alsace and Lorraine. On August 14, 1914, the French army below the command of Generals Foch and Dubail marched into Lorraine. The German forces (Sixth Army) were led by Crown Prince Rupprecht and equipped with machine guns and heavy artillery. The German technique was simple. On August 14th, they started a controlled retreat intending to draw the French armies into attacking heavily defended places. The French First and Second Armies easily marched forward. On August 17th, Fochs XXth Corps was able to seize Chteau Salins. On August 18th Dubails 1st Army advanced into Sarrebourg and on the same day the 2nd Army took handle of Dieuze. As the French armies continued to advance, they were met with increasingly heavier resistance from the German troops. ppi reclaim uk ppi reclaim uk  Rupprecht grew impatient with the retreating method and requested orders to attack. There are contradictory reports no matter whether the order to counter attack came from Army Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke or if Rupprecht utilized his own authority. On August 20th, the German Sixth Army attacked the French 2nd Army. Because the French army had been advancing extremely quickly, they had no trenches or other defensive positions to thwart the German offensive. ppi claims letter The XXth Corps led by Foch was capable to preserve its position, but the 1st and 2nd armies were pushed backed. Gaps began to type in the French lines. On August 22nd, only 8 days immediately after the French offensive started, the Commander-in Chief of the French Army Joffre was forced to order a retreat to Belfort, Epinal and Toul exactly where trenches had been in spot and a stalemate among opposing forces followed.