Battle of St. Quentin (1914)
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| date | August 28, 1914 to August 30, 1914 |
|---|---|
| place | Saint-Quentin |
| output | German victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
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|
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| Troop strength | |
| 9 divisions with about 230,000 men | 12 divisions with about 260,000 men |
| losses | |
|
9,060 men, including 284 officers |
around 12,000, including around 2,000 prisoners |
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The Battle of St. Quentin at the beginning of the First World War is also known as the Battle of the Guise . On the Oise between St. Quentin and Guise between August 28 and 30, 1914, the German 2nd Army under Colonel General Karl von Bülow encountered a surprisingly strong counter-attack by the French 5th Army under General Charles Lanrezac . At the beginning of the battle on August 28, the German 2nd Army was still around 230,000 strong after the surrender of two corps ( Guard Reserve Corps and VII. Reserve Corps ), the French 5th Army was at the time of its counterattack with five corps slightly outnumbered. On August 29th, however, after the intervention of the left wing of the 1st Army , the Germans regained their numerical superiority.
prehistory
On August 25, the French high command under Marshal Joffre had ordered General Lanrezac to undertake a counterattack to the north, but this could not be carried out because the British expeditionary corps (General John French ) after the defeat in the Battle of Mons in front of the German 1 Army (Colonel General Alexander von Kluck ) had to go back. The left wing of the army, hanging in the air, therefore forced General Lanrezac to retreat behind the Oise as well. On the night of August 26, 1914, the Allies withdrew to St. Quentin after the Battle of Le Cateau . Two corps of the German 2nd Army were assigned to siege tasks - they could no longer take part in the further advance southwards. The Guard Reserve Corps (General der Artillerie Max von Gallwitz ) besieged the fortress of Namur since August 21st and was from August 26th together with the XI. Army Corps (General Otto von Plüskow ), which was taken from the 3rd Army (Colonel General Max von Hausen ), relocated to East Prussia , furthermore the mass of the VII Reserve Corps (General of the Infantry Johann von Zwehl ) remained at 13. and 14th Reserve Division returned as a siege force in front of the Maubeuge fortress from August 27th (this announced its surrender on September 7th ).
Two-sided deployment
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After the victory on the Sambre , the German 2nd Army stood with the crowd in the area southwest of Avesnes . The X. Army Corps had its also strived to Guise , left of the Guard Corps to Hirson taken. After the victory at Le Cateau over Landrecis , the German 1st Army was on the outer right wing in advance of the Sommeline between Amiens and Péronne , its left wing - the IX. Army Corps was in contact northwest of St. Quentin with the X Reserve Corps , the right wing of the 2nd Army.
On August 27, the French 5th Army stopped near Guise on the Oise and waited for reinforcements for the planned counterattack. On the extreme left wing of the Allied front, the French cavalry corps covered Sordet ; further west, several territorial divisions blocked the lower reaches of the Somme from Picquigny to the North Sea . The English meanwhile went back behind the Aisne at Soissons . On Lanrezac's right wing, the 18th and 3rd Corps had to withdraw. On the French side, between August 27 and September 5, a new 6th Army under General Maunoury was set up in the north-east of Paris at the instigation of the French Commander-in-Chief Joffre . It was formed from the 7th Army Corps (General Vautier ) withdrawn from Alsace , consisting of the 14th Infantry and 63rd Reserve Divisions, the 55th and 56th Reserve Divisions from Lorraine , and the 61st and 62nd. Reserve division from the fortified camp of Paris. The 4th Army Corps (General Boëlle ) from the 3rd Army and the 45th Infantry Division (General Drude ) brought in from Africa were brought in as reinforcements for later counterattacks . The French army command now hoped to regain freedom of action on the Oise and Maas . On August 27th, Bülow's 2nd Army reached the Oise with the X Army Corps and the Guard Corps. The X. Army Corps fought in the center in battle with the French 3rd Corps two Oise crossings at Etreux and Guise.
Involved troops
German 2nd Army Colonel General von Bülow
- VII Army Corps under General von Eine's Cavalry with 13th and 14th Divisions
- X. Army Corps under General der Infanterie von Emmich with 19th and 20th divisions
- Guard corps under General of the Infantry von Plettenberg with 1st and 2nd Guard Divisions
- X. Reserve Corps under General der Infanterie von Kirchbach with 2nd Guard Reserve Division and 19th Reserve Division
- 17th Division of IX. Army Corps from the 1st Army
- Gardjäger and Guards Rifle from the Guards Cavalry Division and 5th Cavalry Division
French 5th Army General Lanrezac
- 10th Corps under General Defforges with 19th and 20th Infantry Divisions
- 3rd Corps under General Hache with 5th and 6th Infantry Divisions
- 1st Corps under General Franchet d'Esperey with 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions
- 18th Corps under General Mas-Latrie with 36th, 37th and 38th Infantry Divisions
- Reserve group under General Valabrègue with 51st, 53rd and 69th reserve divisions
Course of the battle
August 28th
On August 28, the French began their counterattack to the north on Guise with two corps on the right wing (1st and 10th Corps), with two other corps (3rd and 18th Corps) the attack in the center of Lanrezac in Directed towards Montiny. The 17th Corps remained behind as a reserve in the center, furthermore the northern front of the city of St. Quentin was covered by the 69th Reserve Division, in the city itself the 53rd Reserve Division was also available. At the same time, the German 2nd Army, operating south on Laon , attacked this line of battle .
On the right wing of the 2nd Army, which was advancing south on the western bank of the Oise, the X. Reserve Corps under Artillery General von Kirchbach was able to occupy St. Quentin. The X. Army Corps under General der Infantry von Emmich and the Guard Corps under General der Infantry von Plettenberg attacked on the left wing via Guise - successfully to the south. Guise and its southern suburb of Flavigny fell into the hands of the 19th Division under Lieutenant General Hofmann . The advance guard of the 1st Army - the Higher Cavalry Command No. 1 under General of the Cavalry von Richthofen pursued the English and maintained contact with the 2nd Army, it crossed the Somme and the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Ham and St. Simon. The 13th Division under Lieutenant General von dem Borne , which arrived delayed, was pushed into the German front at Bohain between the X Army Corps and the X Reserve Corps. The 14th Division under General Paul Fleck and the 2nd Guard Reserve Division under Lieutenant General von Süsskind-Schwendi entered the battle line at Chatillon between the X Army Corps and the X Reserve Corps, both formations advanced over the Oise and drove the French 69th Reserve Division out of town. St. Quentin was occupied by the 19th Reserve Division under Lieutenant General von Bahrfeldt , the defending French reserve troops under General Valabrègue withdrew fighting on the Sambre-Oise Canal . The vacated French 53rd Reserve Division under General Perruchon was thrown onto the right wing of Lanrezac in Vervins . It concealed the withdrawal of the French 1st Corps under Franchet d'Esperey , which was regrouped in the center.
29th August
On August 29, the British rearguard with the I. ( Douglas Haig ) and II. Corps ( Smith-Dorrien ) held the Noyon - Chauny to La Fère line , where the connection to the French 53rd Reserve Division (the left wing of the 5th Army) took place. On the right wing of the German 2nd Army, the 17th Division of the 1st Army initially only used its artillery to effectively intervene in the fighting west of St. Quentin; it thereby supported the action of the X Reserve Corps to the Oise . During the German advance south of Guise, the 19th Division reached Audigny, the 20th Division Macquigny, the 2nd Guards Division Puisieux, and the 1st Guards Division was assigned to Proisy. After the French attack to the west of Hirson near Marfontaine had failed due to the resistance of the German Guard Corps, Lanrezac moved his 1st Corps to the center of the battle front. In the center he concentrated three corps (from left to right - 3rd, 1st and 10th corps with 6th, 37th, 5th, 1st, 20th and 19th divisions) to take Guise back and pushed that German X. Army Corps returned to the Oise. The 19th Division was only able to stabilize the situation at Jonqueuse - Mont-d'Origny with the lastest effort.
August 30th
On August 30th, on the right wing of the 2nd Army, the German X. Reserve Corps with the 2nd Guard Reserve Division and the 19th Reserve Division advanced on the Oise section Mézières - Châtillon - Sissy opposite Ribemont , where the French 18th Reserve Division advanced Corps with the African 38th Infantry Division had to stop for the time being. General Bülow was able to considerably strengthen his right wing by subordinating the 17th Division of the 1st Army under Lieutenant General von Bauer . On his left wing, too, the Guard Corps was able to occupy Marly and Wiège-Faty , the 1st Guard Division pushed on to Le Sourd, the 2nd Guard Division on Laigny. In the center of the battle line, the 19th Division pushed parts of its Oertzen brigade to the east of Mont d'Origny in order to help the 13th Division to cross the Oise from the north. After the 14th Division strengthened the outer right wing further south at Mézières, the X. Reserve Corps was able to force the entire Oise section between Ribemont and Vendeuil. General Lanrezac therefore saw himself increasingly threatened on both flanks and gave up his attempts to break through the center at Guise; but he continued to fight hesitantly. Only in the evening of the day did he finally stop his counterattacks and, because of the better cover-up, went back to La Ferté and Marle in a night march , he successfully broke away from the Germans. 2,000 prisoners remained in the hands of the German 2nd Army, which, although tired from the four-week long marches and continuous fighting, continued to pursue them to Laon .
German losses
In the Reichsarchiv the losses of the German Reich are given as follows:
| Unit | Officers | Teams | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Guard Division | 74 | 2,651 | 2,725 |
| 2nd Guard Division | 15th | 386 | 401 |
| 19th Infantry Division | 58 | 1,908 | 1,966 |
| 20th Infantry Division | 38 | 1,325 | 1,363 |
| 13th Infantry Division | 15th | 380 | 395 |
| 14th Infantry Division | 5 | 73 | 78 |
| 19th Reserve Division | 60 | 1,635 | 1,695 |
| 2nd Guard Reserve Division | 19th | 418 | 437 |
| total | 284 | 8,776 | 9,060 |
In addition, the corps troops of the X. Army Corps and the Guard Corps suffered losses of seven and eight men respectively. The losses of the corps troops of the X. Reserve Corps and the VII. Army Corps are unknown, but are probably similar. The losses of the guard hunters and guard riflemen (Guard Cavalry Division and 5th Cavalry Division) are also unknown. The losses of the 17th division were zero because this division was not used.
The 1st Guards Regiment suffered the highest losses on foot with 26 officers (44.8% of strength) and 1,171 men (40.4% of strength). The 2nd Hanoverian Infantry Regiment No. 77 (6 officers (14%) and 725 men (28%)), the 3rd Guards Regiment on foot (23 officers (34.3%) and 722 Men (26.5%) and the Fusilier Regiment “General-Feldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen” (Hannoversches) No. 73 (11 officers (27.5%) and 652 men (33.5%)).
consequences
At the instigation of the French Commander-in-Chief Marshal Joffre, the English General French succeeded in keeping the Aisne Heights north of Soissons occupied with his I. Corps until September 1, in order to allow the cavalry of the German 1st Army to cross the river and to prevent an advance into the rear of the French 5th Army. Joffre had also cleared reserves for the central section of the front from the 2nd Army (General Noël de Castelnau ) in Lorraine. - At the beginning of September the new 9th Army under General Ferdinand Foch was established in front of the German 2nd Army in the Châlons-sur-Marne area , which was inserted between the 5th and 4th Army. Together with the 6th Army forming in the Meaux area - opposite the German 1st Army - both formations would be the prerequisite for the Allied counter-offensive on the Marne that was initiated on September 6th. Because of their successes in the center, the German troops changed their course south towards the Marne instead of bypassing Paris in the west according to the Schlieffen Plan .
literature
- The World War 1914 to 1918. Volume III: The Marne campaign, From the Sambre to the Marne. ES Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1925, (Battle of St. Quentin), pp. 141–179.
- Kurt Heydemann: The Battle of St. Quentin 1914. Gerhard Stalling Verlag, Oldenburg / Berlin 1925.
- Imperial Archives: Battle of St. Quentin. Bibliotheca Historica 2014