| Great Retreat | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Front of the First World War | |||||||||
 British retreat, 24 August – 5 September | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France United Kingdom |
 German Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Joseph Joffre John French |
Helmuth von Moltke the Younger | ||||||||
The Great Retreat (French: Grande Retraite), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Front in the First World War had been defeated by the armies of the German Empire at the Battle of Charleroi (21 August) and the Battle of Mons (23 August). A counter-offensive by the Fifth Army, with some assistance from the BEF, at the First Battle of Guise (Battle of St. Quentin 29–30 August) failed to end the German advance and the retreat continued over the Marne. From 5 to 12 September, the First Battle of the Marne ended the Allied retreat and forced the German armies to retire towards the Aisne River and to fight the First Battle of the Aisne (13–28 September). Reciprocal attempts to outflank the opposing armies to the north known as the Race to the Sea followed from (17 September to 17 October).