French postcard celebrating the Allied victory at the Battle of the Marne with the Kaiser tumbling in the river, Germans (in green) fleeing. The French in blue and red advance and tend to German wounded. The British, France's ally, advance in the distance.

Caption:

Dans un élan magnifique, les armées allemandes on passé deux fois la Marne. Tout va bien. Les troupes sont fraîches. (Agence Wolff)



With magnificent élan, the German armies have crossed the Marne twice. All is well. The troops are fresh. (Wolff Agency)



Signs and text:

On demande couturière pour recoudre les boches

Voulez vous que j’écrive a vos parents?

Poudres sèches pour la guerre future 1873

Sucre pastilles caramelle

Baton provisoire de maréchal



We need a seamstress to mend the Boche

You want me to write to your parents?

Dry powder for future war 1873

Caramel sugar lozenges

Marshal’s provisional baton



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Friday, September 11, 1914

"The battle which we have been fighting for the last five days has ended in an undoubted victory. The retreat of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd German Armies before our left and center becomes more and more marked. The enemy's 4th Army in its turn has begun to withdraw to the north of Vitry and Sermaise.

Everywhere the enemy has left on the field numerous wounded and a quantity of munitions. Everywhere we have made prisoners while gaining ground. Our troops bear witness to the intensity of the fight, and the means employed by the Germans in their endeavors to resist our élan. The vigorous resumption of the offensive has determined our success."

Quotation Context

Excerpt from the Order of the Day by General Joseph Joffre, Commander of the French Army, on September 11, 1914, reporting victory in the Battle of the Marne. Joffre's opponent, German Commander in Chief Helmuth von Moltke, did not visit the front until September 11. With his First, Second, and Third Armies already retreating, Moltke ordered a general retreat across his line of advance, a line running from Noyon to Verdun.

Source

The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. II, 1914, p. 270, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920

Tags

1914, September, 1914-09-11, Battle of the Marne, Marne, Joffre