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From the time the Battle of the Marne opened, Moltke had been relatively out of touch with his army commanders; Kluck and Bülow received no orders from him at all on September 6th or 7th despite the importance of their position. This was due partly to the German high command's habit of allowing its army commanders relative latitude in their operations, and partly to the great distance between Moltke's headquarters (in [[Luxembourg]]) and the actual front, almost 150 miles away. In light of this, Moltke sent one of his intelligence officers, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hentsch, to visit the headquarters of the five attacking German armies and determine the overall situation.
From the time the Battle of the Marne opened, Moltke had been relatively out of touch with his army commanders; Kluck and Bülow received no orders from him at all on September 6th or 7th despite the importance of their position. This was due partly to the German high command's habit of allowing its army commanders relative latitude in their operations, and partly to the great distance between Moltke's headquarters (in [[Luxembourg]]) and the actual front, almost 150 miles away. In light of this, Moltke sent one of his intelligence officers, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hentsch, to visit the headquarters of the five attacking German armies and determine the overall situation.
Over the course of September 8, Hentsch, moving from east to west, visited in turn the headquarters of the Fifth, Fourth, Third, and Second Armies. Though the first three were, he judged, in fair condition, Bülow told Hentsch that evening that the gap between his and Kluck's lines had made their position untenable and that they ought to withdraw north of the Marne to avoid being outflanked and overwhelmed. By the following morning, Hentsch had come to agree with Bülow and his staffers and, visiting Kluck later that day, advised him to disengage and withdraw north in order to close ranks with the rest of the German line. Though Kluck was initially opposed to this policy--his IX Corps had already begun to overlap the French northern flank and threatened to sweep into their rear--Bülow had already begun his retreat, and by mid-afternoon Kluck had instructed his corps commanders to follow suit.
Over the course of September 8, Hentsch, moving from east to west, visited in turn the headquarters of the Fifth, Fourth, Third, and Second Armies. Though the first three were, he judged, in fair condition, Bülow told Hentsch that evening that the gap between his and Kluck's lines had made their position untenable and that they ought to withdraw north of the Marne to avoid being outflanked and overwhelmed. By the following morning, Hentsch had come to agree with Bülow and his staffers and, visiting Kluck later that day, advised him to disengage and withdraw north in order to close ranks with the rest of the German line. Though Kluck was initially opposed to this policy--his IX Corps had already begun to overlap the French northern flank and threatened to sweep into their rear--Bülow had already begun his retreat, and by mid-afternoon Kluck had instructed his corps commanders to follow suit.
The withdrawal of the First and Second Armies forced Hausen's Third to follow suit, which spurred the other German formations to fall back as well. After Moltke himself visited the front line on September 11, he ordered all the armies to retreat as far as the Aisne river, some 40-50 miles behind the Marne, and to entrench along the high ground there. It was around this time that Moltke supposedly told Kaiser Wilhelm, who was at the Supreme Headquarters in Luxembourg, "Your Majesty, we have lost the war." Whether Moltke actually said this or not is uncertain; but he did seem to understand that German forces had suffered a defeat and would have to abandon the offensive. Already in poor health when the war started, he also suffered something akin to a nervous breakdown, and on September 14 was relieved of his command, replaced as Chief of the General Staff (the official title for the overall German military commander) by General Erich von Falkenhayn.
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:World War I]]