Great Retreat

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The Great Retreat was the large-scale withdrawal of Allied forces, particularly the British Expeditionary Force, across northern France and Belgium in the early weeks of World War I to avoid encirclement by advancing German armies.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Great Retreat canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War I military operation
military retreat
alsoKnownAs Retreat from Mons
linked to: Battle of Mons
belligerent Allied Powers
German Empire
characteristic continuous fighting withdrawal
long daily marches by Allied troops
rear-guard actions against German pursuit
commander Field Marshal Sir John French
General Charles Lanrezac
linked to: Charles Lanrezac
conflict World War I
countryInvolved France
Germany
United Kingdom
describedIn British official history of the Great War
French official histories of World War I
endDate 1914-09-05
followedBy First Battle of the Marne
hasCause Allied defeats in the Battle of Mons and the Battle of Charleroi
advance of German armies in the Schlieffen Plan offensive
historicalPeriod early phase of World War I mobile warfare
impact contributed to overstretching of German supply lines
helped set conditions for the Allied counter-offensive on the Marne
involves retreat across the Marne
retreat from Mons
retreat through Le Cateau
location Belgium
from the Belgian frontier to the River Marne
northern France
notableEvent Action at Néry during the retreat
Battle of Le Cateau during the retreat
objective to avoid encirclement by German forces
opposingCommander General Alexander von Kluck
linked to: Alexander von Kluck

General Karl von Bülow
participant British Expeditionary Force
French Army
German Army
partOf Western Front of World War I
linked to: Western Front
precededBy Battle of Charleroi
Battle of Mons
result preservation of the British Expeditionary Force as a fighting force
successful withdrawal of Allied forces to the Marne
startDate 1914-08-24
strategicSignificance enabled Allies to regroup and counter-attack on the Marne
prevented destruction or capture of the British Expeditionary Force

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Battle of Mons hasPart Great Retreat
Battle of Mons followedBy Great Retreat
Battle of Le Cateau partOf Great Retreat