The First Battle of Picardy was an early flanking engagement in WWI's Race to the Sea, temporarily halting French advances along the Oise valley.
Key Facts
- Dates
- 22–26 September 1914
- Part of
- Race to the Sea (17 Sep – 19 Oct 1914)
- French axis of advance
- Up the Oise river valley toward Noyon
- French advance line
- Roye to Chaulnes
- German reinforcement
- German 6th Army arrived from Lorraine
- Subsequent action
- Merged into Battle of Albert (25–29 Sep 1914)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the German advance into France and the Franco-British check at the First Battle of the Marne, both sides undertook reciprocal attempts to outflank each other's northern flank during the Race to the Sea. The French sought to envelop the German 1st Army by driving up the Oise valley through Picardy.
The French Sixth Army attacked northward up the Oise river valley toward Noyon while the Second Army assembled further north to turn the German flank. French forces advanced along the Roye–Chaulnes line until the German 6th Army, reinforced from Lorraine, arrived and halted the French push, resulting in an inconclusive encounter battle across Picardy.
The German reinforcements neutralized the French flanking effort, and neither side achieved a decisive envelopment. Both armies then attempted yet another outflanking move further north, which escalated directly into the Battle of Albert (25–29 September 1914), continuing the pattern of mutual flank extensions that characterized the Race to the Sea.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent