la suite :
=======
The French Withdrawal at Briey French Government on July 30, 1914,
upon learning that German troops were moving toward the French
frontier, ordered its own troops to retire ten kilometers from the
bounary, so as to establish proof of its desire for peace. This fact
was stated in the French Chamber of Deputies on Jan. 31, 1919, by Rene
Viviani, the former Premier. " On the same day," he said, " I
requested Paul Cambon (French Ambas- sador at London) by wire to
inform Sir Edward Grey of the measures taken. ' England,' I said, '
will realize that, if France is firm, it is not she who is taking
measures of aggression. Although Germany has moved her troops upon her
battleline the Government of the French Republic intends to
demonstrate that France, as well as Russia, bears no re- sponsibility
for the attack.' " M. Viviani continued : . " Could we risk a
murderous war upon a chance meeting of patrols? We desired to proclaim
high before the world that, if France were forced to fight, she would
do so for right and justice, and not take advantage of an
equivocation. The withdrawal was carried out without meeting any
obstacle, either technical or military. Had we met with an observa-
tion from General Joffre that the measure might endanger the fate of
the country, we should not have hesitated, but would have kept the
watch on the frontier. No objection came from the General." M. Viviani
's speech was made in reply to questions by Deputy Fernand Engerand,
who sharply criticised the abandonment of the ten-kilometer zone. He
asserted that it was a technical mistake, because the mineral valley
of Briey was within range of the French guns, and had it been
bombarded intensively for three or four days the German iron ore
deposits and factories would have been destroyed and Germany placed in
an inferior position regarding minerals. This, the Deputy thought,
would have brought about an end of the war in six months. M. Viviani
replied that the abandonment of the Briey Valley in the event of war
had been decided upon by the General Staff in January, 1914. A
withdrawal to a depth of twenty-five kilometers was first considered,
said M. Viviani, who then read a telegram from General Joffre, dated
July 30, reading as follows: "For diplomatic reasons it is
indispensable that no incident occur at the frontier. No unit and no
patrol shall advance east of the line fixed". M. Viviani then read a
message from Adolphe Messimy, the Minister of War at that time, as
follows: "In order to assure English collaboration, it is
indispensable that French troops do not cross the general line decided
upon, unless a regular attack is made upon them". General Joffre,
learning that seventeen violations of the French frontier had been
committed, telegraphed to Premier Viviani on Aug. 2 as follows: "The
interdiction against crossing the THE FRENCH WITHDRAWAL AT BRIEY 503
line indicated is lifted, but, for national reasons of a diplomatic
and moral order, it is indispensable to leave to the Germans the
entire responsibility for hostilities. Consequently our troops will
merely hold the enemy back and throw him upon the frontier, without
pursuing him beyond". M. Viviani continued: " Then war was declared.
The President of the republic wrote a letter to King George, which was
published in the press at that time, but the reply of the King has
remained unpublished until now. It reads : ' I admire the limitation
which France willingly imposed upon herself and which so vitally
concerns her mili- tary defense.' " General Adolphe Messimy, the
French Minister of War in 1914, stated in an article in the Matin of
Feb. 3, 1919, that it was to establish proof of the love of France for
peace, and not to please the Socialists, that the Government had
decided to establish a safety zone of ten kilometers. The French
intelligence service, he declared, absolutely knew that Germany was
mobilizing secretly, but was endeavoring to make France appear as the
aggressor, as in the case of the forged telegram of Ems in 1870. " The
mere wandering of one of our patrols across the frontier at night/' he
said, " would have given her the excuse she sought. In order to avoid
falling into a trap I proposed a wholesale withdrawal ten kilometers
behind the frontier. At that time the intervention of England on our
side was anything but certain, and the neutrality of Italy, which was
bound in a defensive alliance with Austria and Germany, depended up-
on who was the aggressor. " A few hours after our troops withdrew
England assured us she would help us, as Austria and Germany were the
aggressors. Italy undertook to remain neutral and ten months later
became our faithful ally. The nations of Europe and America have
since, at their own time, fulfilled our expectations and our hopes."
archive.org
==============
IV. AISNE-MEUSE FRONT
[...]. When the end came the Franco-American line was within five
miles of the frontier, having gone beyond Sedan, invested Montmedy,
and occupied a front southeast to Pagny, eight miles above Metz on the
Moselle, via Stenay, Baalon, Damvillers, and St. Hilaire, facing the
most famous battlegrounds of 1870 in Lorraine and the great iron
fields of the Bassin de Briey, without which Germany could not have
prosecuted the late war for three months.
archive.org
![3-Rider . : | : . [Jarod]](https://skipass.fr/p/users/4848/profile-2.jpg "3-Rider . : | : . [Jarod]"){kind=avatar}
inscrit le 11/03/06
5953 messages