by
the Third Corps, the Seventh Corps and the Seventh Corps Reserve.
The Ninth Cavalry Division occupied an advanced position west of
Crecy and the Second Cavalry Division occupied an advanced position
near the British army, north of Coulommiers. These troops constituted
the First German Army, under the command of General von Kluck.

The Allies' left, confronting this position, held strong reserves,
and by the nature of the ground itself, was well placed to prevent
any enveloping movement, dear to the German school of military
tactics. It rested securely on the fortress of Paris, believed
by its constructors to be the most fully fortified city in the
world, and should the German right endeavor to encircle the left
wing of the Allies, should it develop a farther westerly movement,
it would but come in contact with the outer line of those defenses
and thence be deflected in such an enormous arc as to thin the line
beyond the power of keeping it strong enough to resist a piercing
attack at all points. Clearly, then, as long as the extreme left
of the Allies remained in contact with the defenses of Paris, an
enveloping movement was not possible on the easterly flank.

Facing the German extreme right, was the Sixth French Army, one
of the great reserves of General Joffre, which had been steadily
building up since August 29, 1914, with its right on the Marne
and its left at Betz, in the Ourcq Valley, encamped on the western
side of that stream, facing the Second and Fourth Corps of the
Germans. The strengthening of that army from the forces at Paris
was hourly, and while three or four days before it had been felt
that the Sixth French Army was too weak to be placed in so vital a
point--that it should have been supplemented with the Ninth Army--the
results justified the French generalissimo's plans and more than
justified his confidence in the British Army, or Expeditionary
Force, which faced the tip of the German right wing drive and was
encamped on a line from Villeneuve le Comte to Jouy le Chatel, the
center of the British army being at a point five miles southeast
of Coulommiers. This army was under the command of General Sir
John French.

The right center of the German line was held by General von Buelow's
army, consisting of the Ninth Corps, the Tenth Corps, the Tenth
Reserve Corps, and the Guard Corps. This army also was encamped
upon the Marne, stretching from the eastern end of General Von
Kluck's army as far as