The hastily replenished corps, largely of Saxons, which had been General von Hausen’s army, lay next to General von Buelow, a little north of Vitry, and as it proved, a weak spot in the German line.  The left center of the attacking force was under the command of the Duke of Wuerttemberg and extended across the whole southern end of the plain of Champagne to the upper streams of the Aisne south of St. Menhould.  The extreme left of this advanced line was the army of the Imperial Crown Prince, holding the old line on the Argonne to the south of Verdun.  In close relation to this advanced line, but not directly concerned with the battles of the Marne, were the armies of the Bavarian Crown Prince, encamped in the plateau of the Woevre, engaged largely in the task of holding open the various lines of communication, while far to the south, in the vicinity of the much battered little town of Mulhouse, lay the remains of the decimated army or the Alsace campaigns under General von Heeringen.

Facing this left center came General Langle’s Fourth French Army, covering the southern side of the plain of Chalons, it lay south of Vitry-le-Francois, and faced due north.  On this army, it was expected, the brunt of the drive would fall.  At this point the French battle line made a sharp angle, the Third French Army, commanded by General Sarrail, occupying a base from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun.  It thus faced almost west, skirting the lower edge of the Forest of Argonne.  At the same time it was back to back with the Second French Army, which covered the great barrier of forts from Verdun to Toul and Epinal, while the First French Army held the line from Epinal to Belfort.

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CHAPTER XIII

ALLIED AND GERMAN BATTLE PLANS

So much for the actual disposition of the armies.  The question of preponderance of numbers, of advantages of position, and of comparative fighting efficiency is the next factor with which to be reckoned.  The numbers were fairly evenly matched.  About twelve days before this fateful day of September 3, 1914, there were approximately 100 German divisions as against seventy-five French, British, and Belgian divisions.  But, during those twelve days, French and British mobilization advanced with hectic speed, while, at the same time, Germany was compelled to transfer ten or perhaps fifteen of her divisions to the eastern theater of war.  It follows, therefore, that there were about 4,000,000 soldiers in all the armies that confronted each other in the week of September 3-10, 1914, of whom, probably, 3,000,000 were combatants.

An early estimate placed the German strength at 1,300,000 combatants, and the Allies at about 1,700,000.  A later French estimate put the Germans at 1,600,000, with the Allies between 1,400,000 and 1,500,000.  The preponderance of efficiency of equipment lay with the Germans.