Thus the front of the battle ascended more and more
to the west and north until arriving at the sea it could go no
farther. This is what has been called by French military critics
"The Race to the Sea." In this race to the sea the Germans had a
great advantage over the French. A glance at the map is enough
to make it understood. The concave form of the German front made
the lines of transportation shorter; they were within the interior
of the angle, while the French were at the exterior. On the German
side this movement drew into the line more than eighteen army corps,
or twelve active corps, six reserve corps, and four cavalry corps.
On the French side it resulted in the posting of the army of Castelnau
on the left of Manoury's army, in the deployment of the army of
General de Maud'huy to the left of the army of Castelnau, in the
transference of the British army to the left of the army of Maud'huy,
in the relegation of the army of Urbal to the left of the British
army, the army of Urbal being later flanked by the Belgian army
which came out of Antwerp. In order to accomplish this new and
extended disposition of forces the French General Staff was compelled
to reduce to their extreme limits the effective strengths of the
armies of the east and of the Oise, and as a result to make the
maximum use of the means of transport. In this it succeeded. When
the great battle of Flanders was waged toward the end of October,
the Germans, trying to turn the French left and to pierce it, found
themselves facing considerable French forces, which, allied with the
British and Belgian armies, completely barred the passage against
them.
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