the advance of
the German armies through Belgium was met by a French offensive in the
Ardennes, which also failed, whereupon General Joffre ordered a retreat
on the whole front, and began to move some of his forces westward, to
prepare for the battle in front of Paris.

The successes won by the German left wing and centre against a yielding
and retreating enemy were mistaken by the German high command for
decisive actions, which they were not. The French armies which had been
driven back on the Lorraine front rapidly recovered, and on the 25th of
August delivered a brilliant counter-offensive, inflicting heavy losses
on the Germans, and in effect upsetting all the German plans. The
indecision which marked the movements of the German right wing through
northern France had its origin in von Moltke's modifications of von
Schlieffen's plans and in the readiness of the Germans to believe that
the war was virtually won.[4]

[Footnote 4: This brief summary is based on two admirable articles
in _The Army Quarterly_ for April and July 1921, compiled by the
Historical Section (Military Branch) of the Committee of Imperial
Defence.]

The heroic stand made by the Belgians at Liege purchased invaluable time
for the preparations of the Allies. When, on the 17th of August, the
last fort of Liege fell, the great wheel of the German northern armies
began to revolve. Its pace was to be regulated by the pace of the armies
nearest to its circumference; that is to say, the First Army, under von
Kluck, and the Second Army, under von Buelow. Three divisions of cavalry
were to advance against the line Antwerp-Brussels-Charleroi, moving
westward across Belgium in order to discover whether a Belgian army was
still in being, whether the British had landed any troops, and whether
French forces were moving up into northern Belgium. The Belgian army
retired within the defensive lines of Antwerp, and by the 20th of August
Brussels was in the hands of the enemy. By the 22nd, von Buelow's army
had entered Charleroi and was crossing the Sambre. The repulse of the
French centre in the Ardennes left the British army and the French Fifth
Army completely isolated on the front Mons-Charleroi. The French Fifth
Army began to retreat. On Sunday morning, the 23rd of August, von
Kluck's army came into action against the British position at Mons.

The British army had taken up its position in high hopes. It was not a
British defeat which began