German and French Armies on the Western Front

The basic fighting group of an army is the Infantry Company. Depending on many factors, the Company can be made up of between 30 to 120 men. It is commanded by a Captain. 10 companies make up a Regiment, usually commanded by a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel.

Between 2-9 Regiments make up a Brigade. This is around soldiers. 2-4 Brigades make up an Infantry Division. This contained around 5000 men.

2-4 divisions made up a Corps, and between 2-7 Corps made up a Field Army.

On the Western Front, Germany attacked France, Luxembourg, and Belgium with 7 field Armies.

The German Armies were numbered from their right to their left. The First army was the horse Schlieffen/Moltke/Germany was betting upon to win. They were to envelope the French army by sweeping north and west close to the English Channel and circle behind Paris. Of course, this would take them through Belgium.

The 2 nd Army too was to travel through Belgium, as was the 3 rd. They would attack through the Ardennes Forest.

The 4 th and 5 th armies attacked the French strong points, while the 6 th and 7 th held the attacking French armies at bay.

The Germans had prepared better and had the superiority in numbers. They push the French back on almost every front. However, they did not stick to their plan, and their plan did not cover everything.

The French Plan 17, called for 5 French armies to attack German to the North East, once Germany had attacked Belgium. The Allied British Army was supposed to stop any German advance up north. The French armies are numbered 1-5 starting on their right.

The Germans would not complete their objective. There were stopped short of Paris, and could not obliterate the French Army.