Battle of Lorraine - German Counteroffensive

German Counteroffensive

Crown Prince Rupprecht, dissatisfied with the defensive role assigned to him, along with Dellmensingen, petitioned his superiors to allow him a counter-offensive, contrary to the warnings of Schlieffen in the Schlieffen Plan. On August 20, the offensive began and Noel de Castelnau ordered his army to withdraw from Morhange (the Battle of Morhange (French: Bataille de Morhange)). Seeing this, Auguste Dubail's army pulled out of Sarrebourg (the Battle of Sarrebourg (French: Bataille de Sarrebourg)). The Germans didn't halt at the border and instead marched on to try to take Nancy. Ferdinand Foch's XX Corps managed to defend Nancy successfully, halting the German offensive. To the south, Mulhouse was retaken, but it was abandoned as the French gave up on Plan XVII.

The battle lapsed into stalemate until August 24, when a limited German offensive was launched (the Battle of the Mortagne (French: 1re Bataille de la Mortagne)). The French had been alerted beforehand by scouting aircraft and so German gains were limited to a small salient. The following day, even that was lost when the French counterattacked. Fighting continued on to the end of the month, at which time trenches were built and a permanent stalemate ensued.