The Battle of the Frontiers refers to a series of four battles occurring from August 14, 1914 through September 7, 1914. The Battle was fought on a grand scale with Germany and France each committing 1,000,000 to the cause. The line of battle stretched from the Swiss Frontier to Mons in Belgium. The four battles included in the Battle of the Frontiers were; the Battle of Lorraine (August 14 – September 7), the Battle of Ardennes (August 20 – 25), the Battle of Charleroi (August 22-23), and the Battle of Mons (August 23).
The Battle of Lorraine was a French initiative against German forces. There were several reasons for its usefulness. Alsace-Lorraine was a French territory until its loss in 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War. It was therefore a priority to the French to insure its return. Additionally, the French believed that a French initiative would allow the Russians more time to prepare to win the war. The French attacked on August 14 and advanced for four days with little resistance from the Germans. This was part of a trap by the Germans. By August 18 the French Army had taken the city of Sarrebourg. During the night between August 19 and 20 the Germans launched a counter-attack designed to pin the French in place. The French army retreated back to its starting point 6 days earlier. The Germans continued to press the French through the first week of September; however the French Army held their ground.
The Battle of Ardennes saw the French surprised by the Germans. Having done reconnaissance the French believed that there were no Germans in the area and expected to advance through Ardennes with little effort. However German aircraft had detected French movement and the German Army prepared for battle. During the battle the 3rd Colonial Division of the French army lost 11,000 of its 15,000 men. The French retreated.
The Battle of Charleroi saw another retreat by the French army. The French Commander-in-chief, General Joffre, did not believe the Germans would attack through Belgium, despite the German violation of Belgium neutrality, and so sent only the small French Fifth Army to defend the area. The French were severely attacked by three German Armies and were forced to retreat after only 2 days of battle.
The Battle of Mons was fought by the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) who had arrived in the second week of August to assist France. Sir John French commander of the BEF had been expecting to join the French Fifth Army on Aug 22 and defend the Mons-Condé canal against German attack; however, that Army was fighting the battle of Charleroi. Commander French attempted to hold the area and succeeded for the entire day of August 23. Although outnumbered, the BEF were expert riflemen. Due to the French Fifth Army’s retreat on that same night, The BEF were also forced to retreat.
On August 5, 1914, Germany attacked the city of Liege, Belgium, violating that country’s neutrality and beginning the first battle of the War to End All Wars. Germany’s second army, numbering 320,000 men, desired to advance through Belgium to attack France in the North. At the time Liege was considered the most heavily fortified city in Europe. Liege was set on a 500 foot slope rising from the Meuse River. It was protected by a total of twelve heavily armed forts, 6 on either side of the river. Each fort was separated by one to three miles and approximately three to six miles from the city itself.
The Second German Army was under the command of Karl von Bulow. Under von Bulow’s orders, the second army began its attack of Liege on August 5. The Belgian Army, under the command of General Leman, fought furiously to protect the country’s neutrality and freedom at the urging of King Albert. At the end of the day on August 5 the Belgians still held the city, and the Germans suffered heavy losses. This was a shock to the confident Germans.
Rather than continue to battle by traditional means the Germans introduced a new weapon; a howitzer built in Austria. These cannons had a barrel that measured 12 inches in diameter. Additionally the German’s used a cannon manufactured in their motherland. This cannon had a barrel that measured 16.5 inches in diameter. Up until this point the largest barrel ever seen belonged to the British and measured 13.5 inches in diameter. The destruction was devastating.
Ten days after the fighting began, 11 of the 12 forts had been taken by the German’s. On August 15 the final remaining fort was exploded. The German’s entered the rubble to find General Leman alive but unconscious. Leman was taken prisoner. The tiny country’s intense and unending resistance earned it respect throughout the world. The German advance through Belgium toward France continued three days later.
The F-4 Phantom is a two seat, long range fighter bomber used most extensively in the Vietnam War. It was initially designed as a Navy Fighter, a role that a quick study of current military aircraft found was lacking. In the 1950’s McDonnell Douglas had several trainer type aircraft that were immediately tapped for redisign. The plane that eventually became the F-4 was the F3H Demon, after extreme makeovers.
The F3H Demon was a single engine Navy fighter designed for launch from aircraft carriers. It served until the mid 60’s in that role. When McDonnell Douglas began to redesign the Demon to meet their initial pre-conceived specifications, they were up against several already established Navy supersonic fighters: the A-4 Skyhawk and F-8 Crusader. After some deliberation, four Navy officers approached the offices of McDonnell Douglas and presented an entirely new spec sheet that they would have to meet.The role for the to-be-designed fighter was as an all-weather fleet defense interceptor.
The newly redesigned prototypes were to feature 2 seats, with the second pilot operating a powerful radar system. In addition, the engines were placed low in order to maximize fuel capacity while allowing the intake of air into low sitting air intakes. The first prototypes were named the XF4H-1, delivered to the Navy, and took their maiden flight in 1958. Besides for a hydralic failure that prevented the retraction of the landing gear, the fight and each successive flight went smoothly. In fact, a few records were broken during the testing of the XF4H-1.
The most famous use of the F-4 was during the Vietnam war in the 60s. The F-4 earned many nicknames, among them “Rhino”, the “Flying Anvil”, “Flying Footlocker”, “Lead Sled”, the “Big Iron Sled” and the “Louisville Slugger”. They were first used by the Navy, as they were intended, but soon trickled down into Marine Corps and Airforce roles. The F-4 shot down the majority of MiG’s over Vietnam during the 1960s for a grand total of 107 kills. The most common weapon of destruction was the AIM-7 Sparrow, which was a medium range, radar homing missile. The F-4 could carry 4 AIM-7 Sparrows at a time, which meant that while they would often miss their targets, another missile was usually ready to fire directly after.