The task committed to the Second Army, that of Lorraine under De
Castlenau, was to protect Nancy, then to transfer itself to the
east, advancing later to the north and attacking in a line parallel
to that taken by the First Army on the Dieuze-Château Salins front
in the general direction of Saarbrücken. Its mission was therefore
at once both offensive and defensive: to cover Nancy and continue
toward the west the attack of the First Army.

After having repulsed, August 10 and 11, 1914, the strong German
attacks in the region of Spincourt and of Château Salins the Second
Army took the offensive and went forward almost without stopping
during four days of uninterrupted fighting. Penetrating into Lorraine,
which had been annexed, it reached the right bank of the Selle, cut
off Marsal and Château Salins, and pushed forward in the direction
of Morhange. The enemy fell back; at Marsal he even left behind
enormous quantities of ammunition.

As a matter of fact, he fell back on positions that had been carefully
fortified in advance and whence his artillery could bombard at an
almost perfectly accurate range. August 20, 1914, made a violent
counterattack on the canal of Salines and Morhange in the Lake
district. The immediate vicinity of Metz furnished the German army
with a vast quantity of heavy artillery, which played a decisive
role in the Battle of Morhange. The French retreated, and during
this rear-guard movement the frontier city of Lunéville was for
some days occupied by the Germans.

Thus the First and Second Armies failed in their offensive and saw
themselves obliged to retreat, but their retreat was accomplished
under excellent circumstances, and the troops, after a couple of