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Charles Lanrezac (July 31, 1852 - January 18, 1925) was a distinguished general of the French army at the outbreak of World War I.

At the start of WWI, Lanrezac was given command of the French Fifth Army, holding the extreme left of the French line. His command was arguably the most difficult on the Western Front; he had to meet the enveloping right-wing of the German Army that quickly steamrolled Belgium.

Although Lanrezac knew retreat to be necessary from the beginning of the war and warned against the danger of the German sweep through Belgium, his superior, General Joseph Joffre, believed that France should follow the offensive Plan XVII, regardless of what happened in Belgium, and discounted Lanrezac's warnings. With the help of the British Expeditionary Force, the French held the line in retreat even after the great defeat at the Battle of the Frontiers in 1914. His retreat after the Battle of Charleroi arguably saved the French army from decisive defeat as it prevented the much sought envelopment of the Schlieffen plan. After fighting an other defensive action in the Battle of St. Quentin, the French were pushed to within miles of Paris, but the line held at the sacrifice of Lanrezac's career.

His harsh criticism of his superiors in the Staff Corps overshadowed his impressive ability to avoid envelopment by the Germans and he was replaced by Louis Franchet d'Espérey just before the opening of the First Battle of the Marne. Lanrezac stayed in retirement for the rest of the war though he refused an offer to be re-employed in 1917.

• Evans, M. M. (2004). Battles of World War I. Select Editions. ISBN 1-84193-226-4.
• Tuchman, Barbara W. (1962). The Guns of August. Ballantine Books- New York. ISBN 0-345-38623-X.

• FirstWorldWar.com Who's Who: Charles Lanrezac

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