For the French it was north-eastward from their detraining points at Sedan, Montmédy, Toul, Nancy and Belfort behind the 1870 frontier. For the British Expeditionary Force, which began to disembark at Boulogne on 14 August, it was south-eastward towards Le Cateau, just before the Belgian border. These were short marches. For the Germans the marches planned were long, westward first and then southward towards Châlons,
