Taxis of the Marne 1914
French Renault AG1
Landaulet
by Tim Rigsby
One of the single most important legacies of the First World War was the great legacy of the Taxi de la Marne, the French Renault AG1 Landaulet, this automobile made history on the nights of September 6 & 7, 1914 when all the taxi drivers in Paris assembled on the esplanade of iles Invalides by the order of Gallieni (the military governor of the Paris Region). When no other means of transportation was available to transport troops to the front in a frantic attempt to stop the Germans who were nearing Paris. Gallieni was prompted to use what was available, 1.500 AG1's transported over 5,000 troops to the front some 100km from Paris in the area of la Marne. This was a huge turning point in the war. There for the immortal legacy of the Taxi de la Marne was born.
The plan below comes courtesy of Ken Musgrave, he holds the copyright to it, and any commercial use mus first be cleared with him:
Click here to download a film of the actual Taxi columns during the Battle 1914!
History of the Renault AG1 Landaulet
The AG1 revolutionized passenger transportation in France and Europe during the first half of the 20th century, The AG1 gradually replaced the slow moving horse transportation in the larger Cities. Between 1904 and 1914 Renault began mass production of the AG1 series. The only difference in each model was basically the design of the body, but each car had the famous Renault engine cowl.
