Invasion 1914: The Schelieffen Plan To The Battle Of The Marne

The German invasion of France and Belgium in August 1914 came agonizingly close to defeating the French armies, capturing Paris, and ending the First World War before the autumn leaves had fallen. The initial German strategy revolved around, and in part depended on, rapid victory over the French, but they were unable to deliver the knock-out blow they had planned - and the surprisingly fluid battles of the early days of the war deteriorated into the defensive, trench-based warfare which was to see the war drag on for another four years of unprecedented slaughter.