French soldiers awaiting a German assault, 1914
Just 33 days after the Germans declared war on France in August 1914, its mighty forces had roared across Belgium and penetrated into northeastern France. By early September, more than 1.4 million German troops had halted near the Marne River. They were within 30 miles of Paris—and the city was in panic.
To stave off the enemy advance, British and French soldiers counter-attacked north and east of Paris. After several days of bitter fighting, the Germans began to withdraw and dug in north of the Aisne River. The resulting “Miracle of the Marne” saved Paris from capture and prevented Germany from achieving a quick end to the war as dictated by its strategic Schlieffen Plan. Mitch Yockelson, historian and author of Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing’s Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army During World War I, discusses the First Battle of the Marne and its impact on the early stages of the Great War.