Changes

Following the assassination of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in [[Sarajevo]] and the subsequent July Crisis, the major powers of Europe went to war at the end of July and the beginning of August, 1914. Germany, facing a two-front war against [[Russia]] in the east and France in the west, had long since decided to resolve the situation via the Schlieffen Plan, which called for a rapid invasion of France from the northeast via neutral Belgium to capture the capital city of Paris, encircle and crush the French armies, and thus quickly knock the country out of the war; it could then throw the bulk of its military against Russia.  

Following the assassination of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in [[Sarajevo]] and the subsequent July Crisis, the major powers of Europe went to war at the end of July and the beginning of August, 1914. Germany, facing a two-front war against [[Russia]] in the east and France in the west, had long since decided to resolve the situation via the Schlieffen Plan, which called for a rapid invasion of France from the northeast via neutral Belgium to capture the capital city of Paris, encircle and crush the French armies, and thus quickly knock the country out of the war; it could then throw the bulk of its military against Russia.  

In accordance with this plan, German armies crossed into Belgium on August 3, an act which brought [[Great Britain]] into the war the following day, as it was a guarantor of Belgian neutrality. The French, for their part, had committed most of their forces against their direct border with Germany further south, in a bid to regain [[Alsace-Lorraine]], which they had lost after the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870-71. This left them especially at risk of being enveloped from the north and west. However, stiff resistance from the small Belgian army significantly slowed the German advance, giving the Allies time to marshal their resources and regroup. (Out of frustration, German soldiers increasingly resorted to such terror tactics as arson, vandalism, and the shooting of Belgian civilians; this so-called "Rape of Belgium" drew global outrage, turning public opinion in many noncombatant countries--including the [[United States of America|United States]] against Germany.)

In accordance with this plan, German armies crossed into Belgium on August 3, an act which brought [[Great Britain]] into the war the following day, as it was a guarantor of Belgian neutrality. The French, for their part, had committed most of their forces against their direct border with Germany further south, in a bid to regain [[Alsace-Lorraine]], which they had lost after the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870-71. This left them especially at risk of being enveloped from the north and west. However, stiff resistance from the small Belgian army significantly slowed the German advance, giving the Allies time to marshal their resources and regroup. (Out of frustration, German soldiers increasingly resorted to such terror tactics as arson, vandalism, and the shooting of Belgian civilians; this so-called "Rape of Belgium" drew global outrage, turning public opinion in many noncombatant countries--including the [[United States of America|United States]]--against Germany.)

===Battle of the Frontiers===

===Battle of the Frontiers===