The First Battle of the Marne was a key conflict from September 6-12, 1914, which halted the Germany effort to capture France quickly and forced Germany to fight on two fronts afterward. Known to the French as the "Miracle of Marne," this battle saved the nation and Paris from German capture near the outset of the war. But the French losses were horrific: 250,000 men. German losses were similar. Still it was a victory for the Allied Powers in halting the German advance on the Western Front and thwarting the German Schlieffen Plan for winning the War.<ref>http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/plans.htm</ref> Russia, meanwhile, was not doing as well holding its own on the Eastern Front.<ref>Though tenacious in battle, Russia was not as industrialized as the West and its military was inferior.</ref> | The First Battle of the Marne was a key conflict from September 6-12, 1914, which halted the Germany effort to capture France quickly and forced Germany to fight on two fronts afterward. Known to the French as the "Miracle of Marne," this battle saved the nation and Paris from German capture near the outset of the war. But the French losses were horrific: 250,000 men. German losses were similar. Still it was a victory for the Allied Powers in halting the German advance on the Western Front and thwarting the German Schlieffen Plan for winning the War.<ref>http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/plans.htm</ref> Russia, meanwhile, was not doing as well holding its own on the Eastern Front.<ref>Though tenacious in battle, Russia was not as industrialized as the West and its military was inferior.</ref> |