The people's war book; history, cyclopaedia and chronology of the great world war . the other nations had neverdreamed possible. The roadways into Bel-gium and France and Western Russia wereas clearly marked by the signs of Germansecret agents as are the streets of a largecity. On the day war was declared the armiesof the Teutonic Allies numbered nearly9,000,000 men. Their armies were lavishlyequipped. The men were drilled andtrained to the finest edge. Their numericalsuperiority was insignificant compared totheir other advantages. They were led byofficers who had been trained for that par-tic
The people's war book; history, cyclopaedia and chronology of the great world war . the other nations had neverdreamed possible. The roadways into Bel-gium and France and Western Russia wereas clearly marked by the signs of Germansecret agents as are the streets of a largecity. On the day war was declared the armiesof the Teutonic Allies numbered nearly9,000,000 men. Their armies were lavishlyequipped. The men were drilled andtrained to the finest edge. Their numericalsuperiority was insignificant compared totheir other advantages. They were led byofficers who had been trained for that par-ticular moment. Their artillery, theirtransport system, their liaison, was all thatalmost half a century of preparation couldaccomplish. On the face of it, the CentralPowers were attacking a combination ofnations whose preponderance in populationand resources was overwhelming. But theGermans counted on their training andquick thrusts, made possible by their deceit,to offset this. Paris was to be taken andFrance humbled within a few weeks. Theydid not count upon Great Britains en-. Roumanias Queen Marie, a staunch supporter ofthe Allied cause. HISTORY OF THE WAR 41 trance into the war, and even if she shouldbe drawn in, her standing army and quicklyavailable military resources were Russia was to be struck before herunwieldy armies could be mobilized andmoved. The war would be won. France, confronted for years by the fearof German encroachments, had maintaineda standing army and an easily mobilizedfirst reserve of 1,500,000 men, a considera-ble force for a nation of her size. Boundin faith herself by the treaty protectingBelgium, France had devoted her defensivepreparations only to the building of a lineof forts along her border where it touchedthat of Germany proper. From Verdun toBelfort, she thought, was the only necessityof fortification. Belgium lay to the northof that, and Switzerland to the south andeast. France, while her standing army andreserve were of respect
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
