Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-10975360-20131129121937/@comment-3428312-20141125221611

GunsnadGlory wrote: Actually, no. 90% of the fighting in the first month of the war took place solely in Europe, and the only way this war ISN'T lasting 4 years is a French collapse at the Marne. If Paris falls, the French elan is broken, and they probably sign a peace treaty within a month. Lose a little more territory. Hate Germany a little more. Ironically, such a swift end to the war would also cut off any blame against the Jews for the result of the war.

Russia would have survived with an intact reputation as a juggernaut and the idiot they had for a King would have probably kept his position.

Britain, ironically, comes out the strongest. They still have the flat out best navy, they lose barely any troops, and they get sympathy in other nations for having stuck it out with the French and the Belgians. The best part is, they leave the Ottomans looking like utter fools. Even if the war just lasts until the Marne, that still means fighting took place in Africa and Asia to a noticeable extent.

IF the Germans take Paris and force the French to terms, they are going to go for more than a little territory. See the Septemberprogramm as to what Germany was in general looking to achieve. This is not to say they will get it all, however. As to the Jews, it should be noted any German victory in the Great War would prevent that. Anti-Semitism had always existed with Germany, but it's the pychological trauma of their loss in the Great War that really brought it to the fore. If I remember correctly, the first winner of the Iron Cross in World War I was a Jew for example.

Russia, by the time of the Marne battle, had already lost Tannenberg and the the multitude of problems facing their Military system had been exposed. Germany and Austria could probably wrangle Congress Poland from them.

The Germans taking Paris via the Battle of the Marne probably means the BEF would get hammered during the action as well. I agree with the Navy bit, but it should be noted that the French fleet probably gets cut down in the peace treaty with Germany. Why is that important, you may ask? During OTL World War I, the Anglo-French seperated the zones of naval responsibility. The French, with their smaller fleet, mainly focused their naval attentions in the Med, while the British got the North Sea and Channel. With the French fleet no longer able to be relied upon, any future engagements between the UK and Germany will see the UK being forced to spread its forces out more to cover the Med in full. This, combined with a post-war naval buildup by the Germans, could bring the HSF to relative parity with their Royal Navy rivals.

As to the French and Belgian views of the British, there is probably going to be a lot of anger towards the UK. There was some in OTL IIRC, and that was with the Entente having won the war! Now imagine if they lost, how the Belgians and French would feel.