-September 12, 1914.
Newspapers from every country were reporting special editions.
"Great victory for the German army at the Battle of the Marne!"
In actual history, the Battle of the Marne, in which the valiant fighting of the French army halted the German army's rapid advance, took a very different turn from the history that Stalin knew.
Unlike in real life, the French army had sufficient military strength and initially fought better than in real life against German attacks in both Belgium and the Ardennes.
However, contrary to historical fact, the German 6th and 7th Armies launched an offensive in Alsace-Lorraine, pinning down the French 1st and 2nd Armies, and then launched simultaneous attacks in the Ardennes and Belgium, resulting in the French 3rd Army being pinned down by the German 5th Army in the Ardennes, and the French 4th, 5th and reinforced 9th Army being pinned down by the German 4th, 3rd and 2nd Armies in Belgium.
The remaining French 6th Army was defending the outskirts of Paris together with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), waiting for the German 1st Army to approach after crushing the Belgian forces.
According to the Schlieffen Plan, the First Army, the far right flank of the German army, was originally intended to move behind the French left flank and attack Paris in an attempt to quickly encircle and destroy the Allied forces, but they were exhausted from the long march on foot, and both armies were at risk of being outflanked if an encirclement operation would leave a gap in their front that the French could exploit.
Therefore, as in historical fact, Chief of Staff Moltke ordered the 1st Army to end the encirclement, and while keeping close to the 2nd Army, he ordered a frontal assault on the French 6th Army and BEF waiting in front of Paris.
---This was the historical sequence leading up to the Battle of the Marne, but unlike in real life, Moltke in this world had a special trump card.
"Replace the 8th Army, which has been withdrawn from the Eastern Front, with the original mission of the 1st Army. The 8th Army will advance along the English Channel and attack the Allied forces from the west of Paris."
A battle of attrition unfolded along the Marne, as in history, with bayonet charges being crushed by artillery and machine gun fire, but the arrival of the German 8th Army downstream of the Seine behind Paris put the French 6th Army and the BEF in danger of being caught in a pincer movement.
6th Army, cease fighting on the front lines. Conduct an orderly withdrawal and defend the capital to the death."
On September 11, French commander-in-chief Marshal Joffre finally gave up the defense of the Marne River. The Battle of the Marne had thus ended in victory for the Germans. It was no wonder that many people on that day hoped that World War I had ended in victory for the Central Powers, and that they would be able to return home in time for Christmas.
The Marne River is just a stone's throw from Paris, and if it were to be breached, the glorious city of Paris, the capital of the Third Republic of France, would practically fall into the hands of the German army. Even the maritime power, Great Britain, was unable to force Germany to surrender on the European continent on its own, and Russia, the world's largest military power, was being opportunistically led by Nicholas II to prioritize domestic wealth and military strength over obligations to its allies.
The defeat of France seemed obvious to everyone.
---Until one man began to make his move.
**
"Russian troops finally begin full mobilization!"
The next day, while everyone thought that the war had ended with Germany's victory, one man instantly shattered any faint hopes: none other than Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
"Russia will never abandon its old allies!"
Coolly absorbing the barrage of criticism asking what on earth he was talking about, Tsar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire, God's representative on earth, made a solemn and innocent declaration:
"Help your fellow countrymen in peril and become the liberators of Europe!"
This sudden announcement caused panic in the Prussian General Staff, but conversely, cheers of joy filled the French General Staff. Of course, there were also cold voices, mainly in Britain, who pointed out that "this was a match-pumping scheme by the very people who had put the Allies in crisis," but for the time being, this meant that the war was on track.
"We may have been defeated at the Battle of the Marne, but the Republic is not defeated yet!"
Immediately, Marshal Joffre, commander in chief of the French army, announced a war of all against all, and called on the people to cooperate in the all-out war. In the end, as Falkenhayn had feared, the German army's rapid advance ended with the victory at the Battle of the Marne, and it turned into a quagmire of all-out war.