ABSTRACT
General Bonnal remarks very properly, in one of his brilliant articles, that the whole plan of the German offensive against France was explained in General von Bernhardi's Vom heutigen Kriege, of which a French translation appeared in 1913. The plan of the Germans to get possession of Paris was based upon psychological as well as strategical grounds. The seizure of the French capital would have had an immense moral effect, and in their opinion would have brought about the immediate end of the war. The retreat of the Germans, when they were within two days of Paris and their advance-guard was at Pontoise, is the greatest mystery of the war. The battle of the Marne, which saved Paris from destruction, must be considered as the most important event in the annals of France, and is one more demonstration of the fact that the human will can sway the supposed fatalities of history.
