avy artillery, it was clear
that this barrier could be forced, but defended by the mass of the
French army this forcing would consume more than two months.

If France were to be attacked first, then it must be attacked by some
other road than that leading from the valleys of the Rhine and the
Moselle, the route of the 1870 invasion. And the route manifestly lay
through Belgium. The fortresses of the Meuse were patently of little
modern value, the Belgian army was weak in numbers and only at the
beginning of a process of reorganization. By coming through Belgium
the Germans could hope, even if the Belgians resisted, to get to Paris
in six weeks, having delivered their decisive battle on the road.
(Vol. I, 85.)

The element of additional opposition supplied by the Belgian army and
the small British Expeditionary Army, if it came to the Continent, did
not offset in the German mind the strength of the French barrier
fortresses from Verdun to Belfort, and Belgium seemed the line of
least resistance even if that resistance were to be reckoned at the
maximum. If France were crushed within six weeks, it was safe to
reckon that there would be time to turn east and deal with Russia,
still unprepared and so far held up--if not defeated--by Austria. If
Italy merely remained neutral up to the moment of the decisive battle
in France, the outcome of this conflict would decide Italian policy.
Here, briefly, is the basis of German strategy and the reason for
German decision. (Vol. I, 86.)

THE BELGIAN PHASE

Germany declared war upon Russia on August 1, 1914. (Vol. I, 279.) She
was already mobilizing, and in a more or less complete form all Europe
had been mobilizing for at least a week. While there were delays in
the exchange of other declarations, this date may be accepted as the
real beginning of the world war. Moreover, when the declaration of war
was sent to Russia, Germany was already aware that France purposed to
stand by her ally. (Vol. I, 280.)

The first step in German action, then, was to seize the road through
Belgium. It might be had by diplomacy, but this hope was speedily
extinguished when King Albert revealed his determination to defend his
country. (Vol. I, 280.) Liege, the most important outer barrier, might
still be won by a quick blow, and thus the opening move of the
struggle was the dash of a few thousand German troops, not yet put on
a complete war basis, westward from Aix-la-Chapelle and along the main
B