Answer:
The German nightmare was a war on two fronts. Historically, Russia needed time to ‘mobilize’, that is, to call up reservists, equip them, and assign them to their regiments and platoons. So the logical way of operating was to attack and defeat the French first, before attacking the Russians. But in 1914 the Russians cheated; they mobilised before they announced it so their army was in the field quite a long time before the Germans expected it — and the dreaded war on two fronts materialised. The Germans were lucky in that their effective commander Ludendorff (who was technically 2ic) moved his troops about by train, so they were not already exhausted by a long and hurried march and were able to throw the Russians back into complete confusion and surrender.
So the Russians were defeated but not mortally injured, the French came close to defeat but just managed to stabilise a front, and the ‘despicable English Army’ saved itself from disaster by the narrowest Of margins.
Four years of continuous bloody slaughter were assured.
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