| abstract
| - Welcome to the Miracle at Marne Map Game. The Point of Divergence is the Battle of Marne, considered the Miracle at Marne (OTL). From September 5th to September 12th of 1914. The Germans began a strong campaign to crush France during the first month of the war. When the Germans had reached just beyond the river Marne they encountered large numbers of French troops as well as the supremely well-trained British expeditionary force. However, rather than the right flank of the German army being hit by the French Army, the German army did not allow for an exploitable gap between. This lack of an exploitable gap as well the 1st Army conducting a holding action in what would have been a major gap of the German battle lines managed to hold out and even make a few gains as the German left flank victoriously drove back multiple French armies. With major breakthroughs made by the German Sixth and Seventh armies the right flank - particularly the First army - opened up an unprecedented gap in the German lines - too good not to exploit. This gap allowed for the French to make a worthwhile assault into the area, but a trap laid by the German First and Second armies allowed by a shift of French forces to re-establish a line against the German Sixth and Seventh Armies, turned this exploitable gap into a death trap trapping the French 5th army, and elements of the British expeditionary force. With the French 5th army destroyed, the French 6th army was forced to hold its ground as long as possible against the German First and Second Armies (with the French Ninth army begin pulled back along with Fourth, Second and First armies. This very disorganized line being re-established ended up with a 48 hour battle from September 11th to the 13th in which the French 6th Army was forced back into Paris with the British Expeditionary Force, and the remainder of the French armies forced to fight with their backs to the Seine River. With this, the Germans were able to begin the Battle of Paris in which the city fell to the Germans in short order. The BEF was therefore evacuated unable to fight alone on a continent with a failing ally. The French summarily capitulated and surrendered French Equatorial Africa and Madagascar to the German Empire. Following this, the Germans and Austrians were allowed to pursue a much stronger and more powerful front to the Russians, and prevented the British from making any more meaningful contributions outside of supplies to Russia. By midway through 1915 and a costly stalemate for the Russians on the Eastern front a Peace treaty was signed between the Entente and the Central powers. Russia returned to a status quo, as did France, but the separate colonial exchanges remained between Germany and France. The British had lost their "Balance of Power" policy and officially began looking for new allies in a new volatile world in which the British were truly threatened.
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