The World War I Battle That Changed the World Forever

 German soldiers (wearing distinctive pickelhaube helmets with cloth covers) on the front at the First Battle of the Marne during World War I, taken in September 1914. 

105 years ago, a decisive engagement on the Marne River transformed warfare, destroyed Europe, and unleashed totalitarianism.

When World War I broke out in August 1914, it was assumed that it would be over quickly. In six months, perhaps as early as Christmas, one side or the other would deliver what would later be called the “knockout blow.”

“Before the leaves fall, you will be home,” German Emperor William II was quoted as saying to the troops leaving for the front. The leaves would fall for another four years along with millions of Europe’s finest young men in what would be the most destructive European conflict since the Thirty Years War of the 17th century.

The course of this awful war was set by a battle little known in the United States. The Battle of the Marne, which began 105 years ago today and lasted for about one week, ranks alongside Waterloo, Stalingrad, and Gettysburg as among the most decisive engagements in modern history. In many ways it shaped the course of the 20th century.

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