2008-03-20 09:28:38 UTC
If the schlieffen plan had worked, Germany would have captured Paris and then would have to face Russia, as france would have been defeated. The battle or the Marne was crucial to this, because if France hadn’t stopped them, Britain wouldn’t have been able to help them because of the sea. The ports would now be Germanys. And Austria-Hungary with Germany would have defeated Russia easily.
During the battle of the Marne, german troops were stopped 40km from paris. British and French troops were blocking the way by assembling near the river Marne. Once the German army had retreated, there was no chance of quickly knocking France out of the war. Now it became a war of deadlock instead of a mobile war because both sides dug into the trenches to protect their positions.
The other 3 turning points helped to break this deadlock, for example the tank. This was a turning point because the tank showed its importance in situations such as the battle of amien (august 1918). They were invented and first manufactured for World War I, by the British Royal Navy, to break the deadlock of trench warfare. A vehicle that could withstand machine-gun bullets and artillery shrapnel had the opportunity of reaching the enemy trench lines, suppressing or destroying enemy machine-gun nests and other strong-points.Tanks were also used to great effect in the Battle of Amiens, when Allied forces were able to break through entrenched German position due to armoured support.