September 5, 1914: The First Battle of the Marne

September 5, 1914: The First Battle of the Marne breaks out along the River Marne near Vincelles, France, about 80 miles east of Paris.

Here's what Imperial Germany intended: Utilizing the Schlieffen Plan, thought up by Army Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen in 1906, the Army would invade the Netherlands and Belgium, and then France, rather than invading France through their common border. Having gained this kind of confidence, the Germans could then march on Paris, taking the capital as they had in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, and what was already being called "The Great War" would be over by Christmas.

But the French had the British on their side, on the Western Front; and the Russians as allies, fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. They believed that one decisive win by this Triple Entente on each side, and, well, the war would be over by Christmas, except the Germans would lose.

Schlieffen died in 1913, and didn't live to see his plan put into action. In fact, the Germans did not invade the Netherlands, who stayed neutral throughout the war. They did invade Belgium, and reports of their war crimes there were sent all over the world, through the colonies held by Britain and France.

But when the German Army, 900,000 strong, led by the current Chief of the General Staff, Generaloberst Helmuth von Moltke, met over 1 million French, commanded by Marshal Louis Franchet d'Espèrey -- many of them brought to the front by commandeered Paris taxicabs -- and 100,000 British, commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French, they found themselves facing a counterattack that they couldn't handle.

By September 9, the Germans had to retreat. By September 12, they had taken up a trench position in eastern France. The British and the French did the same. The Germans lost 67,000 men; the French, 80,000; the British, 1,700. But there would be no march on Paris: Instead, they were in trenches in eastern France.

And for the next 4 years, that's pretty much where each side stayed: Each side in a network of trenches, with a "no man's land" in between, with the occasional "going over the top" that led sometimes to gaining a few hundred yards, only to lose it in the next attack.

The Germans -- and the French, and the British -- had treated this war as one of glory, that would be over quickly. They would have been wise to learn from William Tecumseh Sherman, a General of the American Civil War:

* "Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster."

* "I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation."

* "There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell."

The war would not be over by Christmas. Not by December 25, 1914. Not by December 25, 1915. Not by December 25, 1916. Not by December 25, 1917. "The Great War" had become "The World War." In an issue dated June 12, 1939, Time magazine became the 1st news outlet, anywhere in the world, to call it "World War I," because it had become clear that a "World War II" was coming.

There would be a Second Battle of the Marne, from July 15 to 18, 1918. It turned out to be the last major German offensive of the war. They were overwhelmed by an Allied force that now included the United States of America. That force won, forcing the Germans to retreat. The Allies kept pushing the Germans back until the Armistice was signed on November 11. That ended the war.

Moltke's health was already deteriorating at the time of the First Battle of the Marne, due to a stroke a few weeks before the war began, and he died in 1916, with the war ongoing. French, named 1st Earl of Ypres for his command in that Belgian city later in the war, died in 1925. Franchet d'Espèrey lived until 1942 -- a time when France was under German control, and, at the age of 86, there was little that he could do about it.

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September 5, 1914 was a Saturday. The only major professional sport in North America at the time was baseball; and, this year and the next, there were 3 leagues playing.

In the American League:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 4-1 at the Polo Grounds. An error by Yankee 3rd baseman Fritz Maisel began the top of the 13th inning, causing pitcher Carroll Brown to lose his composure, and the Senators scored 3 runs. Walter Johnson went the distance for the win for the Senators.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ernie Shore limited the defending World Champions to 4 hits, 2 of them singles by Eddie Collins. Tris Speaker went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs for Boston.

Rookie Babe Ruth had made 2 appearances for the Red Sox in July, and would make 2 appearances at the end of the regular season in October, but, at this point, was pitching for the Providence Grays, helping them win the International League Pennant.

* A doubleheader was split at League Park in Cleveland. The Cleveland Naps won the opener, 6-4. The Chicago White Sox won the nightcap, 3-0, with Meldon John "Mellie" Wolfgang pitching a 3-hit shutout. Yes, that was the real name of a real major league pitcher.

Between the 2 games, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the slugger, 2nd baseman and manager for whom the Cleveland team was then named, went 4-for-8 with 2 RBIs. Left fielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson went 1-for-5 with 2 walks.

Lajoie was 22 days away from collecting his 3,000th career hit. But they finished last, and so he asked to be traded, and was. The next season, the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. And it traded Jackson to the White Sox.

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0 at Navin Field in Detroit (later to be renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium). Bill James (no relation to the later statistics maven and baseball author) pitched a 4-hit shutout. Ty Cobb went 1-for-4.

In the National League:

* A doubleheader was split at Ebbets Field. The New York Giants won the 1st game, 8-5. Their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Robins -- as the Dodgers were known under manager Wilbert Robinson from this season until 1931 -- won the 2nd game, 4-1.

* The Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 12-2 at Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field) in Cincinnati.

* And the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at West Side Park in Chicago. Wilbur Good hit an inside-the-park 3-run home run to win it in the bottom of the 9th. Honus Wagner went 0-for-3 with a walk.

And in the Federal League:

* The Brooklyn Tip-Tops swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Rebels, 7-1 and 3-2 in 10 innings at Washington Park, which had been home to the Dodgers from 1898 to 1912.

* The Buffalo Blues beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Federal League Park in Buffalo.

* The Indianapolis Hoosiers beat the Chicago Whales, 3-2 at Federal League Park in Indianapolis.

* And the St. Louis Maroons beat the Kansas City Packers, 3-1 in 10 innings at Gordon and Koppel Field in Kansas City.

In English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team I would one day support, went to the Birmingham area, and beat Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. "Wolves," 1-0 at Molineux Stadium.