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Comment by vkou | Hacker News Reader

> Agreed, but did they have any reason to believe it would be shorter than the Franco-Prussian War?

Yes. Germany came within spitting distance of Paris thanks to the Shlieffen plan, and was only hobbled at the eleventh hour by overextended supply lines.

Meanwhile, the Entente was counting on the Russian juggernaut, with its millions of men to overrun East Germany. The Russians saw great successes against Austrian forces, but met a complete disaster when they engaged the Germans. As it turned out, the Russian empire was a paper tiger - completely unprepared to fight a war.

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Geany might be able to spit on Paris put taking it is ahole other problem. Germany was never actually close taking Paris.

Calling Russia a paper tiger is complely wrong, just because they were not quite as effective as Britain, Germany and even France does notean they were a paper tiger. Compared to Austria, Turkey amd even Italy they managed a efficent economy and had a huge well trained army. The problem was that the civilian government failed, the militay and economic side were suprisingly strong.

Would the war have actually ended early if Germany had taken Paris? With the British and Russians still unmolested on their own turf, wouldn't the French have tried to retake the city instead of surrendering? Or at least their allies keep fighting? (I realize this perception is colored by how it played out in WWII so I'm curious whether it would also apply to WWI)

The British expeditionary force was tiny, and the Russians were smashed. Neither could have fought on in Europe after France was eliminated.

Unlike WW2, it was also not an existential war - it was just another European conflict. An armistice gets signed, the losers pay reparations, everybody goes home.

I think the comment above is questioning the belief that France would have packed it in and called it a day if Paris was captured (I believe the answer is no) not what would have happened if France was out of the war.

In that case, they underestimate the importance of Paris as a center of bureaucracy, logistics, communication, as well as that of the fortifications between it and the border.

France may have been able to hold on for a while longer, but losing Paris would have almost certainly made an armistice the preferable option. It would not have been able to regain its territory, its industrial output and manpower would have been dwarfed by Germany, and its allies were in no position to offer assistance.

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