Part 2/11:
At the week's onset, the situation on the Western Front was precarious. Three German armies, totaling approximately 750,000 soldiers, were moving rapidly through Belgium and engaging the French army with merciless efficiency. Their advance was marked by staggering speed—around 30 kilometers a day—while the British Expeditionary Force, under General John French, was en route from the west. The Eastern Front painted a different picture, where German forces were retreating from East Prussia, making way for the advancing Russian troops.