Could either side have won the Race to the Sea?

hasdrubal barca

Could either side have won the Race to the Sea in fall 1914?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_Sea

Could the Allies have pushed north faster and relieved Antwerp?

Could Germany have outflanked the Allies and seized the channel ports?

When would have been the best point in the campaign for either side to deal a decisive blow?

interested in everyones thoughts:D
 

Riain

Banned
I think that if the original idea to reinforce the right wing once the defensive battles on the left had been followed through, instead of letting the left go on the offensive, would go a long way to winning the Race to the Sea. Van Creveld calculated that these troops would not be able to make it to the Marne on time for that battle, but they would be behind the main armies and be available to head west in the aftermath of the Marne.

BTW keep looking into the Race for the Sea, its AH gold, I've long believed that Germany winning it would go close to winning the war for them in the long run.
 

hasdrubal barca

Riain said:
I think that if the original idea to reinforce the right wing once the defensive battles on the left had been followed through, instead of letting the left go on the offensive, would go a long way to winning the Race to the Sea. Van Creveld calculated that these troops would not be able to make it to the Marne on time for that battle, but they would be behind the main armies and be available to head west in the aftermath of the Marne.

BTW keep looking into the Race for the Sea, its AH gold, I've long believed that Germany winning it would go close to winning the war for them in the long run.
Click to expand...

thanks for the comment i will:D
 

Saphroneth

Banned
What would it mean to win the Race to the Sea? Presumably the other side could still form a coherent front line - the main thing that the RTTS gets is where the front line actually forms. (Which is still very important.)
 

Riain

Banned
I think that a 'win' in the rtts for Germany would be to hold cap griz nez or for Britain to hold all of the Belgian coast. This would drastically change the naval geography of ww1.
 
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