CP Victory survey.

The question about the Schlieffen Plan is that if the Germans had taken Paris, would France have been defeated? Because the plan took them within artillary range of Paris, however the decision was made to go after the French army and smash it rather than take Paris. However, the BEP showed up and the French army turned out to be pretty hard to smash. So if the decision was made to go on to Paris, is it over for the French?
 
Paris 1914 is analgous to Moscow 1941, the capital and vital rail hub but also a magnet for forces who had overstretched themselves logistically. In my head reaching Paris would still leave a wide open flank which the Allies could shove troops into. I think the Pas de Calais is a better prize than Paris as it allows Germany to fight Britain instead of just France.
 
The question about the Schlieffen Plan is that if the Germans had taken Paris, would France have been defeated? Because the plan took them within artillary range of Paris, however the decision was made to go after the French army and smash it rather than take Paris. However, the BEP showed up and the French army turned out to be pretty hard to smash. So if the decision was made to go on to Paris, is it over for the French?

The plan was to destroy the French Army from the beginning; Paris was just a convenient (and strategically useful) target in the grand swing west.

If they go for Paris, it's over for the Germans. Their line had to keep shrinking to keep moving forward, so by the start of September they were going east not west of Paris; in order to turn west again, they have to rip a great big hole in their line between 1st and 2nd armies (or 2nd-3rd, wherever they decide to make the split). It will take the Germans a long, long time to take Paris (not least because Joffre's plan was explicitly to fight for the city block by block - see, Verdun), in the meantime, the French will pounce on the massive hole in the German front, and the Germans will get mauled as badly as at Marne I if not much worse.
 
Paris was achieveable if the Germans achieved some of the things Corelli Barnett suggests in Moltkes chapter in 'The Swordbearers'. Removing the 5th French army from the board on the 24th of August means that the newly forming 6th Army can only plug a hole, not make a decisive threat to Klucks flank. Barnett also suggests that the BEF could have been split in two and half destroyed, another major blow.
 
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