Let's say that France, Russia, Bulgaria, and Serbia go against the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, and Austria-Hungary in 1914, and France takes the initiative and sends troops first into Germany. What's France's route? Through Belgium at all or straight through Alsace-Lorraine? How far could France get? What's the best it could do before Germany and the British turn the tide? Do we still get trench warfare, poison gas, stalemate?
How much does Russia drain away from the west by its attacks? What would France and Russia's war aims be in this scenario, territorially speaking?
Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated, given the initial setup.
Anything is possible, say the Russians do the germany first plan. They have a nice sitzkreig for the first few months with the moribund austrians, while their 4 as opposed to 2 armies run over the german 8th, take east Prussia, Posen, and Silesia, and drive to the Elbe by October. Maybe the collapse in the east affects German morale enough that the ATL Marne analogue becomes a rout, and Germany sues for peace.
Given the short war every one expected, France gets Alsace Lorraine, Russia gets Galicia. That is pretty much it.