As to numbers of trained soldiers who could be assembled quickly, Germany and Austria had a similar advantage. In the German first line were 1,500,000 men, with a second line of an additional 1,000,000. Behind these were reserves amounting to 4,500,000, giving her a total strength of 7,000,000. It Is believed that she threw into France and Belgium by the middle of October considerably more than 2,000,000 men. Austria's first-line army contained about 1,000, 000 men increased by 1,500,000 by the middle of October. In all she was able to raise about 4,000,000 men. Her troops, however, were of various nationalities and some of them were not to be trusted in fighting against Serbians and Russians.
On the side of the Entente the strongest mili tary power was France. She had about 1,500,000 men in the first line and 500,000 in the second line with 2,000,000 in reserve. Most of her first line troops had seen actual service in Africa, which proved of great value in the first months of the Great War. The regular ariny of Russia munbered about 1,000,000 with at least 3,000,000 in reserve. She could, of course, call up a vastly larger number from her un trained populauon, but she did not have the equipment for them, nor could she expect to Import it in sufficient quantities after Germany closed the Baltic, which the German fleet would undoubtedly do as soon as war was declared. The only other avenues of importation into Rus sia were by the Black Sea, whidi Turkey might interrupt; through Bulgaria, which would be dosed if Bulgana joined Germany in the war; through Archangel, connected with the interior by a single track railroad; and by way of Vlad ivostok, whose long distance from the seat of war made it but a slender reliance. As for Great Britain, her regular army numbered 250, 000 well-trained men. She had, also, nearly 700,000 militia in various stages of training. By the middle of October she had 150,000 men in the fighting area in France. The Belgian army numbered 263,000 on paper, but half of them were needed to man the forts, which were the country's main reliance for defense, and the remainder were not in a good state of training. Serbia had an army of 250,000 men, with as many more who could be called into the field. Her hardy population furnished superior sol diers, as their conduct in the Balkan War had shown. She had an exceiknt general staff, but her weakness lay in her lack of artillery and other equipment.
Germany's grand plan of operations, often discussed before the war began, was to over whelm France in a sudden and furious attadc; and she thought her superior strength would make this an easy task. She considered Russia a slight menace for some months after the campaigns opened, because of the expected slowness of Rt133i9,11 mobilization. She thousht that 250,000 men placed along the East Prussian and POliSli frontier would hold back any army Russia could send against her territory for several weeks after the war began. She as signed to Austria the duty of attacking Russia from Galicia, believing that such an attack would keep the tsar busy until the work was done in France. This plan came to its defeat at the battle of the Marne.
In the long series of trench engagements that followed in. France and Belgitun two factors come pronunently. into view. France had to throw in her fighting force as freely as a sense of necessary economy of man power permitted, while Great Britain strained her energy to raise and train armies to take over a due pro portion of the battle-line. Both nations had to set to work in the most industrious manner to manufacture cannon, machine guns and air craft to make up for the deficiency with which they began the w.ar. There were many months dunng which their troops held trenches without adequate weapons of defense, exposing their un protected bodies in the most heroic manner while the industries of France and Great Britain worked day and night to produce the vast stores of munitions that were needed. In meeting this emergency they were aided by the British com mand of the sea, which allowed the allies to buy freely in neutral countries. It had long been an accepted principle of international law that neutrals could sell supplies to a belligerent, pro vided the same facilities were extended to all parties to the war. To have reversed this rule during the war would have been an act favor able to Germany, and the Entente would have been justified in pronouncing it a violation of neutrality.
Following her grand plan, therefore, Ger many concentrated her armies against France until her forces exceeded those of her opponents in that region as seven exceeds four. Her superiority in heavy cannon and other weapons, as well as in rapid means of transport, was eves greater. Her supreme command thought that her success was assured.