Paris, one of Europe's—and indeed the world's—great cities, was about to be engulfed by the flames of war. It had once been known as the romantic capital, a place people yearned for. But it would soon be destroyed as well, reduced to a field of ruins.
No one knew how many people mourned this. In only two days, all of Paris had become an empty city. Of course, this referred to the civilians who had lived there; they had all left. Yet the number of soldiers entering the city was substantial, reaching several hundred thousand. They would use Paris itself as their battlefield and fight the German invaders to the bitter end.
The French Army headquarters remained in Paris, where Marshal Joffre continued to work. Of course, he would not stay in Paris forever; he would soon leave. The battle for Paris would be the responsibility of the Paris Garrison Commander.
The Paris Garrison Commander was General Gallieni, commander of the French 10th Army Corps. The 200,000 men of his 10th Army Corps would become the main force defending Paris. In addition, the troops deployed in Paris included the British Expeditionary Force 4th Army Corps and the remaining troops of the French Army 1st Army Corps. This would bring the total strength of the Anglo-French Allied Forces deployed in Paris to 500,000 men.
As for the rest of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, they continued withdrawing south. They hoped Paris could become a meat grinder, one in which the German military would bleed itself dry. Then the Anglo-French Allied Forces that had withdrawn south might be able to launch a counterattack and defeat the German military in one stroke.
Of course, this was the Anglo-French Allied Forces' battle plan. As for whether it could truly be carried out successfully, that was