Arrogance

There was a long and protracted lead-up to the World War I. European countries and Russia knew for many years that Germany was the problem child of the European continent and undoubtedly would someday wage war against any country that stood in its way of European and even global dominance. As a result, the British trained their soldiers and obtained the necessary machines and arms of war to be effective and provide a defense for England and for their allies. Germany was a country that was always focused on the military and perhaps did have the best army on the continent. Most countries did their best to be prepared and ready. There was one glaring exception.

Perhaps, it’s not surprising that of all the countries the French took a more romantic approach to military preparedness than the others. To the French commanders, they need not have the...