Ypres
The German 'Schlieffen Plan' — to invade France through Belgium and take Paris in six weeks — was halted by the Allies at the first battle of the Marne. This led to the stalemate that characterised much of the First World War.
Typical of this stalemate was the way in which a city like Ypres, in Belgium, was continually fought over from the early days of the war until the Armistice in 1918.
General Haig recorded in his dairy on [date needed]:
'Ypres — after the war Since the 21st October we have been in action every day. The fighting has been severe and our losses heavy, but the enemy have lost much more heavily than ourselves and we hold our ground. The enemy announced his intention of forcing his way to the coast at Calais and Boulogne, the brunt of his attack was delivered against Ypres, and it is only fitting that British troops should have been there to meet him.'
