In August 1914 the German main attack was conducted by the 2nd Army. It had the missions of taking the vital fortresses of Liege and Namur, and then defeating the Anglo-French-Belgian forces in the open plains of northern Belgium. Nevertheless, in the last 75 years historians have written little concerning 2nd Army operations, being distracted instead by the operations of the German 1st Army, whose real mission was to guard the 2nd Army's right flank. This is the first book to present a description and analysis of German 2nd Army operational planning and decision-making and the first tactical description (including the first tactical maps) of the Battle of the Sambre, or Charleroi. It shows in detail German siege warfare methods in the brilliant assault on Fortress Namur, as well as the first accurate description of the reduction of Fortress Liege. First Blood is an essential addition to the history of the Battle of the Frontiers. The outflanking of the French would lead directly to the awful stalemate of the next four years. This is how the whole bloody mess started.