August 27, 1933. In East Prussia, Hitler and Goering, both veterans of the First World War, pay tribute to Marshal von Hindenburg in the vast, excessive setting of the Tannenberg battle memorial. Hitler says "Tannenberg is a symbol. It was here, in 1914, that the destiny of Germany was played out". For Hindenburg, the Battle of Tannenberg is the most important moment of his life, and of the First World War. As the Russians advance into Prussia territory, provoking the massive exodus of the German population, Hindenburg stops them at Tannenberg. In the west, the German advance is stopped in extremis by the French in the Battle of the Marne. After unsuccessfully trying to overcome their adversaries, the two armies entrench themselves on the Western Front, a line passing from Switzerland to the North Sea. Further south, the Italians, Ottoman Turks and Bulgarians also enter the war. The French and British allies call upon their colonies for help: Canadians, Australians, New-Zealanders, Senegalese, Moroccans, Algerians and Annamites enter the conflict. The war is now global and large-scale bloodshed seems unavoidable. The battlefields become a living Hell.