 However, the days-long delay caused by the fortress ring allowed the Belgian, and more importantly, the French armies to complete their mobilizations.Had the Germans captured Liège as they had hoped, by a bold stroke, the German army could have been in Paris before France could organize its defence at the First Battle of the Marne.The Fortified Position of Liège was conceived by a commission charged with recommending options for the rebuilding of Belgium's defences.