2 August 1914: Did the French Troop Allocation Follow Any Economic Logic?

2 August 1914: Did the French Troop Allocation Follow any Economic Logic? Using operational research, we aim to identify whether any underlying relevant optimization logic prevailed in the distribution of French troops in the 'Plan Joffre XVII'. We propose a combinatorial optimization problem based on travel time minimization, as well as four possible solving methods. We compare the solutions of those methods among them and with the actual 'Plan Joffre XVII' to conclude on the most suitable logic for troop allocation.