It was enough for the Legislative Assembly, at the vigorous request of the Commune, to issue a statement to the French people on September 4 in which it promised "that it would fight with all its powers against the king and the royal government" so that the slaughter would end the same day and Parisians would go to the front. The Battle of Valmy (September 20, 1792) was the first victory over the enemy since the beginning of the war. That victory saved Paris. Goethe, the great German poet and admirer of the scientific work of Dr. Marat, said, realizing the significance of the Battle of Valmy: "At that place, on that day, a new era in world history began. It is the first victory of the people over the kings."