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Overview of the Schlieffen Plan in WW1

The Schlieffen Plan was devised by German army chief-of-staff Alfred von Schlieffen over nine years from 1897 to 1906. It envisioned a massive German army swinging through Belgium and northern France to quickly take Paris in a decisive campaign. The plan imagined using 90% of German forces for an attack, and was Germany's only plan for war. However, it did not account for a two-front war with both France and Russia. When Russia mobilized faster than expected in just 10 days, German forces had to be diverted to the eastern front, weakening the main attack on Paris as outlined in the Schlieffen Plan.

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580 views3 pages

Overview of the Schlieffen Plan in WW1

The Schlieffen Plan was devised by German army chief-of-staff Alfred von Schlieffen over nine years from 1897 to 1906. It envisioned a massive German army swinging through Belgium and northern France to quickly take Paris in a decisive campaign. The plan imagined using 90% of German forces for an attack, and was Germany's only plan for war. However, it did not account for a two-front war with both France and Russia. When Russia mobilized faster than expected in just 10 days, German forces had to be diverted to the eastern front, weakening the main attack on Paris as outlined in the Schlieffen Plan.

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Yes Lol
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Name

The Schlieffen Plan


[Link]

The plan was the work of the


German army chief-of-staff Alfred
von Schlieffen.

It took nine years to devise - it


was started in 1897, presented in
1905, and revised in 1906.

The plan imagined a huge hammer-


blow at Paris, using 90 per cent of
the German army, swinging down
through Belgium and northern
France, to take out France in a
quick, decisive campaign.

It was a plan of attack - for


Germany, mobilisation and war
were the same thing.

It was Germany's only plan for


war.

Questions:

1. Who came up with the Schlieffen Plan? (1)

2. How long did the plan take to devise? (1)

3. What did the plan imagine doing? (2)

4. What type of plan was it? (1)

 It did not plan for a situation where Germany was at war with Russia, but not with
France. When the German chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg asked "Is the Fatherland in
danger?", the German general Moltke declared "Yes".
 In the event, Russia took only ten days to mobilise, and Moltke was forced to send
some troops to the eastern front, which weakened the main attack on Paris.
Questions:

5. What were the weaknesses of the plan? (2)

6. How long did Russia take to mobilise? (1)

7. Why was this significant when it came to following the Schlieffen Plan? (2)

 When the German army asked permission to go through Belgium on 2 August 1914, the Belgians
refused, so the German army had to fight its way through Belgium. This slowed it down and
tired the soldiers.

 Britain's decision to uphold the 1839 Treaty with Belgium amazed the Germans. "For a scrap of
paper, Great Britain is going to make war?" said the amazed Bethmann-Hollweg.

 In the event, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived to resist the Germans, and held them
up at the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914. With his army exhausted and many of his best
forces killed, Moltke was defeated at the battle of the Marne on 6-10 September 1914. "Sir, we
have lost the war," he told the Kaiser.

Questions:

8. Why did Belgium refuse Germany access through their country? (2)

9. What was the consequence of Britain’s decision to uphold the 1839 Treaty with Belgium? (1)

10. How important a part do you think Germany played in the outbreak of war in 1914? (2)

15 marks

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