The Schlieffen Plan

Why did the Germans believe they could win the war quickly?

In 1905, the General Alfred von Schlieffen was asked to plan a way of preventing Germany from fighting a war on two fronts. Schlieffen believed that it was a priority to defeat France quickly, forcing them to surrender before Russia had a chance to mobilize her armed forces.

The Schlieffen Plan

Schlieffen’s plan was based on the following assumptions:  Russia would take at least 6 weeks to mobilize their troops.  France would be easily defeated in 6 weeks.  Belgium would not resist any German attack.  Britain would remain neutral.

Sometimes plans go awry…

On August 2 nd 1914, the German army invaded Belgium.

The Germans were held up by the much smaller Belgian army.

The Western Front and How We Got Involved  The Belgians fought back and slowed the German advance  This tactic drew Great Britain into the war since Great Britain was helping with Belgian neutrality  They had earlier signed a treaty stating they would interfere if Belgium was attacked  Aug 4 - Great Britain declared war and because Canada’s foreign policy was still tied to them Canada was automatically at war

Nobody told the Russians about the Schlieffen Plan! Russia mobilized in just 10 days and Germany was forced to withdraw troops from Belgium to defend her eastern border (on the Russian side).

The Battle of the Marne

The French were so desperate to stop the German advance on Paris that the government sent 6,000 soldiers to the front in taxi cabs!

Stalemate

With all advances halted, both sides built trenches to defend their positions.

• This is where most of the fighting took place on the Western Front

Here’s why it didn’t work:

 The Belgians resisted, and the British joined in to help, slowing down the Germans  The Russian forces mobilized much quicker than expected and began invading Eastern Germany, weakening this main force  The German troops could no longer advance on Paris from the back, but had to move in front of the city instead, allowing the French to counter-attack