The Schlieffen Plan
The German Plan to Win the War
As early as 1890,
German High Command
had thought about what
Germany would do if she
was at war with France
and Russia
German General Alfred
Von Schlieffen worked on
this problem and devised
the Schlieffen Plan
The plan called for a swift and decisive
attack upon France
Schlieffen calculated that this offensive
would not take more than 6 weeks
Once France had fallen, they would focus
on Russia
Russia’s troops were not well trained nor
disciplined
Schlieffen calculated that it would take the
Russians weeks or months to mobilize
Also, Russia’s armies would have to cover
great distances on poor roads and railways
The Plan
German troops would make a wide sweep
through Belgium, fanning out as they
entered France
Most troops would sweep behind Paris in a
great arc coming up behind the French
armies, which Schlieffen calculated would
be close to the French-German border
The Risks
Violation of Belgian neutrality
Britain had signed a treaty guaranteeing the
protection of Belgian neutrality
Germany assumed that Belgium would not
resist any attack and that Britain would
remain neutral
The Reality
August 2, 1914, German army invades
Belgium and Luxembourg according to the
plan
The Belgians fought back, slowing the
German advance by a couple of days
The Reality
Russia mobilized in just 10 days and
Germany was forced to withdraw troops
from the Schlieffen Plan to defend its
eastern border
Germany did not advance to Paris, instead
attacking east of the capital; they were met
by the French army there and defeated at
the Battle of the Marne
The Reality
The Germans were forced to retreat at the
Aisne River, where they dug in, leading to
four years of trench warfare
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