World War 1 - The Schlieffen Plan

Germany and the Schlieffen Plan

What was the Schlieffen Plan?

• The Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s pre-World War I military strategy. It was designed to quickly defeat France in the West so that Germany could then turn to fight Russia in the East.

• TLDR: A plan to avoid a two-front war.

When was the Schlieffen Plan originally created? And by who?

• 1905

• Alfred von Schlieffen

When was the Schlieffen Plan revised? And by who?

• 1914

• General Helmuth von Moltke.

What changes were made to the Schlieffen Plan? And why?

• Schlieffen originally proposed sending German troops through both Belgium and the Netherlands to outflank French defenses and speed up movement toward Paris.

  • This was changed to just Belgium to reduce international outrage and maintain trade

What was essentially the main goal behind the Schlieffen Plan?

• Defeat France in about 6 weeks

• Capture Paris ASAP

Was there a fallback option had the Schlieffen Plan failed? What was it?

• There was no main backup plan

What is a war of attrition?

• A war of attrition is a military strategy in which one side tries to wear down the enemy by inflicting continuous losses in personnel, equipment, and resources, rather than winning through rapid movement or decisive battles.

• TLDR: Starve the enemy, trench warfare

Who arguably had the strongest army?

• It was Germany

Was the Schlieffen plan arguably a desperation plan? (In way)

• Yes, while the plan itself was just a standard military strategy, it was desperate in intent.

Could Germany have won a war of attrition?

• Germany was doomed to lose the war of attrition in part because of its diplomatic and strategic isolation, particularly when compared to the resource-rich Allied coalition

• TLDR: No

• Army count of Central powers and Allied nations

• Central Powers: An estimated 20,000,000

• Allied Nations: An estimated 40,000,000

Fritz Fischer’s thesis/perspective?

• The Schlieffen Plan was evidence of Germany’s long-standing aggressive intentions. It was not just a military strategy, but a reflection of broader imperial war aims, fitting into Germany's ambition to dominate Europe

• TLDR: Evidence of an aggressive Germany

A.J.P. Taylors Thesis?

• The Schlieffen Plan was not part of an aggressive attempt, but rather was a rigid military solution to a worst-case strategic dilemma (two front war), driven by logic, not deliberate conquest.

• TLDR: Schlieffen plan was reasonable