The Von Schlieffen Plan

Germany’s problem was that during war it would be attacked from both the East and West                                                                 

German General Alfred von Schlieffen had dedicated his life to coming up with a plan of attack that would avoid a two front war

The Schlieffen Plan was based on three correct assumptions. France would be able to mobilize faster than Russia The French would not expect an attack from Belgium The French would position its army on its heavily fortified German border. It was also based on three faulty assumptions. The Belgians would be defeated in under three days if they offered any resistance at all. Britain would not interfere, or at least would not arrive in time to help. The attacking army had the clear advantage in battle.

He also made several other key changes. Germany would avoid crossing mountains by attacking France through neutral Belgium & The Netherlands. However, the neutral countries might refuse to allow Germany to cross their borders. Moltke the Younger, modified the Schlieffen Plan in order to maintain The Netherlands neutrality. He also made several other key changes.

Moltke’s modifications to the plan called for the German attack on Holland (The Netherlands) to be called off, and to use less men on the Belgium campaign so the fake attack on France could be reinforced. The rest of the world watched in horror as the Modern German army defeated the Belgians in only 2 weeks.

The (Modified) Schlieffen Plan had kicked off with startling success

However, the Belgians had managed to slow the Germans down for two weeks

As the Germans had predicted, the French marched into their former territories of Alsace and Lorraine as soon as the Germans mobilized their troops.

This pushed the French closer to the Northern German army impeding it. The Schlieffen Plan had called for the German army to be divided like so. This would allow the French to appear to be winning back their territories while the real German threat circled around from the North and captured Paris. Moltke’s modifications called for two equal German armies and resulted in the southern army actually winning ground rather than losing it. This pushed the French closer to the Northern German army impeding it.

The French were forced to retreat deep into their own territory The Germans appeared to be on their way to victory

Unfortunately for Germany, the new weapons made it much better to be on the defensive.

The French and British soldiers had dug deep trenches across the Marne River

The Germans attacked the British and French lines at The Battle of the Marne This time it was the Germans who were slaughtered by the French and British Forces. The Germans retreated across the Marne River and dug trenches of their own. The Battle of the Marne ended in a tie with neither side able to break the other’s line. The Western Front, as the war with France was eventually called, became a stalemate.

As the months passed both sides frantically dug a gigantic network of trenches in Eastern France

Eventually there would be enough trenches that, if lined up together, they would encircle the Earth twice!