SCHLIEFFEN PLAN TO TRENCH WARFARE August – October 1914 THE WESTERN FRONT SCHLIEFFEN PLAN TO TRENCH WARFARE August – October 1914

THE THEORY Britain declares war 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

War of Movement Britain declares war 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 War of Trenches

BEF The British Expeditionary Force had been established following the Boer War. It's purpose was to ensure that Britain was always ready to react to situations around the glode in which her armed forces may be required to participate. By 1914, this force was 120,000 strong. It was commanded by Sir John French, who is seen in the video clip below inspecting troops in August, 1914.

Factfile: The BEF (British Expeditionary Force) had 120,000 highly trained professional soldiers at it's disposal. 2. The BEF had deployed it's first troops in France and Belgium just 3 days after the declaration of war. 3. From 1908, the Territorial Army had been developed to provide a strong reserve of trained soldiers. Each command also held a separate, 'Special Reserve'. 4. By the end of the First battle of Ypres, the BEF had deployed 125,000 men in Northern France and Belgium, including members of the Territorial Army who had waived their right to only serve on the Home Front3.

Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was conducted between 6-12 September 1914, with the outcome bringing to an end the war of movement that had dominated the First World War since the beginning of August.  Instead, with the German advance brought to a halt, stalemate and trench warfare ensued. In a strategic triumph at the First Battle of the Marne, which ended on 10 September, the French forces - assisted by the British - had succeeded in throwing back the German offensive, recapturing lost ground in the process.  More importantly, the battle ended any hopes the Germans had of effectively bringing the war on the Western Front to an early close

The Race to the Sea With the German advance stalled at the First Battle of the Marne, the opponents continually attempted to outflank each other through north-eastern France. This process brought the forces back to positions prepared under British Admiralty guidance, on the North coast in Western Belgium. The nature of operations then changed to trench warfare, which is very large scale siege warfare. This produced a continuous front line of trench fortifications more than two hundred miles long, which by the following Spring extended from the coast to the Swiss border.