War Comes to Europe

War Comes to Europe 1914 – Outline of Events 28 June – Franz Ferdinand Assassinated. 1 July – A-H gives a list of 10 demands Serbia must meet to avoid invasion. July – Serbia agrees to only 2 demands and continues military build-up on borders. 28 July – A-H unhappy with Serbia, declares war. 29 July – Russia mobilizes to support Serbia. 1 August – Germany declares war on Russia. 3 August – Germany declares war on France. 4 August – Germany invades Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany. 5 August – A-H declares war on Russia. 12 August – France and Britain declare war on A-H.

Strategies of War What would you do? French Fortifications: Plan XVII – Called for a concentration of forces along French / German border to invade Alsace-Lorraine. Invade Russia or France first? How to avoid French forces and take Paris? How do you keep GB out of Europe?

Strategies of War In 1914, Germany believed war with Russia was extremely likely. If war broke out, Germany assumed France would also attack as she was an ally of Russia. If this happened, Germany would face a war on two fronts. Germany wanted to avoid this at all costs. Germany planned to defeat France rapidly and then turn to the eastern front for a major offensive on Russia. This was the basis for the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was the German plan of attack on France. They planned to move through Belgium (neutral country) and attack the French defenses from behind.

Strategies of War Assumptions of the Schleiffen Plan: The Reality: Russia would take at least 6 weeks to mobilize. France would be easily defeated in 6 weeks. Belgium would not resist any German attack. Britain would remain neutral. The Reality: On 2nd August 1914, the German army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. The Germans were held up by the Belgium army, backed up by the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) which arrived extremely quickly. Russia mobilized in just 10 days and Germany was forced to withdraw troops from the Schlieffen Plan to defend her eastern border. The Germans were met by French at the battle of the Marne (5-11 Sept) which halted their advance.

Evolution of the Schleiffen Plan

Results of Schleiffen Plan The plan did not work as designed. Both sides became bogged down in trenches where the war was fought for the next four years.