1. Europe in 1914
Archduke

2. Major Fronts of the Great War

3. The Schlieffen Plan: 1905 General von Schlieffen.
Did not want to fight on 2 fronts
Defeat France in 6 weeks.
Estimated it would take Russia 12 weeks to mobilize

4. The Plan in detail: I Schlieffen split the army in two
The Northern Army (1.3m men) was ten times size of the Southern Army.
SA attack first to draw troops from Paris
Because the SA was so weak, the French would drive it back and chase after it.

5. The Plan in detail: II
SA had to be deliberately weak so it would retreat and get the French to follow
The Russians had to take at least 12 weeks to mobilise
The Northern Army had to advance rapidly

6. The Plan in detail: III
NA would trap the French from behind and crush it like a nut between a ‘hammer and an anvil’.
With Paris encircled, France would surrender.

7. The Schlieffen Plan

8. The Plan in practice Schlieffen died in 1913
Feared that the weak Southern Army would driven back to Germany
Changed the ratio between the NA and SA from 10:1 to 10:4

9. Failure SA drove the French bak Belgium and Britain step up
The Germans were stopped and forced back by the French at the battle of the Marne
NA sent130,000 troops to the Eastern Front because the Russians had mobilised in six weeks.

10. This cartoon was in Punch, in 1914
Bravo Belgium!