Schlieffen Plan: Germany's WWI Plan to Invade France
The Schlieffen Plan, prepared by German Chief of Staff General Alfred von Schlieffen (1833-1913) in 1905, was a secret plan of attack by German armed forces against France, should the two countries go to war. The objective was to quickly defeat France in the west to avoid facing Russia in the east at the same time. The plan required German forces to quickly move through the neutral Low Countries, avoiding the main French fortifications on the Franco-German border. The plan was to attack the French lines from the rear, capture Paris, and gain a surrender in six weeks.
The Schlieffen Plan was weakened in practical terms in 1914 (when the First World War began) by the new chief of staff, Helmuth Graf von Moltke (1848-1916). With fewer troops available than planned, logistical problems, and the enemy putting up unexpectedly strong resistance, the Schlieffen Plan failed, and the German advance was first halted and then pushed back at the 'Miracle of the Marne' in September 1914, a situation which ultimately led to the establishment of the Western Front as a relatively static line of opposing defensive trenches.
In the early 20th century, states across Europe were mutually suspicious of each other's intentions. In the pre-WWI Alliance system, two blocs emerged: the Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia versus the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. In case war broke out between these two blocs, military strategists were tasked with formulating suitable plans of attack. Russian generals formulated plans on how best to attack Austria-Hungary, while French generals formed attack plans for a campaign against Germany. Most famous in history is Germany's plan of attack on France: the Schlieffen Plan.
General Alfred von Schleiffen, Chief of the German General Staff, dreamed up a plan on how best to face the French army on the Franco-German border. Completed by 1905, Schlieffen retired in December of that year, stressing that his plan was unlikely to be successful in reality since Germany lacked the necessary manpower. The plan involved certain other assumptions. The first was that Germany would probably find itself at war with both France and Russia at the same time. Britain would likely be the ally of France and Russia. This assumption was based on the treaty obligations of these states at the time and is what actually happened. The second assumption was the geography that had to be covered, and both the antiquated nature of the Russian army and its command structure meant that it would only be able to mobilise relatively slowly. Consequently, Germany's Eastern Front would require fewer troops to defend it in the initial stages of a pan-European war. It was estimated that Germany might have six weeks to deal with France before Russia's army was fully mobilised. Initially then, the bulk of the German Army could be deployed on the Western Front against France. If Germany could achieve a quick knockout blow in the west, then its whole army could be redirected to the Eastern Front.
The key to the Schlieffen plan was for German troops to move through neutral Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, thereby circumventing France's defensive fortifications on the Franco-German border. The German generals were convinced that their French counterparts, if given total freedom of movement, would mobilise the French army to attack and reclaim Alsace-Lorraine. The German generals would entice just such an attack by launching a feint advance in that region, but then swiftly withdrawing. This ploy would distract the French while the real German attack, consisting of 53 divisions, sped through the Low Countries and attacked French territory in a wide arc from Rouen to Paris, then crossed the Marne and Seine rivers to attack the French army from behind in the areas of Verdun, Nancy, Epinal, and Belfort. Part of this ambitious plan was to capture Paris, which would, it was hoped, bring about the fall of the French government and the capitulation of the state's armed forces. Once the French had been defeated, the German troops would be transported by railway to the Eastern Front to face the army of Russia.
⇒ Schlieffen Plan: Germany's WWI Plan to Invade France
