The Schlieffen Plan

bijx

TNPer
The Schlieffen plan was an attack plan made by Count Alfred von Schlieffen. The plan was to take advantage of the slow preparation rate of Russia, and use the time to attack France. There were two major points to this plan for it to succeed. It needed to leave enough time for Germany not to be counterattacked by Russia, and it needed to be executed by moving through Belgium.

The Schlieffen plan’s first part was for Germany to prepare and attack France before the Russian armies intervened. The idea was that if they got France out of the war, England and Imperial Russia would not enter because of France’s defeat. Russia was slow at getting its troops and war machinery ready, so it would be the perfect time to focus most of Germany’s firepower on France. This would cause France to cripple and they would be out of the war. The attack had put a devastating blow on France. The attack needed six weeks to defeat France, or else Russia would be prepared by then. Germany would then use their modernized rail system to mobilize German troops from France to Russia then Russia would be defeated. The attacked almost succeeded but was defeated by the first Battle of the Marne. Poor communication between the frontline commanders and the army's headquarters in Berlin did not help Moltke's control of the campaign.

The plan was required to be executed by moving through Belgium as a “Short Cut” to France. The only problem that arose from that part of the plan was that Belgium was neutral and was allied with England, and since the Germans were caught moving through Belgium, England was pulled into the war. The execution of the Schlieffen Plan led to Britain declaring war on Germany on August 4th, 1914.

The Schlieffen plan was almost successful, but it had some communication problems that slowed it down. The plan had to be executed within six weeks, which was a tight schedule for Germany to accomplish. When German forces moved through Belgium, England had declared war on Germany which added a new powerful country into the war.

______________________________
Provided by Brirari Historical Archives
 
bijx:
The Schlieffen plan was an attack plan made by Count Alfred von Schlieffen. The plan was to take advantage of the slow preparation rate of Russia, and use the time to attack France. There were two major points to this plan for it to succeed. It needed to leave enough time for Germany not to be counterattacked by Russia, and it needed to be executed by moving through Belgium.

The Schlieffen plan’s first part was for Germany to prepare and attack France before the Russian armies intervened. The idea was that if they got France out of the war, England and Imperial Russia would not enter because of France’s defeat. Russia was slow at getting its troops and war machinery ready, so it would be the perfect time to focus most of Germany’s firepower on France. This would cause France to cripple and they would be out of the war. The attack had put a devastating blow on France. The attack needed six weeks to defeat France, or else Russia would be prepared by then. Germany would then use their modernized rail system to mobilize German troops from France to Russia then Russia would be defeated. The attacked almost succeeded but was defeated by the first Battle of the Marne. Poor communication between the frontline commanders and the army's headquarters in Berlin did not help Moltke's control of the campaign.

The plan was required to be executed by moving through Belgium as a “Short Cut” to France. The only problem that arose from that part of the plan was that Belgium was neutral and was allied with England, and since the Germans were caught moving through Belgium, England was pulled into the war. The execution of the Schlieffen Plan led to Britain declaring war on Germany on August 4th, 1914.

The Schlieffen plan was almost successful, but it had some communication problems that slowed it down. The plan had to be executed within six weeks, which was a tight schedule for Germany to accomplish. When German forces moved through Belgium, England had declared war on Germany which added a new powerful country into the war.

______________________________
Provided by Brirari Historical Archives
Error in the subtitle: WWI not WWII.
 
And unlike the Schlieffen Plan which failed, the German plan for the invasion of France in WWII was a "massively successful plan." :fish:
 
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