The Schlieffen Plan was a German military strategy created in the late 1800s to defeat France quickly after Russia mobilized, preventing a two-front war. It involved invading Belgium to outflank French defenses and capture Paris within 6 weeks. However, changes to the plan and unexpected Belgian resistance delayed Germany, allowing both France and Russia to mobilize faster than anticipated, forcing Germany to fight on two fronts instead of one as the plan intended.
The Schlieffen Plan was a German military strategy created in the late 1800s to defeat France quickly after Russia mobilized, preventing a two-front war. It involved invading Belgium to outflank French defenses and capture Paris within 6 weeks. However, changes to the plan and unexpected Belgian resistance delayed Germany, allowing both France and Russia to mobilize faster than anticipated, forcing Germany to fight on two fronts instead of one as the plan intended.
The Schlieffen Plan was a German military strategy created in the late 1800s to defeat France quickly after Russia mobilized, preventing a two-front war. It involved invading Belgium to outflank French defenses and capture Paris within 6 weeks. However, changes to the plan and unexpected Belgian resistance delayed Germany, allowing both France and Russia to mobilize faster than anticipated, forcing Germany to fight on two fronts instead of one as the plan intended.
The Schlieffen Plan was a German military strategy created in the late 1800s to defeat France quickly after Russia mobilized, preventing a two-front war. It involved invading Belgium to outflank French defenses and capture Paris within 6 weeks. However, changes to the plan and unexpected Belgian resistance delayed Germany, allowing both France and Russia to mobilize faster than anticipated, forcing Germany to fight on two fronts instead of one as the plan intended.
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The Schlieffen Plan
• A military plan named after its creator, German
general, Alfred von Schlieffen, with the goal of winning a war on two fronts after France and Russia formed their alliance in the late 1800s
• To be effective, the plan depended on four things:
– A massive number of troops – Speed – Deception – The element of surprise The plan involved invading Belgium to reach France, and capturing Paris for a quick French defeat before attacking Russia. In order for the Schlieffen plan to work… - Russia must take six weeks to mobilize its army - Germany needs to be allowed passage through neutral Belgium to sneakily attack France without crossing the Franco-German border - No other countries can be willing to defend Belgium’s neutrality when Germany violates it WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED • Changes were made to the original Schlieffen Plan, so that the “right flank of troops” was not as strong making capturing Paris more difficult
• Although not expected to resist, the
Belgians fought to defend their neutrality and delayed the Germans in reaching France
• Britain declared war on Germany in
response to their invasion of Belgium
• Because of the Belgian delay, France was
prepared for the attack
• Russia mobilized its troops within 10 days,
much quicker than anticipated. This meant that GERMANY WAS FIGHTING A TWO FRONT WAR (the very thing they were trying to avoid!) - Both the French and German armies face off across the River Marne in France
- With no natural landscape to protect
themselves, and to try and secure their positions, both sides dig into the ground, taking up a defensive position
- This is the beginning of TRENCH
WARFARE What is the SIGNIFICANCE of an historical event? When we examine the historical significance of something, we are looking at an issue/event/person or group that: - Initiated a kind of change - Played a key role - Was a turning point In other words, we are examining their importance or impact on an event/time period/ or nation. SO when asked to “identify and state the significance”… - Who/What (identify) - Where (identify) - When (identify) - How (identify) - Why IMPORTANT? (significance) The SIGNIFICANCE of the Schlieffen Plan - It began trench warfare - When Britain declared war on Germany, her Empire was automatically at war too, which meant that Canada was at war - The failure of the Schlieffen Plan turned a European war into a world war Exemplar- Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria-Hungary and heir to the throne. He was assassinated on June 28th, 1914 in Sarejevo, Bosnia during a military parade by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian nationalist. Ferdinand’s assassination is significant because it is the direct/trigger cause of World War One which began after Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia.