Assignment 1.1 – Explain How the Schlieffen Plan was meant to work
The Schlieffen plan was a unique strategy designed so the Germans could defeat their two major enemies, France and Russia, without being severely incapacitated themselves. This could be achieved by attacking and defeating France within 6 weeks and then attacking Russia and thus avoiding a war on two fronts, which is what every dominant power fears.
Although Britain was in the triple entente along with France and Russia, it was only the powers encircling Germany that frightened it. They knew they always faced a war with France after Germany had “snatched” the rich provinces of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870, leaving France humiliated after an unsuspected invasion. They were also worried about the Franco – Russian alliance (1892-4), which stated that one should come to the aid of another if it was attacked and vice – versa. This pact itself seemed to isolate Germany and it knew one day they would face an all out war against both of them. To avoid this the Chief of the German General Staff, General Von Schlieffen (who was in office from 1891 to 1906), devised a plan exploiting the vastness of Russia against itself and thus calculating it would take a minimum of 6 weeks to mobilise its troops. By this time however, Schlieffen had already hoped to have defeated France. However in order to do this he needed to take France completely by surprise, which could be accomplished by sending his troops through three neutral countries, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg as Germany itself had signed a declaration to keep the independence of Belgium in a neutrality treaty in 1839. Before this however, there was some speculation as to who Germany should strike first, but when the massive difference in mobilisation time between France and Russia was calculated and the more efficient railway system running through Belgium catering more to their needs was acknowledged, Schlieffen stressed that France must be hit first. Although General Schlieffen went to great extremes and difficulties to ensure Germany did not suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Russia or France, he was influenced by Kaiser Willhelm the Second, when in 1888 he stated that the British had “a contemptible little army”. As a consequence no war plans were ever conceived for an encounter with the British, a mistake Germany would later live to regret at Mons in September 1914.
