First World War Coursework
B. Why did a stalemate develop on the Western Front?
A stalemate developed on the Western Front as a result of the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan. There were many reasons that the Schlieffen plan failed.
As many unexpected things happened, the original Schlieffen plan had to be modified.
Firstly, when the Germans invaded Belgium in August, they were not anticipating the resistance the Belgians put up. The Germans expected the Belgians to let them through Belgium with no resistance. Yet the Belgians held up the German advance giving time for Britain to send in expeditionary forces into France. The British had decided to help the Belgians and the French, and this was another shock to the Germans as they believed that Britain would not get involved. The British declared war on Germany on the 4th August.
B. Why did a stalemate develop on the Western Front?
A stalemate developed on the Western Front as a result of the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan. There were many reasons that the Schlieffen plan failed.
As many unexpected things happened, the original Schlieffen plan had to be modified.
Firstly, when the Germans invaded Belgium in August, they were not anticipating the resistance the Belgians put up. The Germans expected the Belgians to let them through Belgium with no resistance. Yet the Belgians held up the German advance giving time for Britain to send in expeditionary forces into France. The British had decided to help the Belgians and the French, and this was another shock to the Germans as they believed that Britain would not get involved. The British declared war on Germany on the 4th August.