b)The stalemate developed on the Western Front because the Schlieffen Plan failed. The success of the Germans hinged upon them swiftly taking control of France and this did not occur.
The Schlieffen Plan depended on the German Army being able to pass quickly through Belgium but the Belgian army attempted to hold up the German advance by putting up resistance from their frontier forts. They even blew up their own bridges and flooded land. Although this did not completely stop the German advance, it did slow it down and bought time for the British and French troops to mobilise and meant that the Germans did not reach Paris in six weeks, as was expected. In addition, the German soldiers were able to advance more quickly than their supplies and therefore were underfed and exhausted.
The Schlieffen Plan had depended on the British not defending Belgium but on 4th August, Britain decided to uphold the Treaty of London and protect Belgium. They declared war and sent the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), a small group of Britain’s best soldiers to meet the advancing Germans at Mons on 23rd August. They had success early on but soon had to organise an orderly retreat because they were greatly outnumberd
The Russians were also much quicker to mobilise than expected, taking only three weeks instead of six, and launched an attack on Germany. Around 90% of the German army was invading France through Belgium and Russia’s attack coming earlier than expected meant that the German army had to be split and some troops had to be transferred to the east. One of the main aims of the Schlieffen Plan had failed, the German army was split and was fighting a war on two fronts which is what the plan had been designed to avoid.
After following their Plan 17 and being defeated by Germany, the French regrouped their army to defend Paris. The British and French armies joined forces along the line of the River Marne and were able to stop the German advance as well as take advantage of a gap between two parts of the German army and counter attack, forcing the Germans to retreat back to the River Aisne. This meant that Germany was unable to knock France out of the war and the Schlieffen plan had failed.
In order to protect the land that they already owned, the Germans dug trenches and soon the British and French dug their own in order to protect themselves from shell fire and snipers. Both sides followed a “policy of encirclement” and tried to outflank the enemy lines. As the Germans moved rapidly towards the sea, the British and French moved troops to block them. The Allies and the Germans wanted to reach the sea and gain control of vital ports such as Dunkirk and Boulogne. For the next four years, the positions of the two sides hardly changed and there was a stalemate on the Western Front.