Was Belgian resistance the main cause of the failure of the Schlieffen Plan?

Authors Avatar by adiththomasgmailcom (student)

When the German northern groups invaded Belgium during the early stages of the Schlieffen plan, the Belgians put up a heroic resistance against them with help from the British and the French. At the battle of Mons, the Germans met heavy resistance but it can be said that Belgium was not the key reason the Schlieffen Plan failed as there were many other events in French, such as the battle at the River Aisne.

There is much evidence to show that Belgium put up an effective resistance against the Germans. It is known that the Belgians put up face resistance against the Germans at the battle of Mons and this force them to retreat. This strongly supports the fact that the Belgians resisted the Schlieffen plan and cause it to fail. Moreover it is known that the Germans did not expect much resistance from the British suggesting that they were somewhat unprepared for the events that took place. Even if the Belgian resistance did not directly put a stop to the Schlieffen plan, it definitely bought enough time for the British and the French troops to mobilise. Many people did in fact believe that Belgium was the main reason for the Schlieffen plan’s failure.

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On the other hand, there is much evidence to support the fact that it was other factors that resulted in the failure of the Schlieffen plan and not the Belgian resistance. Belgium has been portrayed as a weak boy in somehistorical cartoons, and this could go to show that there was not much hope for them. Furthermore, certain sources state that the German advance in Belgium was crushing and unstoppable and that the Belgian resistance was heroic but ineffective. This suggests that the failure of the Schlieffen plan was almost definitely because of the events in France and Russia’s ...

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