World War I, a war which was inevitable due to constant hostility between European countries was sparked by the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand.  When all the war declarations had been made the war was no longer a small battle between rivaling countries, but an all out battle for the domination of Europe.  Germany, a country which had begun imperializing later than other major European countries was at its most aggressive, doing whatever it could to reach the levels of the other European superpowers, namely, Britain and France.  When World War I had finally broken out, Germany had decided that it would win the war with a quick decisive victory, which would only take them a little over ten weeks, the plan which theorized this victory was called the Schlieffen Plan.

        The Schlieffen Plan was developed by Count Alfred von Schlieffen who was the German Field Marshal up to 1905.  This plan was based on the complications put forth by the Franco-Russian alliance; the problem was that if Germany ever waged war on either of these countries, they would have to fight both.  This was extremely difficult because both countries are on opposite sides of Germany, surrounding it.  The plan basically entailed that the German forces were to invade France first, as it would be impossible to fight both countries at the same time.  To invade France however, the Germans would have to travel through Belgium, as the French border would be too heavily fortified.  The problem with traveling through Belgium was that Belgium had been neutral since 1839, but Schlieffen had predicted that France would eventually attack through Belgium, so it would be an advantage to do so first.  After forcing through Belgium, and keeping the right wing of the forces strong (Schlieffen’s final words on his death bed were “Keep the right wing strong!”) the Germans were supposed to encircle France, and capture Paris from behind.  This was all supposed to take place within six weeks.  The German army was then meant to rush over to the eastern side of Germany and quickly attack Russia who Schlieffen predicted would be slow to mobilize due to their weak railway system.  In all, following the Schlieffen Plan, the war was to be won quickly and easily.

        In 1905 however, Alfred von Schlieffen was replaced by a young handsome field marshal named Helmuth von Moltke, who was a very poor strategist.  In 1914, when war had erupted and Germany was surrounded by its enemies, it was time for Moltke to put the Schlieffen Plan into use.  He did so, however it was altered in many ways and the Schlieffen plan had failed miserably.  It was not only the fault of Moltke that this ‘master plan’ had failed but also that of German nationalists, and the fact that the Schlieffen plan had many flaws in it as it was before Moltke was able to put it into use.

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        The Schlieffen Plan was designed so that it had to have been carried out exactly the way Schlieffen wanted it, if it was distorted in any way, chances of failure were raised dramatically. As the plan was carried out, it was constantly being changed by Moltke to what he thought would be benefiting Germany.  To consider why the Schlieffen Plan failed it is not only important as to how Moltke changed the plan, but also why he did so.           The forces involved in the Schlieffen Plan were not as strong as Alfred von Schlieffen had ...

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