The Schlieffen Plan

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The Schlieffen Plan
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Why did the Germans believe they could win the
war quickly?

• In 1905, the General Alfred von Schlieffen was
  asked to plan a way of preventing Germany from
  fighting a war on two fronts.
• Schlieffen believed that it was a priority to
  defeat France quickly, forcing them to surrender
  before Russia had a chance to mobilize her armed
  forces.

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The Schlieffen Plan

• Schlieffens plan was based on
• the following assumptions
• Russia would take at least 6 weeks to mobilize
  their troops.
• France would be easily defeated in 6 weeks.
• Belgium would not resist any German attack.
• Britain would remain neutral.

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Sometimes plans go awry

• On August 2nd 1914, the German army invaded
  Belgium.
• The Germans were held up by the much smaller
  Belgian army.

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The Western Front and How We Got Involved

• The Belgians fought back and slowed the German
  advance
• This tactic drew Great Britain into the war since
  Great Britain was helping with Belgian neutrality
  
• They had earlier signed a treaty stating they
  would interfere if Belgium was attacked
• Aug 4 - Great Britain declared war and because
  Canadas foreign policy was still tied to them
  Canada was automatically at war

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Nobody told the Russians about the Schlieffen
Plan!

• Russia mobilized in just 10 days and Germany was
  forced to withdraw troops from Belgium to defend
  her eastern border (on the Russian side).

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The Battle of the Marne

• The French were so desperate to stop the German
  advance on Paris that the government sent 6,000
  soldiers to the front in taxi cabs!

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Stalemate

• With all advances halted, both sides built
  trenches to defend their positions.

• This is where most of the fighting took place on
  the Western Front

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Heres why it didnt work

• The Belgians resisted, and the British joined in
  to help, slowing down the Germans
• The Russian forces mobilized much quicker than
  expected and began invading Eastern Germany,
  weakening this main force
• The German troops could no longer advance on
  Paris from the back, but had to move in front of
  the city instead, allowing the French to
  counter-attack