There was another element entirely outside German control their enemies. Above all else, this doctrine created aggressive and flexible leaders. Heavy German guns were brought up to demolish other forts. Essentially, speed would be of the essence: first, by very quickly destroying France, and then turning on the Russian great power, a country that was expected to be slower to mobilize and more ponderous in its preparations for war. However, many things came from the Schlieffen plans failure. The boldness necessary for it to succeed had been watered down. The combination of the execution of the wrong strategy and a series of key incorrect assumptions is why the Schlieffen Plan failed. Forgot email? Following an order from Colonel Hentsch, German forces fell back to the Aisne River and began to dig in. The First World War, Vintage, 2000.Hastings, Max. Russia would then be defeated in two weeks at most and with minimal losses to German troops. Blitzkrieg seemed to be based around the pervasive use of new technology. The third group would concentrate on the most-southern right wing, with eight corps, five reserve corps, and Landwehr brigades, with the help of two mobile cavalry divisions. Eventually, it led to Germanys downfall. [], On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were both assassinated in the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. Germany lost World War II. It took little account of Allied counter-moves. why so many soldiers survived the trenches, how Pack Up Your Troubles became the viral hit. The bridges of Paris were mined in preparation for blowing them up in case the German troops reached the capital. The French grand strategy, titled Plan XVII, was to attack Germany across the border at their former provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, south of Belgium and Luxembourg. We are also happy to get your feedback, criticism or ideas in the comments. Copyright 2023 History in Charts | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. Some of the reasons this plan failed was because. Keep reading to learn more Schlieffen Plan facts. Recognising that battlefield conditions changed rapidly and that orders often became overtaken by events, the German army encouraged its commanders to make decisions without waiting for orders from above, thus allowing them to take advantage of fleeting opportunities as they arose. Last updated 2011-03-30. This happy feeling covered up the dangerous situation Germany was in. One whole army that is usually counted as a part of the right-wing attack through Belgium operates in fact as a part of the left wing in Alsace-Lorraine. He also decided to avoid invading the Netherlands, hoping to keep the British out of the war. It was thought up by a German general by the name of Alfred Von Schlieffen. In World War I, the Schlieffen Plan was conceived by German general General Alfred von Schlieffen and involved a surprise attack on France. Multiple mysteries in the disappearance of pilot Amelia Earhart and finally a possible answer. There are six main reasons the Schlieffen Plan failed. It would be easy to say that even if it had been successful that Germany would have won in a quick conflict. In one of history's great ironies, Hitler insisted that the armistice be signed in the very railway car in which Germany had been compelled to admit defeat at the end of World War One. The French advance east would make it easier for the Schlieffen Plan to envelop the French army when it hinged south after making its way through Belgium. Its role was to advance deep into France and swing around Paris, surrounding the French capital and any forces based near it. So he only needed a small defensive force toward Russia while Germany was fighting France. n n The plan relied upon rapid movement. Q: What was the purpose of the Schlieffen Plan? If successful, Germany would move troops from the French front to the Russian front within a weeks time using modernized railways (trains). He said, We lost the war. Four years later, Moltkes prediction would be true. English and French troops had time to mobilize. Once one ally was defeated, Germany would be able to combine its forces to defeat the other through massive troop concentration and rapid deployment. If Germany stood on the defensive, Russia could complete its mobilization while France brought her reserves to combat effectiveness. It was an ambitious plan designed to avoid Germany having to fight a two-front war against France and Russia. Upon the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, the European powers became quickly engulfed in an all-out war now known as World War I. Germany had prepared for this scenario years in advance, though the failure of the Schlieffen Plan led to a long drawn out conflict. Germany went to war with the plan of Helmuth von Moltke. With that plan, Schlieffen believed, Gemany could defeat France within six weeks, the campaign concluding with a decisive super Cannae in the south. Instead of doing this head-on against the heavily fortified French border, Germany would instead first invade neutral Belgium and the Netherlands and then attack France through their northern borders. The Schlieffen plan was made before World War I. Corrections? A battle in the open would generally only last for a day or so, trench battles went on for several days inflicting relentless stress and fatigue. the lack of communication between The Russians reached the border much sooner and in a greater army than expected, forcing Moltke to send more troops to the Russian Front than planned. Since its inception, the Russians had improved militarily, and he did not want to have them invade Germany while he fought France. and in the process, capturing Paris. Moltke implemented some changes to the plan and was the leader in charge to execute the plan at the outset of WWI. Nearly two million soldiers fought. The French plan, endorsed by commander Joseph Joffre, called for an all-out attack into Germany to regain the lost territories of Alsace-Lorraine, avenging the humiliating defeat of 1871, and redeeming French honor. As things were then, the German army was unable to defeat its enemies decisively in the war's early battles, and reluctantly settled into trench warfare in late 1914. He proposed in 1905 that Germanys advantage over France and Russiaits likely opponents in a continental warwas that the two were separated. All rights reserved. If you are a teacher and have questions about our show, you can get in contact with us on one of our social media presences. With this doctrine, despite being outnumbered in tanks and combat aircraft, they were able to outfight the Allies at every turn in 1940, and cause the rapid and total collapse of Allied resistance. Why Did the Schlieffen Plan Fail? And German strategists, most notably Alfred von Schlieffen, had concluded that Germany could not win a long, protracted war against such opposition. In the first days of World War I, many Germans felt like they bonded with each other. to continue to Slides. Then General Alexander von Kluck, commander of the German First Army, made a critical error. Further summaries have been discovered over subsequent decades, opening new debates about Schlieffens true intentions and the implementation of his plan. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Germans did not believe that Britain would go to war over their 1839 treaty with Belgium, which they described as a 'scrap of paper'. It was a plan that nearly succeeded but its success could only be measured by being 100% successful. As German armies approached Paris, the French government packed up and fled to Bordeaux. A small, neutral country. The Schlieffen plan was also the only Germany's plan for war ("GCSE Bitesize: Extra Facts." BBC. It was devised by and named after German Field Marshal Count Alfred . The Schlieffen Plan was a strategic plan made by Count Alfred Graf von Schlieffen (Born ; 28 February 1833 : Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia, German Confederation-Died ; 4 January 1913 : Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany) who worked for the German navy .It was made for the army of the German Empire in 1905. Should one nation go to war, it could drag virtually the entire continent along with it. There are so many what ifs that it is hard to know how the outcome of the war would have been different if Germany had not made their plan. The execution of this plan compelled Britain to declare war on Germany in 1914. It was a plan for Germany to avoid fighting at its eastern and western fronts at the same time. Germany began its execution of the modified Schlieffen Plan on August 4, 1914 with the invasion of neutral Belgium. Germanys rise as a Great Power during the turn of the century is a story complete with revolution, political upheaval, unstable leaders, and generals dancing in tutus. The Schlieffen Plan disregarded the political implications of what was regarded as essentially a technical solution to a military problem. The UK would not get involved. He joined the army when he turned 18 years old. Belgian resistance was strong, and it took the German army longer than anticipated to make their way through the country. On August 7, the main citadel of Liege, a key strategic point that was supposed to hold up the German advance, was captured. The Maginot Line: the Allies expected a protracted, defensive war, The Allies believed that 'blitzkrieg' was dependent on new technology, such as tanks and dive-bombers, Schlieffen's doctrine formed the basis of 'blitzkrieg', Guderain recognised the importance of tanks. Subscribe to our channel and dont miss our new episodes every Thursday. The Teaching Company, LLC. Use a private browsing window to sign in. Conclusion This caused the plan to fail because the army was now stuck in a battle of trench warfare and this bogged down their advance and meant that other countries including Rusia had more time to prepare. Von Moltke made changes to the plan. The Schlieffen Plan, devised a decade before the start of World War I, outlined a strategy for Germany to avoid fighting at its eastern and western fronts simultaneously. Schlieffen wished to emulate Hannibal by provoking an Entscheidungsschlacht (decisive battle), using a massive force, in a single act, to bring a swift and conclusive victory. The Schlieffen Plan failed for several reasons including a lack of manpower, underestimation of the speed of Russian troop deployments, and the belief that Britain would not defend neutral Belgium. It was at first a strategic plan whose purpose was to draw in outline the intention and objectives on the understanding that it would b. P.S. Schlieffen insisted on an immediate attack on France in 1905 as a preventive war, arguing that Russia had just been defeated by the Japanese and France was involved in a crisis in Morocco. For its part, the German navy was against the Schlieffen Plan because the bulk of military resources would be directed toward massive land engagements and not the development of more powerful battleships. Thus between 10 May and 21 June 1940, the Wehrmacht had accomplished what the army of Kaiser Wilhelm II had not managed to do in four years of desperate fighting in World War One. That last group was to block any French attempt to counterattack, and it could be detached and transported to the extreme right if necessary. Every day they stalled the German advance was a day in which the Schlieffen plan fell behind. In the Battle of Jutland, both sides claimed victory. There were a number of shortcomings associated with the plan. Germany could place their military might on one frontier, and then move it to another one. They might not need to send ground troops or use up their people. Although the two armies had more than 3,500 tanks between them, these were largely cast in a supporting role. What was Belgium? Contrary to the beliefs of the Allied military establishment of the day, however, blitzkrieg was not a brand-new way of waging war. With this approach in mind, the French army was sent to man France's heavily fortified border with Germany, the Maginot Line, and to await a German attack. This is not true. They did not believe the British would stand firm on their commitment to defend Belgium and they would not become bogged down in a continental European war. This was Always outnumbered by its enemies, it would have to match quantity with quality. At the subsequent Battle of the Marne a heroic effort by the French defenders repulsed the Germans and sent them retreating back. While the Allies relied upon tanks to break through the stalemate of the trenches in 1918, the Germans used a largely infantry force empowered by a sound tactical doctrine. In March 1918, they found such a means. It is little known that Alfred von Schlieffen, whom the strategy is named after, actually devised two separate plans for war. Kluck and Blow retreated in the face of the unexpected setback. Schlieffen foresaw the potential to fight a two-front war against both France and Russia, and also a one-front war against France while Russia remained neutral. Schlieffen envisioned the attack would take no more than 6 weeks, as the capture of Paris and encirclement of the French army would lead France to seek peace. The battle was in France, 30 miles from Paris. Wirkung, Wahrnehmung, Analyse, Seehamer Verlag GmbH, 2000Leonhard, Jrn. Repelled by the waste and indecisiveness of trench warfare, they returned to the ideas of Schlieffen, and in 1921 the army published its new doctrine, Command and Combat with Combined Arms. He contacted Kluck and asked for help. From the Lecture Series: World War IThe Great War, December 1, 2017 History, Military History, World History. The strategy had originally been developed in the 1890s by Count Alfred von Schlieffen. They thought that Russia would be slower than Germany because they needed more time to gather their soldiers. What was the Schlieffen Plan BBC - History - The Western Front, 1914 - 1918 Animation n n n Count Alfred von Schlieffen drew up the Schlieffen Plan in 1905 when he was German Chief of Staff. At the centre of the Schlieffen Plan was that France would be defeated first, making it difficult for Russia and Britain to continue fighting. However, the modern technology was merely used to enhance the capabilities that had already been provided, thanks to the army's strategic doctrine. The Great War. France and Russia could then launch simultaneous offensives that Germany would have little chance of defeating. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. answer choices Russia mobilised its army more quickly than expected. The plan failed mainly because it was based on the assumptions which were highly unrealistic and not even under the control of German planners. They had promised to protect Belgium from enemies back in 1839. It was essential for Germany to strike quickly . Russia mobilized its troops quicker than expected.