Schlieffen Plan Failure

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The Reasons for the Schlieffen Plan

In this piece of coursework I will be investigating the actual reasons for the Schlieffen Plan due to the situation which the German government was in. I will talk of the harsh reality of the war and the situation all the countries involved in the war entered. I will also talk about the reasons why the Schlieffen Plan failed and the Germans were made to face a grim reality which was never expected.

In the early nineteen hundreds, Germany believed war with Russia was extremely likely. If war broke out, Germany assumed France would also attack as she was an ally of Russia.

If this happened, Germany would face a war on two fronts. Germany wanted to avoid this …show more content…

Russia was considered a less economically developed country which is why they were expected to take up to a minimum of six weeks to mobilise for the war. So Germany would first of all face France in the west and secondly Russia in the east. Therefore this gave the Germans six weeks in theory to defeat the French before the Russians could mobilize in order to avoid having a war on two fronts on the east and west borders of Germany.

As most of the French army was stationed on the border with Germany, the Schlieffen Plan aimed for the quick defeat of France by invading it through Belgium who were considered to be neutral and not cause a threat. The Belgians were not believed to cause a threat as the Germans simply believed that the Belgians didn’t have enough firepower and men to stand in the way of the Germans and become an obstacle as Belgium was a smaller country. The Belgians were not expected to be able to resist the attack of the Germans so were therefore looked down on and not considered a threat. After dealing with the Belgians the Germans then intended to move rapidly on to capture the capital of France which was …show more content…

Losses were heavy and by December 1914 more than half of the BEF were dead.

The BEF then retreated into France and headed to the Marne to join up with the French and acrimoniously resisted the Germans.

The French showed a new pride and determination about themselves and taxis were taken by the army and used to transport soldiers to the Marne, which was 30 miles or so from Paris.

This was where the countries battled it out and was the famous location of the ‘Battle of the Marne’. The battle at the Marne was a crucial turning-point and with the help of the remaining members of the BEF, the German advance was not only halted but for the first time the Germans forced to retreat and were pushed back about 35 miles. The French had won the ‘Battle of the Marne’. They called this a miracle and said it saved their beloved Paris. Both sides now had to secure the land that they held. This is why the Trenches were dug. The countries all switched to from an attacking strategy to a defensive tactic and the first exchanges of the war were over. From now until 1918, neither side would advance more than 10 miles forward

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