Early Stages Of WW1 Flashcards
How was the Schlieffen Plan to be carried out?
This was to be done by marching through Belgium, defeating France quickly, and then coming back to Russia to defeat them. In France they would have a few armies holding the French in place, then the rest if the army would move around in a hook formation to capture Paris.
What assumptions did the Schlieffen Plan rely on?
- Britain would remain neutral
- two armies would be enough against French
- Russia would take eight weeks to mobilise but Belgium and France would be defeated before then, in six weeks
- Austria would easily defeat Serbia
- Belgium would easily be marched through
In what way was the Schlieffen Plan bad?
It was out of date and inflexible.
How did Belgian resistance turn out to be? Were they helped?
Belgian resistance was stronger than anticipated and delayed German troops at the battle of Liege. 100,000 men from the British Expeditionary force were sent to help Belgium and they battled Germany at the battle of Mons, delaying them.
Was the speed at which Russia mobilised faster/slower than expected? What did this mean?
Russia was ready for action quicker than expected, so German troops were diverted east.
How good was generals’ knowledge of the whereabouts of their troops? Why?
It was difficult for the generals to know where their troops were, due to bad communication.
How was German troop travel when it came to carrying out the Schlieffen Plan?
German horses and men were expected to march 30km a day to keep up with the plan, and there were no armoured cars to transport them. They started to slow and many horses died.
Did the troops end up encircling Paris, like the plan had stated?
The original plan stated that troops should encircle Paris, but instead they turned south before Paris, as they thought the delays would make it to risky to continue through Paris. They were confident they could still defeat the enemy without going through Paris.
What was the aim of the Schlieffen Plan?
The aim was to avoid a war on two fronts with France and Russia.
