Schlieffen Plan Flashcards
Why did Germany come up with the Schlieffen Plan?
Avoid fight war on two fronts.
Define “outflank”
To attack from around the side and behind
Where would G move through to attack France?
BeNeLux
Why did G plan to move through north of France?
No heavy defences
How long did G believe it would take to surround French army?
40 days
Why were G slowed in Belgium?
Belgium honoured Treaty of London, defended more strongly than anticipated
Who met G at Mons?
BEF (British Expeditionary Forces)
How long did G think Russia would take to mobilise?
6 weeks
When did G abandon plan to take Paris?
After BEF at Mons
How quickly did Russia actually mobilise?
10 days
What 4 reasons meant the failure of the Schlieffen plan continued stalemate?
- G had to “dig in”
- Needed to wait for more supplies
- Needed to protect themselves from war on two fronts
- Allies did same -> war of attrition
When was the Battke of Marne?
5th-12th September 1914
BoM: Late August - How far were the Germans from Paris?
40km
BoM: where did G troops advance to?
Valley of Marne - southeast - away from Paris
Who met G at Marne? (6th Sep)
B + F
BoM: How did the British and French attack (6th Sep) disadvantage G?
G troops had to turn back to fight B + F
Why was the Battle of Marne a turning point?
Created a 50km gap in German lines
BoM: Why did the Germans begin to retreat to River Aisne?
British advance
How many soldiers fought in Battle of Marne?
Over 2 million
How many soldiers died or were injured in BoM?
Over 500,000
How did the BoM cause a war of attrition?
G dug trenches with machine guns and barbed wire. B + F followed suit
