Schlieffen Plan Flashcards
How many armies were planned to surround Paris?
7
What 3 countries did Germany plan to walk through to get to France?
Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg
How long did they plan to take?
4-6 weeks
Where would the armies go after the French surrendered?
Russia
Why did some armies stay in the East?
Because Russia had mobilised and this normally takes a while but could happen faster
What did the plan rely on to not fail?
Taking Paris by surprise
Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg not stopping the armies
Britain not getting involved
Timing
Have to defeat France (no back up plan)
What caused Germany to split their army?
They had enemies (France and Russia) preparing for war on either side
Why did the plan fail?
The plan was poorly thought out
Belgium and Britain fought hard
Supplies and ammo ran out
Germans went straight into Paris
Russian army readied quickly
What was the consequence of the Schlieffen plan?
Germany now had to fight on two fronts and the west was now pulled into the Great War
Why didn’t Germany just cross through France?
It had to be swift so they needed to take France by surprise
