Schlieffen Plan And Its Failure Flashcards
What were the 5 factors that led to the failure of the schlieffen plan
B.E.F German Changes France Russia Belgium
What countries were the Germans meant to travel through according to the Schlieffen plan
Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands
What percentage of men would stay back to defend Germany according to the Schlieffen plan
10%
How many armies travelled towards France
5, 1 + 2 going through Belgium
Why did Germany think the Schlieffen plan was necessary?
To avoid a war on two fronts
To defeat France before Russia was mobilised
What assumptions was the Schlieffen plan based on
Britain would remain neutral and if it didn’t it would arrive too late
Russia would take at least 6 weeks to mobilise
France would accept defeat if Paris was captured
Belgium would remain neutral and let the Germans pass without problems
What was the French plan to retaliate against the Schlieffen plan?
Plan XVII, a massive offence on German frontier in Northern Alsace-Lorraine
Who was the French General at the Start of the war
Joseph Joffre
When and what was the first contact between Germany and Belgium
Liege, 5th to 16th August 1914
What was the potential size of the German Army
10 million
How was the French army dressed when they carried out plan XVII
In red and Blue
Who was the leader of the German army at the start?
Von Moltke
What happened to the French advance through Alsace and Lorraine
Alsace - they retreated
Lorraine -many were killed and they retreated
When did the Germans enter Brussels
20th August 1914
How many days was Liege
11
How did ordinary Belgians resist the German invasion
Fired at German troops, blocked roads, flooded lands and destroyed bridges
How did the Germans perceive the Belgian resistance
As using guerrillia warfare
Who led the BEF
General John French
How many men were in the BEF
120,000
When was the battle of Mons
August 23 1914
When was the battle of Le cateau
26th August
Who led the German 1st Army
Von Kluck
When was the Battle of Marne
September 5/6th 1914
In which battle was the taxi cab army in
Marne
What happened in the battle of Marne
Von kluck 1st army turned before Paris
French 6th army attacked the flank
Gap opened - BEF and French 5th got through
German communications disjointed and they retreat
What were the casualties in Marne
French 250,000
Germans 250,000
BEF 13,000
When was the first battle of Ypres
19 October 1914 – 30 November 1914
Why were channel ports important
Britain used it to bring in troops and supplies
Who replaced Von Moltke
Von Falkenhayn
What was the slaughter of the innocents
Young German troops getting killed by British in 1st Ypres
What were British casualties in 1st Ypres
60,000
What was the race to the sea
Allies + Germans trying to outflank the other by going towards the sea and digging in
How long were the trenches
470km
What was the mad minute
Rapid fire by BEF at Mons
Why was Mons important
Slowed and surprised germans
Showed BEF was stronger than they thought
Why was Marne important
1st French win
Stop Schlieffen plan
Start trench warefare
How large was the gap at Marne
40km
