The Schlieffen Plan Flashcards
what was the Schlieffen Plan motivated by
the Franco-Russian alliance, which threatened Germany
who was the head of the German army
Alfred von Schlieffen
when did Schlieffen finalise this plan
1905
what did Schlieffen belive the best plan would be
to attack France/defeat them in 6 weeks
how did Schlieffen plan to surprise France
- invade through Belgium, not Alsace Lorraine, where they’d expect
what did the Schlieffen Plan rely on
Russia taking a long time to mobilise/France easy to defeat
how did French inaction lead to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan
- didn’t mobilise in July, Germany coulnd’t pretend to invade
- GB declared war on 4th Aug 1914 in support of Belgium (attacked day before) bc of Pact of London
how long did Russia take to mobilise
10 days, a lot quicker than Germany had expected
what did Germany have to do w its troops bc off Russia’s quick mobilisation
split its troops, sending some to the Eastern Front
when did Germany first come into conflict with the Entente Powers
23rd Aug 1914
BEF
British Expeditionary Force
where did the BEF meet the Germans
the Battle of Mons in Belgium
when was the Battle of the Marne
between the 6-10th September 1914
how did the Battle of the Marne hinder the Schlieffen Plan
it stopped the Germans quickly defeating the French
what did the failure of the Schlieffen Plan lead to
stalemate in Western Europe
what is stalemate
neither side makes progress to defeat the other
what were the 3 lines of trenches in trench warfare
- frontline
- support line
- reserve line
what was the frontline for
launching attacks/defending against the enemy
often involved going ‘over the top’ using weapons like rifles/grenades
what was the support line for
provided a retreat from the frontline
what was the reserve line for
where troops waited between offensives
when was the Battle of the Mons
23rd Aug 1914
what happened at the Battle of the Mons
the BEF had initial succes but were outnumbered and had to retreat to defend Paris
what happened in August-September 1914
the Germans had to face the Russian army on the eastern border in 2 large battles
what were the German/Russian battles fro Aug-Sept 1914
- the Battle of Tannenberg
- the Battle of Masurian Lake
what happened to Germany in the battles from Aug-Sept 1914
- suffered huge losses
- 100,000 Germans redirected from the west to the east
when had troops on both sides begun digging trenches
by 8th September 1914
