The Schlieffen Plan

Question 1

what was the Schlieffen Plan motivated by

Answer 1

the Franco-Russian alliance, which threatened Germany

Question 2

who was the head of the German army

Answer 2

Alfred von Schlieffen

Question 3

when did Schlieffen finalise this plan

Answer 3

1905

Question 4

what did Schlieffen belive the best plan would be

Answer 4

to attack France/defeat them in 6 weeks

Question 5

how did Schlieffen plan to surprise France

Answer 5

• invade through Belgium, not Alsace Lorraine, where they’d expect

Question 6

what did the Schlieffen Plan rely on

Answer 6

Russia taking a long time to mobilise/France easy to defeat

Question 7

how did French inaction lead to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

how long did Russia take to mobilise

Answer 8

10 days, a lot quicker than Germany had expected

Question 9

what did Germany have to do w its troops bc off Russia’s quick mobilisation

Answer 9

split its troops, sending some to the Eastern Front

Question 10

when did Germany first come into conflict with the Entente Powers

Answer 10

23rd Aug 1914

Question 11

BEF

Answer 11

British Expeditionary Force

Question 12

where did the BEF meet the Germans

Answer 12

the Battle of Mons in Belgium

Question 13

when was the Battle of the Marne

Answer 13

between the 6-10th September 1914

Question 14

how did the Battle of the Marne hinder the Schlieffen Plan

Answer 14

it stopped the Germans quickly defeating the French

Question 15

what did the failure of the Schlieffen Plan lead to

Answer 15

stalemate in Western Europe

Question 16

what is stalemate

Answer 16

neither side makes progress to defeat the other

Question 17

what were the 3 lines of trenches in trench warfare

Answer 17

• frontline
• support line
• reserve line

Question 18

what was the frontline for

Answer 18

launching attacks/defending against the enemy

often involved going ‘over the top’ using weapons like rifles/grenades

Question 19

what was the support line for

Answer 19

provided a retreat from the frontline

Question 20

what was the reserve line for

Answer 20

where troops waited between offensives

Question 21

when was the Battle of the Mons

Answer 21

23rd Aug 1914

Question 22

what happened at the Battle of the Mons

Answer 22

the BEF had initial succes but were outnumbered and had to retreat to defend Paris

Question 23

what happened in August-September 1914

Answer 23

the Germans had to face the Russian army on the eastern border in 2 large battles

Question 24

what were the German/Russian battles fro Aug-Sept 1914

Answer 24

• the Battle of Tannenberg

- the Battle of Masurian Lake

Question 25

what happened to Germany in the battles from Aug-Sept 1914

Answer 25

• suffered huge losses

- 100,000 Germans redirected from the west to the east

Question 26

when had troops on both sides begun digging trenches

Answer 26

by 8th September 1914