Before that, they had hold in the west and attack in the east.. The Schlieffen Plan was the name of the German grand strategy for fighting a two-front war against France and Russia. They expected that battles would develop slowly and be dominated by 'traditional' arms - those of the infantry and the artillery. The central groupconsisting of six infantry corps, Landwehr brigades, and a cavalry divisionwas to attack the French at La Fer and Paris, eventually encircling the capital on the north and east. One day later, Germany invaded Belgium because of the Schlieffen Plan. Schlieffens plan was a sweeping, bold conception of how to achieve victory in a two-front war. However, many things came from the Schlieffen plans failure. Schlieffen also stressed the need to keep the enemy reacting to German moves. WHAT IS THE GREAT WAR PROJECT? Every day they stalled the German advance was a day in which the Schlieffen plan fell behind. At the center of Europe, it might find itself forced to fight against both France in the west and Russia in the east. Schlieffen later rewrote his plan, including an offensive against the neutral Dutch and restructuring the ratio of artillery and infantry. In World War I, the Schlieffen Plan was conceived by German general General Alfred von Schlieffen and involved a surprise attack on France. Were happy if we can contribute with our videos. It was a plan for Germany to avoid fighting at its eastern and western fronts at the same time. A small, neutral country. The Schlieffen Plan failed for several reasons including a lack of manpower, underestimation of the speed of Russian troop deployments, and the belief that Britain would not defend neutral Belgium. This plan, named Aufmarsch I West, is what is now known as the Schlieffen Plan of WWI. To avoid that situation, Schlieffen planned to attack France first, while Russia was still mobilizing. That last group was to block any French attempt to counterattack, and it could be detached and transported to the extreme right if necessary. With Italian neutrality, neither had a chance to work, Your email address will not be published. Indy explains the numerous reasons why the Schlieffen Plan was doomed to fail. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. BBC, n.d Web.). There was another element entirely outside German control their enemies. \" HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR CHANNEL?You can support us by sharing our videos with your friends and spreading the word about our work.You can also support us financially on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thegreatwarPatreon is a platform for creators like us, that enables us to get monthly financial support from the community in exchange for cool perks. Germany and Austria would beat Russian forces. However, a key vulnerability formed in the Germans attack. Across the English Channel, a stunned British military establishment struggled to determine how it was that events had so quickly gone so horribly wrong. With these revisions and ultimately incorrect assumptions, the brilliant Schlieffen Plan was doomed to fail. He was wrong. Schlieffen Plan has been often considered as a demonstration of Field Marshal Helmuth von . The German Schlieffen Plan had prepared the nation for this exact moment and now was the time to implement it. The British lost more ships but the Germans were left with nothing. The plan failed because it wasn't realistic, requiring a flawless unfolding of events which never occurs in wartime. This was a crucial moment: it was an admission that the Schlieffen Plan had ultimately not succeeded and was the beginning of trench warfare. In-text: (BBC - Standard Grade Bitesize History - The Schlieffen Plan : Revision, Page 3, 2015) Your Bibliography: Bbc.co.uk. The Schlieffen plan failed mainly because the Belgians put up a fight, the Russians mobilised quicker than expected, and the plan was changed. Despite having fewer troops than in the original plan and less space through which to advance, the Germans at first seemed to be succeeding in their plan. This forced the Germans to close the gap, though this meant that the western most army did not go far enough west. The Schlieffen Plan What is a Schlieffen Plan. At Cannae the Carthaginian general Hannibal defeated a much larger Roman force with a successful double envelopment, turning the Roman armys flanks and destroying it. Alfred von Schlieffen was the Chief of the Imperial German army between 1891 and 1906. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. this doctrine created aggressive and flexible leaders. Schlieffen himself must take some of the blame for this confusion. In a two front war the Schlieffen Plan called for a defensive first strategy, followed by strategic counterattacks. The plan, however, was flawed from the start. Once one ally was defeated, Germany would be able to combine its forces to defeat the other through massive troop concentration and rapid deployment. In addition, as the Germans marched through France, their advance slowed. In 1906, General Schlieffen retired from the army. The objective of the alliance was to encourage co-operation against the perceived threat of Germany. Schlieffen was an ardent student of military history, and his strategic plan was inspired by the Battle of Cannae (216 bce), a pivotal engagement during the Second Punic War. Since he did a good job there, he was promoted to Chief of the German General Staff. Schlieffen Plan In 1904 France and Britain signed the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). https://www.military.com/history/world-war-i-schlieffen-plan.html, https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/causes-of-world-war-one/the-schlieffen-plan/, https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/world-history/the-schlieffen-plan. Kluck agreed. Aufmarsch II was an impractical plan. The plan used at the beginning of World War I had been modified by Helmuth von Moltke, who reduced the size of the attacking army and was blamed for Germanys failure to win a quick victory. France did just that at the Marne River, east of Paris. However, if considered from the perspective of tactical competence, the plan can be considered as successful. why did the schlieffen plan fail bbc bitesizeliver shih tzu puppies It imposed severe restrictions on the possibility of finding a diplomatic solution to the July Crisis, because of its narrow time-frame for the initial deployment of troops. German leaders called this plan Aufmarsch II West. Sign in. Timeline of the History of the United States. Despite desperate attempts by Winston Churchill to bolster French resolve, the defeat of the British and French armies in May effectively spelled the end of French resistance. Life in the Trenches After the initial invasion of France by the Germans, the Allied troops pushed the German troops back to a stalemate position. Klucks shift east had left the German flank exposed. English and French troops had time to mobilize. With this approach in mind, the French army was sent to man France's heavily fortified border with Germany, the Maginot Line, and to await a German attack. What would have happened if the Schlieffen Plan had succeeded? Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Schlieffen realized that it would be hard to break through the heavily defended Burgundian Gate. He was willing to let them take back Alsace-Lorraine for a short time. German Emperor William II and his chancellor, Bernhard von Blow, believed that Great Britains alliance with Japan would lead to an encirclement of Germany and were cautious of such an attack. But from time to time, Indy reads and answers comments with his personal account, too. Instead of doing this head-on against the heavily fortified French border, Germany would instead first invade neutral Belgium and the Netherlands and then attack France through their northern borders. History. It seemed to some that this represented the triumph of military technology over old-style fortifications, a success, for the cult of the offensive. The plan was heavily modified by Schlieffens successor, Helmuth von Moltke, prior to and during its implementation in World War I. Moltkes changes, which included a reduction in the size of the attacking army, were blamed for Germanys failure to win a quick victory. German politicians expected that, in the event of war, France and Russia would support each other against Germany. Required fields are marked *. P.S. Germany would attack France first by traveling through Belgium, and take Paris in about 3 weeks. The German general Schlieffen counted on two things. Schlieffen thus turned a doctrinal debate (as chronicled by military historian Hans Delbruck) toward the strategies of annihilation (Vernichtungsstrategie) and attrition (Ermattungsstrategie). Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. This happy feeling covered up the dangerous situation Germany was in. There were troops around Paris, and they were about to punish him for not sticking to the plan. Neither side wanted a naval war because whoever won would control trade routes. Learn More: The Impact of World War INew World Disorder. From the operational ideas of Schlieffen they placed the emphasis on speed, flank attacks, encirclements and decisive battle. To meet the possibility of Germanys facing a war against France in the west and Russia in the east, Schlieffen proposed that, instead of aiming the first strike against Russia, Germany should aim a rapid, decisive blow with a large force at Frances flank through Belgium, then sweep around and crush the French armies against a smaller German force in the south. to continue to Slides. This led to Germany sending more troops from France to Russia, which reduced the number of troops on the Western Front. Updates? By early September, they had reached the Marne River, some 20 miles from Paris. A Combat History of the First World War, Oxford University Press, 2013.Hart, Peter. He joined the army when he turned 18 years old. All of these reasons combined to make the Schlieffen plan fail. Russia was also better at mobilizing its army and attacked East Prussia within 10 days, not six weeks as the Germans had thought beforehand. He decided that France was the enemy to be defeated first, with Russia held off until the French were annihilated. Germany also had better-trained troops. It is said that German advance troops could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Instead, they ended up east of the city, exposing their right flank to the Parisian defenders themselves. All of these reasons combined to make the Schlieffen plan fail. To accomplish this, he advocated the use of the flexible command system pioneered by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. Copyright 2023 History in Charts | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. The UK would not get involved. The plans call for speed was all very well, but outside their own borders, the Germans could not rely on control of a railway system to advance their forces. The bridges of Paris were mined in preparation for blowing them up in case the German troops reached the capital. We are happy if you show our channel to your friends, fellow students, classmates, professors, teachers or neighbours. Schlieffen also stressed the need to keep the enemy reacting to German moves. The man who crafted it was the German general chief of staff, General Alfred von Schlieffen. Should one nation go to war, it could drag virtually the entire continent along with it. But it turned out to be an ugly way of wearing everyone down during World War I. The Schlieffen Plan failed for 6 key reasons: The Germans could not keep to the 6-week timetable for defeating France: the Belgian Army slowed the German advance at forts around Liege, while the BEF slowed it further at the Battle of Mons . France had to be defeated - and this did not happen. The decision to mobilize was made by the government, not by the generals. Then the British Army got involved in the fight when they found out that Belgium was being attacked. Corrections? The Schlieffen Plan was used by Germany in WWI, but they employed a similar (though not identical) version in WWII. If needed, Germany would also take part in a holding operation on the Russian/German border. Schlieffen's ideas were largely aimed at operational-level leaders, that is, the commanders of Germany's divisions and army corps. By 21 May, this thrust had reached the Channel and encircled 35 Allied divisions, including the BEF. He died in 1913, before WWI. The BEF had sailed for France believing that they and their French ally were well equipped and well trained to fight a modern war. Next war, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, Belgium, Schlieffen Plan. Despite a vicious attack, the French retreated lest they risk encirclement by the Germans advancing through Belgium. France would surrender once Paris was taken, and then Germany would attack Russia. Regardless of the historical accuracy of those words, the failure dashed German hopes for a quick victory on the Western Front. Gerhard Ritter, a prominent German historian, published those studies in 1956 and concluded that the Schlieffen Plan was German doctrine prior to World War I. Once France was defeated then troops would be sent from the west to the east to launch a subsequent counterattack on the Russians. He said, We lost the war. Four years later, Moltkes prediction would be true. Conclusion This caused the plan to fail because the army was now stuck in a battle of trench warfare and this bogged down their advance and meant that other countries including Rusia had more time to prepare. However, German and Austro-Hungarian superguns swiftly smashed the forts around Namur and Lige.