The Schlieffen Plan in The First World War

The Schlieffen Plan in The First World War

The German commanders realised that if war broke out, they would have

to fight two powerful countries at the same time: France to the west

and Russia to the east. They had to produce a well co-ordinated plan

because they would have to otherwise split their forces in two.

Therefore, they worked out a plan called the Schlieffen Plan.

According to the Schlieffen Plan, the left wing of the German army

would attack France along the Frontier from Metz to Switzerland. Their

main task was to keep the French army pinned down along this line

where their attack was expected. They wanted to keep the French army

occupied because then they could capture the French capital,

indirectly conquering France. The Germans wanted to finish off the

French before Russia is ready to fight because they believed that the

French would immediately try to retake Alsace-Lorraine

Meanwhile, the right wing would sweep round through Belgium, taking

France by surprise, cross Northern France, capture Paris and trap the

French army from behind. They wanted to cross over to France via

Belgium because they though that Belgium was a weak country. Their

advance would be like a huge swinging door, with Metz as the hinge. In

other words, the Germans wanted to capture France by the element of

surprise.

Then, with France defeated, the German army could concentrate on

attacking Russia. They wanted to attack Russia last because Russia was

a very powerful country and they also did not want any interference

from France. The whole plan was carefully worked out in detail to a

strict timetable because the Germans were depending on this plan.

2. Why did a stalemate develop on the Western Front? (8)

A stalemate is when no one wins. The war became a stalemate because

the techniques and the weapons were better suited to defence than to

attack. It was also much easier to defend a position than to attack

one.

From 1914 onwards, trench warfare became a central feature of military