SCHLIEFFEN PLAN

o Strategic plan created by __________ General von Schlieffen in 1907 to counter a joint attack on Germany from two fronts (east and west)

o Schlieffen calculated that Russia would take 6 weeks to organize and mobilize its troops. Thus, ________________ would be attacked first and defeated quickly (before Britain mobilized).

NOTE: France & Germany were ready to fight because of HUGE rivalry stemming from 1870 Franco-Prussian war

Plan:
1) Use _____% of Germany’s troops to attack France. The rest of German army would be sent to defensive positions on Eastern Front.

2) Attack on France from north and invade through neutral _______________, cut off ports to Britain and encircle Paris from north

3) Once France was captured, Germany would move all troops to Eastern Front to battle _______________________

OUTCOME

The Schlieffen Plan did not succeed. The German hopes of a swift and decisive victory were frustrated because of several reasons:

1) ________________ army fought back and slowed German advance

2) __________________ mobilized quickly and invaded Germany

3) __________________ moved north and cut off German advance

4) ________________ guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality and declared war on Germany; British troops quickly reached France and Belgium.

However, the German Army had not been beaten and its successful retreat and the building of _________________ between the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier ended all hope of a short war.