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Mansur Mekan's List: Von Schlieffen Plan

  • May 06, 12

    In 1939, after Belgium got independence, Belgium was promised neutrality if it did not help any belligerents. However this guarantee wasn’t honored on August 4, 1914 when Germany marched through Belgium as an easy passage to France. This was all a part of the modified Von Schlieffen Plan. The Von Schlieffen Plan didn’t go how the Germans wanted, and were many speed bumps, thus making the plan fail. The failure of the Von Schlieffen Plan is a major “Tipping point” in history and changed present day.

  • May 06, 12

    Common Knowledge (Explanation):

    Von Schlieffen Plan -

    1839 (Belgium Neutrality)

    belligrents

    August 4, 1914

    (Germany’s Plan) Go through Belgium (neutral) to get to France. They think that Russia will take 6 weeks to mobilize their troops. So while Russia mobilize troops Germany take out France.

    Great Britain declares war when neutral Belgium is touch

    But the BEF arrived in 3 weeks (arrived quick), the Belgians offered much stronger resistance which slowed Germans (it took 18 days), and gave French time to get troops ready.

    Battle of Tannenberg.

  • May 06, 12

    At the outbreak of war, the German High Command activated the Schlieffen Plan, which called for a major offensive to capture Paris in precisely 42 days.
     The German army would avoid France's line fortifications by sweeping west through neutral Belgium and then turning in a huge arc south into France. The French army would be destroyed defending Paris. The German generals were so confident of success that Kaiser Wilhelm II proclaimed that he would have "Paris for lunch, St. Petersburg for dinner." If the plan worked, France would be forced to surrender and Germany could shift its forces to the eastern front and defeat the Russians before they were fully prepared to fight. According to the German generals the war would be over by Christmas, only five months after it began. As the German army advanced through Belgium, the French believed that this was a diversion, and sent most of the French army northeast to attack Germany through the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The French would loose 27,000 men in a single day, proving that the machine gun and the long-range rifle were devastating defensive weapons against traditional warfare tactics.  Popular French poster
    But the Schlieffen Plan soon began to unravel. The German army, having advanced rapidly through Belgium and deeply into France, found themselves physically exhausted and far ahead of their supply lines. As the German right flank drove towards Paris, it separated from the rest of the invading force. Recognizing their vulnerability, the Germans pulled up twenty-five miles short of Paris. Now it was France's chance to attack. French General Joffre ordered a stand along the Marne.

    In my own words:

    In the Von Schlieffen Plan Germany was supposed to capture Paris in about 42 days. Germany was supposed to easily pass through Belgium avoiding France's heavy fornications. France would have been destroyed before the B.E.F arrived. After Germany could focus on Russia before they were fully mobilized. France was to be an easy win and the war would have been over within months. However the things did not go as planned.

    Citation:
    "The Great War: And the shaping of the twentieth century." www.pbs.org. PBS, 1996. Web. 2 May 2012.

    www.pbs.org/...maps_outbreak.html

  • May 06, 12

    “Furthermore, the Belgian resistance, although futile, slowed the German advance by a month, allowing time for the small British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) to arrive and participate and for the French to bolster their defenses. Even with German armies totaling about 1.5 million men launched into their attack through Belgium and France, the retreating defenders eventually began to hold off the German advance.” (Carlisle 28)

    Citation:

    Carlisle, Rodney P. World War 1. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. 454. Print.

  • May 06, 12

    The failure of the Von Schlieffen Plan was a great tipping point in history. Because of the failure the the B.E.F had time to come to france's aid and it also gave time for france and Russia to mobilize their troops. If there wasn't failure to the plan Germany would of most likely won the war changing present day

  • May 06, 12

    “Instead of a rapid and mobile war in the west, the armies ground on to a strange halt within months. Early on, the generals learned that although they had expected a war of movement, they entered a war of position, as the defense usually proved capable of holding back the offense, on both sides.” (Carlisle 29)

    Citation:

    Carlisle, Rodney P. World War 1. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. 454. Print.

  • May 06, 12

    The Von Schlieffen Plan failure brought victory to the Allies and is considered a huge “Tipping point” in history. Belgium, even though fighting a small quantity of the war, their resistance had a huge effect. They gave critical time to the B.E.F, France, and Russia. If the plan was successful the aftermath of the war would be extremely different.

  • May 06, 12

    "The Great War: And the shaping of the twentieth century." www.pbs.org. PBS, 1996. Web. 2 May 2012.

    Carlisle, Rodney P. World War 1. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. 454. Print.

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