1. War before 1914…  War was often a “quick” affair  Mobilization  No one wanted to be the last in  Conscription vs. Occupation  Limited vs. Total War

3. The Schlieffen Plan  Alfred Von Schlieffen, Germany’s General Army Chief of Staff  Instructed; Devise a strategy that would be able to counter a joint attack  Took 9 years to plan (1897 -1906)

4. The Plan…  To allow a country to mobilise against you, without response, was like allowing someone to hold a loaded gun to you head without doing anything.

5. The Schlieffen Plan  Germany’s plan for mobilisation  Based on 3 ideas: War = Germany vs. France AND Russia France was weak (1870-10wks) Russia was strong, but slow (6 weeks)  Also, to be considered; Belgium & Britian

6. A Huge Hammer Blow to Paris  Was seen as the best option  90% of German army  Quick, decisive  Result? Germany Paris

7. The Schlieffen Plan, 1905

8. Germany…  Wanted to avoid French forts on the border with Germany  A scythe-like attack through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg seemed the best option

9. Predict the Problems…  Russia had…  France wasn’t…

10.  Interestingly, Schlieffen closed his careful plans by concluding that Germany would be too weak in numbers and transportation to take Paris. He believed that his plan would most likely fail.  In 1906, Helmuth von Moltke replaces Alfred von Schlieffen as German Army Chief of Staff NEWS FLASH

11. Helmuth von Moltke  Modified the original plan: Holland was not to be invaded Route  flat plains of Belgium Belgium’s small army would not be able to stop German forces 34 divisions invade Belgium, 8 would stop Russia in east.

12. 2 nd August, 1914

13. The Assumptions of von Moltke  Russia would take _ weeks to mobilise  France would be easily defeated in _ weeks  Belgium would ___ _______ any German attack  _________ would remain neutral.

14. In Reality…  2 nd August 1914, German army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium according to plan.  Germans were held up by the Belgium Army  Belgium army was backed by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF)  Russia moblised in 10 DAYS

15. Cause = Effect  Because Russia moblised quickly…  Because Belgium resisted invasion…  Because the BEF arrived quickly…

16. Other points of Interest  Theory #1: Germany dropped some bombs on Nuremburg to have a reason to blame & attack France  Theory #2: Train timetables were the deciding factor in the German and Russian mobilisation. Once they started, they couldn’t be stopped!  Theory #3: Every country took YEARS to plan their attack – it was too much effort to modify it! When crisis arose – there was no back up plan – it was “do or die.” On August 1 st Kaiser Wilhelm tried to pause the German mobilisation but since 11,000 trains were on the move – he was told he couldn’t!

17. Was the Schlieffen Plan a Success?  NO Why did it Fail?  Reason 1  Reason 2  Reason 3  Other Possibilities…

18. As a Result…  Across France there was a _____mile “Front.”  Neither side could gain a decisive advantage. This is called a ______________.  After this occurred, the winter was coming and the soldiers were forced to _________ ___. They formed _______.

19. The Western Front

20. The End… …For Now