DEPTH STUDIES

Topics
• Why was the war not over by 1914?
• Why was there stalemate on Western Front?
• How important were other fronts?
• Why did Germany ask for an armistice in 1918?
Why was the war not over by
1914?
Schlieffen plan
• Created by Count Alfred von Schlieffen
• 1905
• Created bcoz Germany wanted to avoid war
on two fronts
• France in west
• Russia in east

• Plan was to attack and defeat France

before Russia could mobilize
Details of Schlieffen plan
• Assumed Russia would take 8 weeks to mobilize
• Russia was undergoing crisis
• Poor transportation
• 10% Russian army was kept at Eastern front to defend against Russia
in Eastern front
• 90% army was to move through neutral Belgium to invade France
• To defeat France and encircle Paris in 6 weeks
• 2 divisions were sent to Alsace and Lorraine
Shortcomings of the plan
• Started to fail when Russia mobilized in support of Serbia
• Death of Von Schlieffen in 1906
• New COS altered the plan von Moltke
• Plan not being implemented by creator gave rise to many
misunderstandings
• German army was smaller than when the plan was made
Plan became outdated
• Changed and finalized in 1906
• Implemented in 1914
• Didn’t account for changes and improvement in enemy machinery
and tactics
• Plan relied on professionally trained army (not conscription)
• Plan finally resulted in what they wanted to avoid
• War on both fronts
Importance of Belgium’s reaction to plan
• Belgium was neutral
• Germany did not expect them to fight back
• Belgium slowed down German army from reaching Paris in expected
6 weeks
• 2 weeks were gone in capturing Brussels
• Plan came to be rely on speed
• German soldiers were weakened
• Exhaustion
• Supply problems
• Casualties
Cont
• Belgian defence gave British time to arrive for help
• BEF arrived (British Expeditionary Force)
• Germany was not aware of Treaty of London
• b/w British and Belgium
• Secret treaty
• Also wouldn’t have expected British to honour it
Failure of Schlieffen Plan
• Belgium’s reaction
• Refusal to let German army through
• Delayed attack on France
• Slowed down Germans
• Russia’s action
• Mobilized quickly than expected
• Germany had to transfer some troops to east
• Britain’s Treaty
• British to protect Belgium as neutral country
• Stopped German to advance
British Expeditionary Force
• BEF helping Belgium against Germany
• British wanted to protect themselves
bcoz if France is defeated they would
be next
• Small compared to German army
• Well trained and professional
Battle of Mons
• Aug 1914
• 1st major battle of WW I
• Trench war fare not yet implemented
• 70k BEF faced 1.6L Germans
• Despite BEF’s better performance Germans pushed British to retreat
south of river Marne outside Paris
Cont
• Germans believed war was almost won as
• Belgians were defeated
• British were retreating
• French plan (reclaiming Alsace & Lorraine) failed
• But forces were not strong enough to encircle Paris
• So sent troops SE (Battle of Marne)
• To encounter the French army returning from Alsace and Lorraine
Battle of Marne
• 5-12 Sept 1914
• BEF and French counterattack
Germans
• German was almost won until 6k
reserve soldiers were brought to
front line
• Forced German forces to pull back
to river Aisne
• Strategic victory for Allies even though it ended in stalemate
Trench warfare
• Germans when retreated to Aisne
• Dug defensive trenches
• Setup machine guns
• Allied forces were unsuccessful in pushing back Germans
• Allied forces also dug trenches
• Trenches were stretching 470km (Belgian coast to Swiss)
• Indicator that war wouldn’t be ending soon
German strategy in trench warfare
• Capture channel ports (Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne)
• To cut off supplies for BEF
• Achieve breakthrough in
N France
• Exhausted army can regain
their strength in trenches
• Want to keep control of land
they already acquired
First Battle of Ypres
• 19th Oct – 22nd Nov 1914
• Both sides wanted access to French
ports
• Both advanced towards coastline
to stop other side gaining control
• Allies aim
• to take back Lille in France
• Brussels in Belgium
• Achieved with immense loss of lives
on both sides
• BEF almost wiped out and relied on
volunteers
• Stalemate continued
assignment
• How was Schlieffen plan intended to work?
• How important was Belgium’s reaction to the plan?
• How successful was the BEF?
• Why did both sides introduce trenches?
THANK YOU