The Schlieffen Plan

• A military plan named after its creator, German

general, Alfred von Schlieffen, with the goal of
winning a war on two fronts after France and
Russia formed their alliance in the late 1800s

• To be effective, the plan depended on four things:

– A massive number of troops
– Speed
– Deception
– The element of surprise
The plan involved invading Belgium to reach
France, and capturing Paris for a quick French
defeat before attacking Russia.
 In order for the Schlieffen plan to
work…
- Russia must take six weeks to mobilize its
army
- Germany needs to be allowed passage
through neutral Belgium to sneakily attack
France without crossing the Franco-German
border
- No other countries can be willing to defend
Belgium’s neutrality when Germany violates it
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
• Changes were made to the original
Schlieffen Plan, so that the “right flank of
troops” was not as strong making
capturing Paris more difficult

• Although not expected to resist, the

Belgians fought to defend their neutrality
and delayed the Germans in reaching
France

• Britain declared war on Germany in

response to their invasion of Belgium

• Because of the Belgian delay, France was

prepared for the attack

• Russia mobilized its troops within 10 days,

much quicker than anticipated. This meant
that GERMANY WAS FIGHTING A TWO
FRONT WAR (the very thing they were trying
to avoid!)
- Both the French and German armies face
off across the River Marne in France

- With no natural landscape to protect

themselves, and to try and secure their
positions, both sides dig into the ground,
taking up a defensive position

- This is the beginning of TRENCH

WARFARE
What is the SIGNIFICANCE of
an historical event?
When we examine the historical
significance of something, we are looking
at an issue/event/person or group that:
- Initiated a kind of change
- Played a key role
- Was a turning point
In other words, we are examining their
importance or impact on an event/time
period/ or nation.
 SO when asked to “identify
and state the significance”…
- Who/What (identify)
- Where (identify)
- When (identify)
- How (identify)
- Why IMPORTANT? (significance)
 The SIGNIFICANCE of the
Schlieffen Plan
- It began trench warfare
- When Britain declared war on
Germany, her Empire was
automatically at war too, which meant
that Canada was at war
- The failure of the Schlieffen Plan
turned a European war into a world
war
 Exemplar- Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of
Austria-Hungary and heir to the throne. He
was assassinated on June 28th, 1914 in
Sarejevo, Bosnia during a military parade by
Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian nationalist.
Ferdinand’s assassination is significant
because it is the direct/trigger cause of
World War One which began after Austria-
Hungary declared war on Serbia.