Helmuth Von Moltke and the Battle of the Marne
Introduction
By August, 1914 Europe had reached a boiling point. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian empire prepared themselves for an inevitable war against France and Russia. Germany had been planning for war for nearly two decades. Helmuth Johann Ludwig Von Moltke, German Chief of Staff, placed the fate of the entire German army into the success of the Schlieffen Plan, a grand mobilization plan he had inherited from his predecessor, which eventually lead to the Battle of the Marne. Historians generally agree that Moltke was an incompetent leader. He neglected to take into account the realities of the war he was going to be fighting, and lacked the skill, or wherewithal to adjust the Schlieffen Plan once it had fallen apart. He …show more content…
Herwig summarizes the faults in the Schlieffen in one sentence, “The Schlieffen Plan has become synonymous with militarism run amok, with operational considerations trumping statecraft, and with the rote mechanics of war replacing the art of war”(2011, p. 30). The Schlieffen Plan had one key goal, the annihilation of the French army, in a battle of encirclement, or Kesselschlacht (Herwig, p. 31). The plan relied on the majority of the German forces sweeping through Belgium, pushing west, and enveloping the French armies like a giant wheel. After the German army had defeated the French in the west, German commanders would turn their forces around and rush to Germany’s eastern front and destroy the Russian army. The Schlieffen Plan eventually culminated with the Battle of the Marne, and has been credited with contributing to Germany’s loss in the war more than any other single factor. It is important to understand that this plan pushed Moltke to make, or neglect to make, decisions that would impact the effectiveness of the German assault on
Introduction
By August, 1914 Europe had reached a boiling point. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian empire prepared themselves for an inevitable war against France and Russia. Germany had been planning for war for nearly two decades. Helmuth Johann Ludwig Von Moltke, German Chief of Staff, placed the fate of the entire German army into the success of the Schlieffen Plan, a grand mobilization plan he had inherited from his predecessor, which eventually lead to the Battle of the Marne. Historians generally agree that Moltke was an incompetent leader. He neglected to take into account the realities of the war he was going to be fighting, and lacked the skill, or wherewithal to adjust the Schlieffen Plan once it had fallen apart. He …show more content…
Herwig summarizes the faults in the Schlieffen in one sentence, “The Schlieffen Plan has become synonymous with militarism run amok, with operational considerations trumping statecraft, and with the rote mechanics of war replacing the art of war”(2011, p. 30). The Schlieffen Plan had one key goal, the annihilation of the French army, in a battle of encirclement, or Kesselschlacht (Herwig, p. 31). The plan relied on the majority of the German forces sweeping through Belgium, pushing west, and enveloping the French armies like a giant wheel. After the German army had defeated the French in the west, German commanders would turn their forces around and rush to Germany’s eastern front and destroy the Russian army. The Schlieffen Plan eventually culminated with the Battle of the Marne, and has been credited with contributing to Germany’s loss in the war more than any other single factor. It is important to understand that this plan pushed Moltke to make, or neglect to make, decisions that would impact the effectiveness of the German assault on