Schlieffen Plan Research Paper

I have chosen to discuss the German Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen plan was created by Albert von Schlieffen, a field marshal and Commander in Chief of the German army. Albert von Schlieffen was an excellent military strategist who was requested by Kaiser Wilhelm II to design an attack for the German army to defeat France. Had the field marshal sustained his position as Commander in Chief long enough to oversee his plan as it was put into action, the Schlieffen plan may have succeeded.
The purpose of the Schlieffen plan was to wipe out the French army with one tactical move, which needed to be accomplished as quickly as possible. The main reason Germany needed to swiftly eliminate France, was to defeat them before Russia came to the …show more content…
They would launch their attack on France from the west, essentially surrounding them. This was to be accomplished by turning nearly 90% of the German army on France and the remaining 10% would prevent an attack from Russia in the east until the rest of the army returned from conquering France. The plan was meant to be swift and final. However, due to alterations made to the Schlieffen plan by General Moltke and his staff, and the unexpected reaction of other countries, the plan would fail and lead to a war of a much larger capacity.
Helmuth von Moltke would replace Albert von Schlieffen as the German Army Chief of Staff and be given the responsibility of carrying out the Schlieffen plan. Moltke and his staff decided to make a few changes to the Schlieffen plan that would prove to be a costly mistake for the German army. One of the most costly mistakes was underestimating time and outside influence. Moltke decided to send significantly fewer troops through Belgium to attack France than the original Schlieffen plan had intended, but figured that he still had plenty of time before Russia would be able to mobilize their