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13 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What were the entente powers?
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UK, France and Russia
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What were the central powers?
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Germany and Austria-Hungary
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Why was the Schlieffen plan written?
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The Schlieffen plan was drawn up to deal with a situation in which Germany would have to face war on two fronts.
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Who was asked to plan a way of avoiding war on two fronts and when?
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Von Schlieffen in 1905
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What was the Schlieffen Plan?
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- Von Schlieffen believed it was vital to know France out of the war quickly, before Russia mobilised, as he assumed Russia would be the most dangerous opponent
- Schlieffen planned to attack France through Holland and Belgium to avoid strong French defences in the south - Schlieffen kept German forces guarding Alsace-Lorraine weak (only 10% of the forces) to encourage the Frencht to attack there whilst the Germans performed a surprise attack in the North - 90% of German forces would attack Northern France, taking the capital and forcing France to surrender - An army of 1,500,000 men would advance through Belgium, swing around the French army, encircle Paris and then France would collapse |
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Who made changes to the Schlieffen plan and when?
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Von Moltke, in 1913, when Schlieffen died
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What changes did Von Moltke make to the plan?
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- Instead of 90% of troops attacking, only 60% went, leaving 40% to defend Alsace-Lorraine
- He withdrew forces from the right wing of the German army, to strengthen the left - He lacked the nerve to take all the troops he needed from Alsace-Lorraine |
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What assumptions did the Schlieffen plan make?
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- Belgium would not fight
- Britain would not honour it's agreement with Belgium and would remain neutral - The Russian army would take 6 weeks to mobilise - The army could cover 35 kilometres a day |
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What was the agreement made between Britain and Belgium, when was it made and what did it agree?
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The Treaty of Westminster 1839, Britain and other European countries promised to help Belgium if it were ever attacked.
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When did Germany declare war on Belgium?
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4th August 1914
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How did the Schlieffen plan work in reality?
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- There were problems as soon as the Germans crossed into Belgium
- Germany did not thnk Britain would honour it's old agreement with Belgium but when the Belgian government appealed to Britain for help, 80,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force arrived within 3 weeks - The German's had not expected such great opposition in Belgium-the Belgian forts ar Liège held out for 12 days, so Brussels was not occupied until the 20th of August - The German's outnumbered the British but the British had quick and accurate gunfire and were professional soldiers who delayed the German advance-they had been trained to fire 30 rounds a minute from their Lee Enfield Mark III rifles - The Russian army surprised the Germans by mobilising in just 2 weeks and the Germans were forced to send 2 German corps east on the 25th of August to fight them, which overstreatched the right flank - The plan looked good on paper but Schlieffen had not taken into account the vast distances armies would have to cover in the strict timetable-they advanced too quickly and supplies could not keep up |
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What were the two times the British met the Germans?
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The British met the Germans twice, firstly at Mons on the 23rd of August and again at Le Cateau on the 26th August.
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The German attempt to take Paris failed and the extreme right turned south. Where and when did the Germans meet the French, and what happened?
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- The Germans met the French army at the River Marne on the 5th September
- This began an 8 day battle which forced the Germans to retreat to the River Aisne |
