The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's strategic plan for a two-front war against France and Russia. Conceived in 1905 by Count Alfred von Schlieffen, Chief of the German General Staff, it aimed to achieve a rapid victory in the west before turning east to confront Russia. This plan assumed that French defenses on the German border were very strong, but that Belgium and northern France offered open terrain for rapid movements. Germany would send most of its troops through neutral Belgium, sweeping through Paris from the northwest to encircle and destroy the French forces within six weeks, while smaller forces would hold the line in Alsace-Lorraine.
The plan relied on rapid mobilization, precise train schedules, and the belief that Russia would take longer to prepare its army. While this plan was being implemented in August 1914, Belgian resistance, British intervention, and an unexpectedly rapid Russian mobilization disrupted its timetable. German troops reached the Marne River but were stopped by a combined Allied counterattack, creating a stalemate that stretched on both sides along the fortified Western Front. The failure of the Schlieffen Plan transformed what was supposed to be a brief and decisive campaign into the long and grueling First World War (1914-18).
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2025, October 29). Map of the Schlieffen Plan v. the 1914 Reality. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21069/map-of-the-schlieffen-plan-v-the-1914-reality/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Schlieffen Plan v. the 1914 Reality." World History Encyclopedia, October 29, 2025. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21069/map-of-the-schlieffen-plan-v-the-1914-reality/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Schlieffen Plan v. the 1914 Reality." World History Encyclopedia, 29 Oct 2025, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21069/map-of-the-schlieffen-plan-v-the-1914-reality/.
