The Schlieffen Plan
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: Modern History
Forum Discription: World History from 1918 to the 21st century.
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3440
Printed Date: 15-May-2024 at 00:04
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: The Schlieffen Plan
Posted By: Herodotus
Subject: The Schlieffen Plan
Date Posted: 16-May-2005 at 17:12
|
Is the Schlieffen plan itself actually compiled anywhere in writing as a single document, or was it more of an abstraction dispersed in stationairy and German government orders? I have been looking for the plans, or the parts thereof, for some time now, and so far have come up empty handed. There is a plethora of secondary works on the subject, but I need something primary, can anyone help me? ------------- "Dieu est un comédien jouant à une assistance trop effrayée de rire." "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -Francois Marie Arouet, Voltaire |
Replies:
Posted By: Herodotus
Date Posted: 17-May-2005 at 17:35
No one knows anything...jeeze.  ------------- "Dieu est un comédien jouant à une assistance trop effrayée de rire." "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -Francois Marie Arouet, Voltaire |
Posted By: babyblue
Date Posted: 21-May-2005 at 00:11
|
it was put forward by Count Alfred von Schlieffen...initial objective was to bypass all the heavy French forts along the German-French border..what was the region called? Alsace-Lorraine or something if i remember correctly. Sweep through neutral Belgium in no time to take the French unprepared from the north. Whoop the arse of the French from the back then head back to the east fast enough to take on the advancing Russian. yes it was one piece thought up by von Schlieffen..but somehow because it wasn't him who carried it out...modifications and changes were made and someone apparently stuffed up somewhere... ------------- 
|
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 21-May-2005 at 16:36
|
babyblue is mostly right, and I only have a few minor additions to
that. Alsace-Lorraine indeed was that region (part of Germany back
then, now mostly French). The plan relied mostly on Belgium neutrality
and the slowness of the Russians. Britain had promised to defend Belgium's neutrality, but the Germans thought that Britain never would do that, so part of the plan was to attack through Belgium (and Luxembourg as far as I'm concerned). Surprise the French troops, and take over Paris in a few weeks. Then the German army would attack Russia, as the German commanders had calculated that it would take two months for Russia to mobilize it's troops. As Kaiser Willhelm (was that his name, I'm not sure..) said: Paris for lunch, and St. Petersbourg for dinner. The plan was done some years, ten I think, earlier. And it was the only war plan that Germany had for the First World War. And as it failed, Germany was in trouble. The French also had a plan, something like Plan 17 (does anybody remember the name?), but it failed: French troops were to run and attack deep into the German territory. The result was that many hundred thousand French soldiers died in a really short time in the few first weeks of the war. Okey, this didn't have anything to do with the Schliefen Plan  |
Posted By: Herodotus
Date Posted: 23-May-2005 at 17:31
|
Yea, thanks guys. I already knew about the Schlieffen plan though; what I really need are primary sources. Since I orginally posted this thread, I have found some...very few. I know there are letters and memoranda written by Schlieffen and his colleagues, but I cant seem to locate any of them. ------------- "Dieu est un comédien jouant à une assistance trop effrayée de rire." "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -Francois Marie Arouet, Voltaire |