Schlieffen Plan Flashcards
(21 cards)
Why did Germany come up with the Schlieffen Plan?
Avoid fight war on two fronts.
Define “outflank”
To attack from around the side and behind
Where would G move through to attack France?
BeNeLux
Why did G plan to move through north of France?
No heavy defences
How long did G believe it would take to surround French army?
40 days
Why were G slowed in Belgium?
Belgium honoured Treaty of London, defended more strongly than anticipated
Who met G at Mons?
BEF (British Expeditionary Forces)
How long did G think Russia would take to mobilise?
6 weeks
When did G abandon plan to take Paris?
After BEF at Mons
How quickly did Russia actually mobilise?
10 days
What 4 reasons meant the failure of the Schlieffen plan continued stalemate?
- G had to “dig in”
- Needed to wait for more supplies
- Needed to protect themselves from war on two fronts
- Allies did same -> war of attrition
When was the Battle of Marne?
5th-12th September 1914
BoM: Late August - How far were the Germans from Paris?
40km
BoM: where did G troops advance to?
Valley of Marne - southeast - away from Paris
Who met G at Marne? (6th Sep)
B + F
BoM: How did the British and French attack (6th Sep) disadvantage G?
G troops had to turn back to fight B + F
Why was the Battle of Marne a turning point?
Created a 50km gap in German lines
BoM: Why did the Germans begin to retreat to River Aisne?
British advance
How many soldiers fought in Battle of Marne?
Over 2 million
How many soldiers died or were injured in BoM?
Over 500,000
How did the BoM cause a war of attrition?
G dug trenches with machine guns and barbed wire. B + F followed suit
