GCSE · History · AQA · Spec 8145

Schlieffen Plan and invasion of Belgium

Germany planned for years to dodge a two-front war. In 1914 it got one, plus Britain. How does a plan backfire that badly?

The Schlieffen Plan · Two bets

Where does each bet lead?

The plan only works if two things go Germany's way. Click down the branches and see where each one ends.

Do the bets pay off? → Which bet breaks?

3 routes the plan could take.

On The plan: beat France quickly, then turn east and beat Russia. 2 branches to choose from.

Germany needed both bets to pay off. In 1914, neither did.

Check your first instinct

What was the plan actually for?

Your classmate Dev says he knows what the Schlieffen Plan was. Dev is very sure of himself.

Which of these is closest to what you think the plan was?

Germany planned to attack France and Russia at the same time, so it could overwhelm both.Germany planned to defeat France quickly, then turn east to defeat Russia, so it would never be fighting both at once.Germany planned to defeat Russia first, then turn west to deal with France.Germany drew the plan up in 1914 once the fighting had already begun.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

Germany planned to attack France and Russia at the same time, so it could overwhelm both.

This is a common misconception

Easy trap. France and Russia were allies, so it sounds like Germany took on both at once. But the plan was built to avoid exactly that. Germany knew a war against those two allies would mean fighting on two fronts, and the plan was its way round it: beat France quickly first, then turn east.

Germany planned to defeat France quickly, then turn east to defeat Russia, so it would never be fighting both at once.

This matches the evidence

Right. The plan was about avoiding a war on two fronts by dealing with one enemy at a time: the army goes west, defeats France quickly, then turns east against Russia.

Germany planned to defeat Russia first, then turn west to deal with France.

This is a common misconception

You have the right idea (one enemy at a time) but the order is flipped. The army was sent west first to defeat France quickly. Only then did it turn east to attack the Russian army.

Germany drew the plan up in 1914 once the fighting had already begun.

This is a common misconception

The plan was old. Germany had prepared the Schlieffen Plan from as early as 1905. That is why 1914 was so costly for it: it had years to think about two fronts, and still ended up fighting on them.

The plan was not 'attack everyone'. It was 'beat France fast, then turn east', so that Germany would not have to fight on two fronts.

Britain joins in

Reason it through

Why did marching through Belgium bring Britain into the war?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

To attack France in 1914, where did the German troops march?

Locked — reveal the link above first

Predict, then check

The army has not beaten France quickly. The soldiers had expected the war to be over by Christmas.

So what does the German army do next?

Your turn

Write it, then check it

Explain why the Schlieffen Plan failed. [5 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

The plan depended on Russia being slow to mobilise. (1 mark)
Russia mobilised far quicker than Germany expected. (1 mark)
So the German army had to split between the Western Front (France) and the Eastern Front (Russia). (1 mark)
The plan also depended on Britain staying neutral, but Britain entered the war. (1 mark)
Britain sent about 150,000 trained troops (the BEF), so the German troops faced many more troops than they expected. (1 mark)

Model answer

The plan was a bet on two things. It needed Russia to be slow to mobilise, but Russia was far quicker than Germany expected, so the army had to split between the Western Front and the Eastern Front. It also needed Britain to stay neutral, but Britain entered the war and sent about 150,000 trained troops, the BEF, so the German troops met many more soldiers than they had expected.

Name both bets, say what happened to each, and say what that did to Germany's army. That is the whole answer.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

A plan built to dodge a two-front war, and the two bets it could not afford to lose

What you need to know

Germany had prepared the Schlieffen Plan from as early as 1905, because France and Russia were allies.
A war against both allies would mean fighting on two fronts. The plan was built to avoid that.
The plan: send the army west, defeat France quickly, then turn east and defeat Russia.
Have a goDev says: 'The plan was to hit France and Russia at the same time. Maximum force!' Dev is very confident. What should Dev have said instead?
Beat France quickly first, then turn east against Russia.
The plan was built to avoid a war on two fronts, so it dealt with enemies one after the other, never together.
It depended on Russia being slow to mobilise. To mobilise is to prepare an army for war.
It also depended on Britain staying neutral. Few expected Britain to join, as it was busy with problems at home, such as the Irish question.
Have a goThe plan was a bet on two things going Germany's way. Name them, one per country.
Russia would be slow to mobilise, and Britain would stay neutral.
The plan depended on both. The rest of the lesson tests each bet against what happened in 1914.
In 1914, German troops marched through Belgium to attack France.
Belgium was considered neutral, and in the Treaty of London in 1839, Britain had promised to support it.
Britain had very little choice but to join, which it did on 4 August 1914, sending about 150,000 trained troops, the BEF.
Russia mobilised far quicker than expected, so the German army had to split between the Western Front and the Eastern Front.
Have a goRussia mobilised far quicker than expected. Finish the sentence: so the army that was meant to be in the west now had to ...
split, with some facing France in the west and some facing Russia in the east.
That is the two-front war again. Fast Russian mobilisation was the first bet failing.
The plan failed. The German army dug trenches, and the war became a war of attrition on the Western Front.

The big picture

Germany prepared the Schlieffen Plan from as early as 1905 because France and Russia were allies, and a war against them would mean two fronts. The plan: send the army west, beat France quickly, then turn east to beat Russia. It depended on Russia being slow to mobilise and Britain staying neutral. In 1914 Russia was far quicker than expected, and marching through neutral Belgium left Britain very little choice but to join. The army split between two fronts, the BEF made the west harder, and the war settled into trenches.

Key points

1The Schlieffen Plan was designed to avoid a war on two fronts: France first, quickly, then Russia.

2It depended on two things: Russia being slow to mobilise and Britain remaining neutral.

3Russia mobilised far quicker than expected, and the German army split between the Western and Eastern Fronts.

4German troops marching through neutral Belgium left Britain very little choice but to join on 4 August 1914.

5The BEF of about 150,000 trained troops meant the German troops faced many more troops than they expected.

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Worked example

Problem

A classmate writes: 'Russia mobilised quickly.' That is a fact, not an explanation. Turn it into a short chain that explains why this hurt the Schlieffen Plan.

⚠ Watch out

Writing that Britain joined simply because it decided to fight. In an answer, give the chain: Germany marched through neutral Belgium, Britain had promised to support Belgium in 1839, and so it had very little choice.

🧠

Memory hook

Two bets, two losses: Russia would be slow (it wasn't), Britain would stay out (it didn't). The plan to avoid two fronts built them.

✓

Check yourself

Which failed bet is linked to Belgium, and what did it add in the west? Answer: Britain joined, so the BEF (about 150,000 troops) met the Germans.

Flashcards

(12)

Why had Germany prepared the Schlieffen Plan from as early as 1905?

France and Russia were allies, so a war would mean fighting on two fronts.

What was the Schlieffen Plan trying to avoid?

A war on two fronts.

What order did the plan put things in?

West first: defeat France quickly. Then east: turn and defeat Russia.

What does 'to mobilise' mean?

To prepare an army for war.

What did the plan assume about Russia?

That it would be slow to mobilise.

Why did few people expect Britain to join a European war?

It was dealing with problems at home, such as the Irish question.

Which neutral country did German troops march through to attack France in 1914?

Belgium.

What had Britain promised in the 1839 Treaty of London?

To support Belgium, which was considered a neutral country.

On what date did Britain enter the war?

4 August 1914.

What was the BEF, and how many troops did it have?

The British Expeditionary Force: about 150,000 trained troops sent to France to support the French army.

What did Britain's entry make harder for Germany?

Defeating its enemies in the west.

What did soldiers expect in 1914, and what did the war become?

They expected it over by Christmas. It became a war of attrition fought from trenches on the Western Front.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Where does each bet lead?

What was the plan actually for?

Write it, then check it

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