WORLD WAR 1

WORLD WAR 1

CAUSES, PRACTICES & EFFECTS OF WAR

The World before World War I

The War was also known as THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THE GREAT WAR and famously “ THE WAR TO END ALL WARS”

It was a global military conflict that took place mainly in Europe between 1914 & 1918.

It was a total War which left great devastation, millions dead and shaped the modern world.

World War I created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars , which was modified by the mid-19th century’s nationalistic revolutions. The results of World War I would be important factors in the development of world war II; 21 years later.

Long-term Causes: Why did the war break out?

• Napoleon Bonaparte and the Rise of Nationalist Sentiment

• Colonial Expansion• Anglo-German Naval Race• Tension in the Balkans• Ascension of Kaiser Wilhelm II• Web of alliances

Serb Nationalism: Napoleon Bonaparte and the Rise of

Nationalist Sentiment

• Nationalism means being a strong supporter of the rights and interests of one's country. The Congress of Vienna, held after Napoleon's exile to Elba, aimed to sort out problems in Europe.

• Delegates from Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia (the winning allies) decided upon a new Europe that left both Germany and Italy as divided states.

• Strong nationalist elements led to the Re-unification of Italy in 1861 and Germany in 1871.

• The settlement at the end of the Franco-Prussian war left France angry at the loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany and keen to regain their lost territory.

• Large areas of both Austria-Hungary and Serbia were home to differing nationalist groups, all of whom wanted freedom from the states in which they lived.

• The French Revolution resulted in chaos and the ascent of Napoleon to power. Napoleon's armies marched all over Europe, bringing not only French control, but French ideas.

• The rise of ideas of nationalism, devotion and love for one's common people and ethnicity, increased in popularity during the Napoleonic Wars.

• Napoleon encouraged the spread of nationalism, which he saw in his troops, to better the French war machine.

• The French people began to feel pride in their culture and ethnicity. The world watched nationalism for the first time and saw the power the French gained from it.

• Following the Napoleonic Wars, all of Europe was sharing these ideas

Europe in 1914

By 1914 Europe was divided as a continent in power struggling forces for the top place in the world economic market.

At the start of the Great War in 1914, Germany was a relatively young power, only coming into existence following a series of wars in 1871. Germany's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, had shepherd the country into the 20th century with the adage that Germany must always be in a majority of three in any dispute among the five great European powers. His aim was to maintain peaceful ties with Russian.

When Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power, he quickly retired Bismarck, and upset the Chancellor's delicate balance of power by refusing to renew Germany's friendship with Russia. Germany soon found itself in a minority of two. Its only European ally was the weakest of the European powers, Austria-Hungary.

Otto Van Bismark

His Strategies towards building a better Germany.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Imperialism and Colonial Expansion

• Imperialism is when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule.

• By 1900 the British Empire extended over five continents and France had control of large areas of Africa. With the rise of industrialism countries needed new markets.

• The amount of lands 'owned' by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who had entered the scramble to acquire colonies late and only had small areas of Africa. Note the contrast in the map below.

• Imperialist rivalry had grown more intense with the "new imperialism" of the late 19th and early 20th cent.

• The great powers had come into conflict over spheres of influence in China and over territories in Africa, and the Easter question , created by the decline of the Ottoman Empire, had produced several disturbing controversies. Particularly unsettling was the policy of Germany.

• It embarked late but aggressively on colonial expansion under Emperor William II came into conflict with France over Morocco , and seemed to threaten Great Britain by its rapid naval expansion.

Militarism

• Militarism means that the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government. The growing European divide had led to an arms race (competition between nations to have the most powerful weapons) between the main countries.

• The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas.

• The British had introduced the 'Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed suit introducing their own battleships.

• The German, Von Schlieffen also drew up a plan of action that involved attacking France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany. The map below shows how the plan was to work.

Alliances

• An alliance is an agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies.

• A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies. declared war first

1879The Dual Alliance

                                       Germany and Austria-

Hungary made an alliance to protect themselves from

Russia

1881Austro-Serbian Alliance

                                    Austria-Hungary made an alliance with Serbia to stop Russia gaining control of

Serbia

1882The Triple Alliance

                                        Germany and Austria-

Hungary made an alliance with Italy to stop Italy from taking sides with Russia

1914Triple Entente (no separate peace)

                                    Britain, Russia and France

agreed not to sign for peace separately.

1894Franco-Russian Alliance

                                     Russia formed an alliance

with France to protect herself against Germany

and Austria-Hungary

1907Triple Entente

                                        This was made between

Russia, France and Britain to counter the increasing

threat from Germany.

1907Anglo-Russian Entente

                                       This was an agreement

between Britain and Russia

1904Entente Cordiale

                                       This was an agreement, but

not a formal alliance, between France and Britain.

Formation of the Triple Alliance

• In 1879 Germany and Austria- Hungray agreed to form a Dual Alliance.

• This became the Triple Alliance when in 1882 it was expanded to include Italy, The three countries agreed to support each other if attacked by either France or Russia. It was renewed at five-yearly intervals.

• The formation of the Triple Entente in 1907 by Britain, France and Russia reinforced the need for the alliance.

Formation of the Triple Entente

• In 1882 Germany, Austria Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. The three countries agreed to support each other if attacked by either France or Russia.

• France felt threatened by this alliance. Britain was also concerned by the growth in the Germany Navy and in 1904 the two countries signed the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). The objective of the alliance was to encourage co-operation against the perceived threat of Germany.

• Three years later, Russia who feared the growth in the Germany Army, joined Britain & France to form the Triple Entente.

• The Russian government was also concerned about the possibility of Austria Hungary increasing the size of its empire. It therefore made promises to help Serbia if it was attacked by members of the Triple Alliance

Arms races • The naval arms race that developed between Britain and

Germany was intensified by the 1906 launch of HMS Dreadnought, a revolutionary warship that rendered all previous battleships obsolete. (Britain maintained a large lead over Germany in all categories of warship.) It has pointed out that both nations believed in thesis that command of the sea was vital to a great nation.

• Davis Stephoson described the armaments race as "a self-reinforcing cycle of heightened military preparedness", while other Historians, viewed the shipbuilding rivalry as part of a general movement towards war. However, Niall Fergueson argues that Britain’s ability to maintain an overall advantage signifies that change within this realm was insignificant and therefore not a factor in the movement towards war..

Country Personnel

Large Naval Vessels

Tonnage

Russia 54,000 4 328,000France 68,000 10 731,000Britain 209,000 29 2,205,00

0TOTAL 331,000 43 3,264,00

0Germany 79,000 17 1,019,00

0Austria-Hungary

16,000 3 249,000

TOTAL 95,000 20 1,268,000

Source: Ferguson 1999 p 85

The naval strength of the powers in 1914

Crisis Moroccan Crisis

In 1904 Morocco had been given to France by Britain, but the Moroccans wanted their independence. In 1905, Germany announced her support for Moroccan independence. War was narrowly avoided by a conference which allowed France to retain possession of Morocco. However, in 1911, the Germans were again protesting against French possession of Morocco. Britain supported France and Germany was persuaded to back down for part of French Congo.

Bosnian Crisis • In 1908, Austria-Hungary took over the former Turkish

province of Bosnia.• This angered Serbians who felt the province should be theirs.

Serbia threatened Austria-Hungary with war, Russia, allied to Serbia, mobilised its forces. Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary mobilised its forces and prepared to threaten Russia. War was avoided when Russia backed down.

• There was, however, war in the Balkans between 1911 and 1912 when the Balkan states drove Turkey out of the area. The states then fought each other over which area should belong to which state.

• Austria-Hungary then intervened and forced Serbia to give up some of its acquisitions. Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary was high.

The Black Hand• In May 1911, ten men in Serbia formed the

Black Hand Secret Society. Early members included Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the chief of the Intelligence Department of the Serbian General Staff, Major Voja Tankosic and Milan Ciganovic.

• The main objective of the Black Hand was the creation, by means of violence, of a Greater Serbia. Its stated aim was: "To realize the national ideal, the unification of all Serbs. This organisation prefers terrorist action to cultural activities; it will therefore remain secret."

• By 1914 there were around 2,500 members of the Black Hand. The group was mainly made up of junior army officers but also included lawyers, journalists and university professors.

• Three senior members of the Black Hand group, Dragutin Dimitrijevic, Milan Ciganovic, and Major Voja Tankosic, decided that Archduke Franz Ferdinand should be assassinated. Dimitrijevic was concerned about the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Ferdinand's plans to grant concessions to the South Slavs.

• Dimitrijevic feared that if this happened, an independent Serbian state would be more difficult to achieve.

The People chosen for the task• Gavrilo Princip, Nedjelko

Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez from Serbia to assassinate him.

QUESTIONS• What is meant by the term alliance?• Which countries were allied by the Triple Alliance?• Which countries were allied by the Triple Entente?• Why was Germany annoyed by Imperialism?• Which armies had increased in size between 1870

and 1914?• Describe the Schlieffen Plan.• Why were the two crises important factors?

• Which countries were bound to each other by which alliance?• How did imperialism contribute towards Germany’s increasing

anger with Britain and France?• Why was nationalism an important factor?• Describe the part played by Germany in increasing European

militarism.• What links were there between the two crises and:

AlliancesImperialismMilitarismNationalism

The Background to the Assasination

• Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary wanted to marry the beautiful Countess Sophie von Chotkowa und Wognin (Sophie Chotek).

• Emperor Franz Josef forbade the marriage; Franz Ferdinand was heir of a noble royal family. He was supposed to marry royalty. Sophie was only a commoner.

• The two eloped and married secretly, anyway, on 28 June 1900. Then they returned to face the music. Franz Josef ruled that they could not be seen together in public, since an Archduke could not appear with a mere Countess as his consort.

• She was raised by Franz Josef to Princess of Hohenberg when she married Franz Ferdinand in 1900, and to Duchess of Hohenberg in 1907. But Franz Josef disliked Sophie, and she was continually insulted and slighted in Vienna.

• Franz Ferdinand was hurt by the ban on public appearances, until he found a loophole: as Field Marshall of the army he could appear with his wife (for a Field Marshall could be seen with a commoner as his consort). It was this that led Franz Ferdinand to go to more and more army reviews, and was to lead to his death.

• In 1914, Austria-Hungary was a world power, but its rulers were afraid.

• They feared nationalism. • Many different races lived in the Austrian

Empire; fifteen different languages were spoken within its borders.

• If nationalism caught on in Austria-Hungary, the Empire would fall apart.

• The small nation-states in the south-east of Europe (`the Balkans') were very nationalistic. Serbia was the worst.

• In Serbia, there was a group called Union or Death (nicknamed the `Black Hand'). It was the Balkan equivalent of the IRA. It was dedicated to uniting all Serbs.

• Many Serbs lived in the Austrian province of Bosnia, and after 1908 the Black Hand waged a terrorist war there, with bombings, shootings and poisonings.

• The Austrian Army wanted to destroy the Black Hand by attacking Serbia.

Assassination at Sarajevo• On 28 June 1914, the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand and his wife visited

Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, to review these troops.

• It was a sunny Sunday morning. It was the Archduke's wedding anniversary. But the Archduke could not have chosen a worse day to go to Sarajevo.

• It was also Serbia's National Day - the anniversary of the battle, in 1389, when Serbia had been conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, yet at which a Serb hero, Milos Obilic, had assassinated the Ottoman Sultan. The day was inextricably linked with Serbian nationalism, and with the assassination of foreign rulers.

• Waiting for Franz Ferdinand, lined up along the Appel Quay, Sarajevo's main road, were six young men. They were armed with pistols and bombs supplied by the Black Hand. They were going to try to murder Franz Ferdinand

• Austrian spies in Serbia had reported that there was going to be an assassination attempt. Panic, the Prime Minister of Serbia, had also told the Austrian government that there was going to be trouble.

• Franz Ferdinand ignored these warnings. Only 120 policeman were on duty in Sarajevo, and they were so excited that they forgot to watch the crowds, and looked at the procession instead.

• Franz Ferdinand was dressed in the ceremonial uniform of an Austrian cavalry general, with a blue tunic, a high collar with three stars, and a hat adorned with pale-green feathers.

• He wore black trousers with red stripes down the sides and around his waist a Bauchband, a gold-braided ribbon with tassels.

• To reach the Town Hall the procession had to drive along the Appel Quay. The six conspirators had posted themselves along the route; the Appel Quay was `a regular avenue of assassins.' As the procession moved along the Appel Quay there were a few shouts of Zivio! ('Long may he live!').

• At 10.10 am, as the procession drew near the Cumuria Bridge.

Near the Cumuria bridge: • 1st Mehmed Mehmedbasic: told a friend that he could not get a clear

opportunity; told Albertini in 1937 that a policeman had approached him just as he was to throw the bomb.

• 2nd Vaso Cubrilovic: told investigation that felt sorry for the Duchess; told Albertini that he was badly placed.

• 3rd Nedeljko Cabrinovic: threw a bomb. Wearing a long black coat and a black hat, he asked a policeman to tell him which car the Archduke was in; seconds later he had knocked the cap off a hand grenade against a metal lamp-post and aimed it at the Archduke seated in the open car. Franz Ferdinand later claimed that he had knocked away the bomb with his hand; witnesses at the trial, however, all agreed that the bomb had bounced off the folded-back hood of the Archduke's car. It blew up the car behind, killing two officers and injuring about twenty people. Cabrinovic swallowed poison, but it failed to work. After stopping to see what had happened, Franz Ferdinand's car sped to the Town Hall.

• 4th (landward side) Cvetko Popovic: told a friend that could not sec which was Franz Ferdinand because he was short-sighted; told the trial the lost his nerve.

• After attending the official reception at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand asked about the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb.

• When the archduke was told they were badly injured in hospital, he insisted on being taken to see them. A member of the archduke's staff, Baron Morsey, suggested this might be dangerous, but Oskar Potiorek, who was responsible for the safety of the royal party, replied, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?“

• However, Potiorek did accept it would be better if Duchess Sophie remained behind in the City Hall. When Baron Morsey told Sophie about the revised plans, she refused to stay arguing: "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him."

• In order to avoid the city centre, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to tell the driver, Franz Urban, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, Urban took a right turn into Franz Joseph Street.

• One of the conspirators, Gavrilo Princip, was standing on the corner at the time. Oskar Potiorek immediately realised the driver had taken the wrong route and shouted "What is this? This is the wrong way! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay!".

• The driver put his foot on the brake, and began to back up. In doing so he moved slowly past the waiting Gavrilo Princip.

• The assassin stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie von Chotkovato in the abdomen.

• Princip's bullet had pierced the archduke's jugular vein but before losing consciousness, he pleaded "Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!“

• Franz Urban drove the royal couple to Konak, the governor's residence, but although both were still alive when they arrived, they died from their wounds soon afterwards.

Nedjelko Cabrinovic, statement in court (23rd October, 1914)

• We did not hate Austria, but the Austrians had done nothing, since the occupation, to solve the problems that faced Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nine-tenths of our people are farmers who suffer, who live in misery, who have no schools, who are deprived of any culture.

• We sympathized with them in their distress. We thought that only people of noble character were capable of committing political assassinations. We heard it said that he (Archduke Franz Ferdinand) was an enemy of the Slavs. Nobody directly told us "kill him"; but in this environment, we arrived at the idea ourselves.

• I would like to add something else. Although Princip is playing the hero, and although we all wanted to appear as heroes, we still have profound regrets. In the first place, we did not know that they late Franz Ferdinand was a father. We were greatly touched by the words he addressed to his wife: "Sophie, stay alive for our children." We are anything you want, except criminals.

• In my name and in the name of my comrades, I ask the children of the late successor to the throne to forgive us. As for you, punish us according to your understanding. We are not criminals. We are honest people, animated by noble sentiments; we are idealists; we wanted to do good; we have loved our people; and we shall die for our ideals.

July Crisis and the declarations of war

• After the assassination of the Arckduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, Austria-Hungary waited for 3 weeks before deciding on a course of action.

• This wait was due to a large part of the army being on leave to help in gathering the harvest, which practically denied Austria the possibility of military action at the time.

• On July 23, assured by unconditional ('carte blanche') support of the Germans should war break out, it sent an ULTIMATUM to Serbia containing many demands, among them that Austrian agents would be allowed to take part in the investigation, and in general holding Serbia responsible for the assassination.

• The Serbian government accepted all the terms, except that of the participation of the Austrian agents in the inquiry, which it saw as a violation of its sovereignty. Emboldened by last minute Russian support, Serbia rejected the ultimatum.

• Austria-Hungary, in turn, rejected the Serbian reply on July 26. Breaking diplomatic relations, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia on July 28, proceeding to bombard Belgrade on July 29. On July 30 Austria-Hungary and Russia both ordered general mobilization of their armies.

• The Germans, having pledged their support to Austria-Hungary, sent Russia an ultimatum to stop mobilization within 12 hours on July 31.

• On August 1, with the ultimatum expired, the German ambassador to Russia formally declared war. On August 2 Germany occupied Luxembourg, as a preliminary step to the invasion of Belgium and the Schlieffen Plan (i.e. Germany had planned to attack France first according to the plan, and then Russia, which had already gone wrong) the same day yet another ultimatum was delivered to Belgium, requesting free passage for the German army on the way to France.

• The Belgians refused. At the very last moment, the Kaiser Wilhelm II asked Moltke, the German Chief of General Staff, to cancel the invasion of France in the hope this would keep Britain out of the war.

• Moltke, horrified by the prospect of the utter ruin of the Schlieffen Plan, refused on the grounds that it would be impossible to change the rail schedule- "once settled, it cannot be altered".

• On August 3 Germany declared war on France, and on August 4 invaded Belgium. This act, violating Belgian neutrality to which Germany, France, and Britain were all committed to guarantee, gave Britain, which up to that point had yet to choose a side in the conflict, a reason to declare war on Germany on August 4.

Opening hostilities

• Some of the first hostilities of the war occurred in Africa and in the Pacific Ocean, in the colonies and territories of the European powers.

• On August 1914 a combined French and British Empire forces invaded the German protectorate of Togoland in West Africa. Shortly thereafter, on August 10, German forces based in South West Africa attacked South Africa, part of the British Empire.

• Another British Dominion, New Zealand, occupied German Samoa (later Western Samoa) on 30 August; on September 11 the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of Neu Pommern (later New Britain), which formed part of German New Guinea.

• Within a few months, the Entente forces had driven out or had accepted the surrender of all German forces in the Pacific. Sporadic and fierce fighting, however, continued in Africa for the remainder of the war.

• In Europe, the Central Powers — the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire - suffered from mutual miscommunication and lack of intelligence regarding the intentions of each other's army.

• Germany had originally guaranteed to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but practical interpretation of this idea differed.

• Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover her northern flank against Russia. Germany, however, had planned for Austria-Hungary to focus the majority of its troops on Russia while Germany dealt with France on the Western Front.

• This confusion forced the Austro-Hungarian Army to split its troop concentrations. Somewhat more than half went to fight the Russians on their border, a somewhat smaller force was allocated to invade and conquer Serbia.

Serbian Campaign {WWI} • The Serbian army fought a defensive battle against the invading

Austrian army (called the Battle of Cer) starting on 12 August. • The Serbians occupied defensive positions on the south side of

the Drina and Save rivers. • Over the next two weeks Austrian attacks were thrown back with

heavy losses. • This marked the first major Allied victory of the war. Austrian

expectations of a swift victory over Serbia were not realized and as a result, Austria had to keep a very sizable force on the Serbian front, weakening their armies which faced Russia.

• The German war plan to deal with the Franco-Russian alliance (called the Schlieffen plan) involved delivering a knock-out blow to the French and then turning to deal with the more slowly mobilized Russian army. Rather than invading eastern France directly, German planners deemed it prudent to attack France from the north.

• To do so, the German army had to march through Belgium. Germany demanded free passage from the Belgian government, promising to treat Belgium as Germany's firm ally if permission was granted.

• The Belgian government's refusal to come to terms at zero-hour was an unpleasant surprise but the German army chose to follow through with its plan just the same. After entering Belgian territory, it soon encountered resistance at a fortified Liege.

• Although the army as a whole continued to make rapid progress into France, it was Britain's decision to declare war on Germany and honor a dated protection pact with Belgium that left the German government in disbelief and seriously hindered the military's plans.

• Britain sent an army to France (the British Expenitionary Force or BEF) which advanced into Belgium and slowed the Germans. The first British soldier killed in the war was John Parr, on 21st August 1914, near Mons.

The First BATTLE

The Battle of Liege, 1914

• Something of a moral victory for the Allies as represented by Belgium, the Battle of Liege ran for twelve days from 5-16 August 1914, and resulted in surprisingly heavy losses upon the German invasion force by the numerically heavily outnumbered Belgians.

• The Battle of Liege signified the first land battle of the war, as the German Second Army crossed the frontier into neutral Belgium (since 1839) so as to attack France from the north.  The Schlieffen plan had started.

• The initial aim of Von Bulow’s Second Army, which comprised 320,000 men, was to seize the city of Liege, gateway to Belgium, which blocked the narrow gap between the 'Limburg appendix' and the Ardennes, the best entrance into Belgium.

The Schlieffen Plan

• Germany’s military plan to defeat France and Russia.

• “Knock out blow” aimed at France first.

• Avoid French defences by invasion of Belgium.

• Germans thought Britain would not intervene.

• Count Alfred von Schlieffen drew up the Schlieffen Plan in 1905 when he was German Chief of Staff.

• In a general European war, Germany would face France in the west and Russia in the east, and would need to defeat France within six weeks before Russia mobilised her troops.

1. As most of the French army was stationed on the border with Germany, the Schlieffen Plan aimed for the quick defeat of France by invading it through neutral Belgium and moving rapidly on to capture Paris. 2. The Germans did not believe that Britain would go to war over their 1839 treaty with Belgium, which they described as a 'scrap of paper'. 3. Even if Britain did defend Belgium, the Kaiser believed that there was no need to fear the British Expeditionary Force, which he called a 'contemptible little army'. 4. Having defeated France, Germany would then be able to concentrate her efforts on defeating the Russians in the east rather then having to fight on two fronts at once.

Schlieffen Plan

• In 1904 France and Britain signed the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). The objective of the alliance was to encourage co-operation against the perceived threat of Germany. Negotiations also began to add Russia to this alliance. As a result of these moves the German military began to fear the possibility of a combined attack from France, Britain and Russia.

• Alfred von Schlieffen, German Army Chief of Staff, was given instructions to devise a strategy that would be able to counter a joint attack. In December, 1905, he began circulating what later became known as the Schlieffen Plan. Schlieffen argued that if war took place it was vital that France was speedily defeated.

• If this happened, Britain and Russia would be unwilling to carry on fighting. Schlieffen calculated that it would take Russia six weeks to organize its large army for an attack on Germany. Therefore, it was vitally important to force France to surrender before Russia was ready to use all its forces.

• Schlieffen's plan involved using 90% of Germany's armed forces to attack France. Fearing the French forts on the border with Germany, Schlieffen suggested a scythe-like attack through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The rest of the German Army would be sent to defensive positions in the east to stop the expected Russian advance.

• When Helmuth von Moltke replaced Alfred von Schlieffen as German Army Chief of Staff in 1906, he modified the plan by proposing that Holland was not invaded.

• The main route would now be through the flat plains of Flanders. Moltke argued that Belgium's small army would be unable to stop German forces from quickly entering France. Moltke suggested that 34 divisions should invade Belgium whereas 8 divisions would be enough to stop Russia advancing in the east.

• On 2nd August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into operation when the German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. However, the Germans were held up by the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian Army's advance into East Prussia. The Germans were also surprised by how quickly the British Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium.

• On 3rd September, Joseph Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief of the French forces, ordered his men to retreat to a line along the River Seine, south-east of Paris and over 60km south of the Marne. Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force agreed to join the French in attacking the German forces.

• On 2nd August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into operation when the German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. However, the Germans were held up by the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian Army's advance into East Prussia. The Germans were also surprised by how quickly the British Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium.

• On 3rd September, Joseph Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief of the French forces, ordered his men to retreat to a line along the River Seine, south-east of Paris and over 60km south of the Marne. Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force agreed to join the French in attacking the German forces.

• The French 6th Army attacked the German Ist Army at the Marne on the morning of 6th September. General Alexander von Kluck wheeled his entire force to meet the attack, opening a 50km gap between his own forces and the German 2nd Army led by General Karl von Bulow. The British forces and the French 5th Army now advanced into the gap that had been created splitting the two German armies.

• For the next three days the German forces were unable to break through the Allied lines. At one stage the French 6th Army came close to defeat and were only saved by the use of Paris taxis to rush 6,000 reserve troops to the front line.

• On 9th September, General Helmuth von Moltke, the German Commander in Chief, ordered General Karl von Bulow and General Alexander von Kluck to retreat. The British and French forces were now able to cross the Marne.

• The Schlieffen Plan had not succeeded. The German hopes of a swift and decisive victory had been frustrated. However, the German Army had not been beaten and its successful retreat and the building of trenches between the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier ended all hope of a short war.

What actually happened?• Belgium, Britain and France responded to the launching of the Schlieffen Plan in different ways. • The Germans were not expecting any resistance from Belgium, but the Belgian army fought

bravely and managed to delay the German advance. Members of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived to help, and the Germans were held up at Mons.

• The Belgians later prevented the Germans from taking the French channel ports by flooding their land.

• Britain declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Belgium. Although the BEF consisted of only 125, 000 men, they were well trained and equipped, and ready for action within less than one week. Having helped the Belgians hold the Germans up at Mons, the BEF then moved to support the French on the River Marne and prevent the Germans from reaching Paris.

• Losses were heavy and by December 1914 more than half of the original BEF were dead. • France responded quickly to the German attack by launching an invasion of Alsace and Lorraine,

but this failed. They then switched troops to the defence of Paris in a desperate attempt to hold the Germans up, which involved transporting troops to the front line in fleets of taxis.

• The battle at the Marne was a turning-point; with the help of the remaining members of the BEF the German advance was not only halted but the Germans were also pushed back about 35 miles. The British and French then moved to secure the Channel ports.

Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?

• The plan relied upon rapid movement. The resistance of the Belgians and the BEF prevented this.

• Russia mobilized its troops quicker than expected. Within 10 days the Russians had invaded Germany, which meant that the Germans had to switch troops away from western Europe to hold up the Russian invasion.

• Both sides now had to secure the land that they held. Trenches were dug and machine-gun posts erected. The first exchanges of the war were over; from now until 1918, neither side would advance more than 10 miles forward nor backwards from the positions they now held

• The fact that Belgian troops were able to hold up the German advance gave time for the BEF to arrive. Together they were further able to delay the Germans at Mons, and this allowed the French to switch their troops from Alsace-Lorraine to defend Paris.