A Struggle for World Domination

The Schlieffen Plan

“Paris for lunch - St. Petersburg for dinner!”

The German Plan►A major offensive to capture Paris in

42 days►Avoid France’s fortifications by

sweeping west through neutral Belgium and then turning in an arc south into Paris

►The French army would be destroyed defending Paris

The Idea►If successful the French would be

forced to surrender►Germany could then shift forces to the

Eastern front to defeat the Russians before they could fully mobilize

►Like many others, the Germans thought the war would be short lived

Attempts to respond offensively

►As the German army moved through Belgium, France thinking it was a diversion sent most of there army northeast to attack Germany through Alsace and Lorraine

►The French lost 27,000 men due to the defensive power of “new” machine gun and long range rifle technology

Failure of the Schlieffen Plan►The Schlieffen Plan fell apart when the

Germans got too tired and too far ahead of their supply lines

►Part of their army got separated and vulnerable- the Germans had to retreat

►France tried to attack

►By this time the Germans were also fighting on the Eastern front

►With the German army divided, France was able to protect Paris

Quest for Victory►Immediately both sides tried to out-

flank each other to swing around the others’ defensives

►This was called the “Race to the Sea”►The result was a long line of trenches

that stretched from Switzerland to the English Channel