What were the main features of the Schlieffen Plan?

The Schlieffen Plan aimed to quickly defeat France by invading through Belgium, then turn to fight Russia.

The Schlieffen Plan, devised by German General Alfred von Schlieffen in 1905, was Germany's military strategy for a two-front war against France and Russia. The plan's main feature was to avoid a prolonged war by quickly defeating France before Russia could fully mobilise its forces. Schlieffen believed that Russia, with its vast size and less developed infrastructure, would take longer to prepare for war, giving Germany a crucial window of opportunity.

To achieve this rapid victory, the plan proposed a sweeping attack through Belgium, bypassing the heavily fortified Franco-German border. The idea was to encircle and crush the French army by advancing through Belgium and then swinging down into France from the north. This would allow German forces to capture Paris and force France to surrender within six weeks. The plan relied heavily on speed and surprise, with the expectation that Belgium's resistance would be minimal and that Britain would remain neutral or be slow to respond.

Once France was defeated, German forces would then be transported by rail to the Eastern Front to confront Russia. The plan assumed that Germany could handle a slower Russian advance and that the bulk of the German army could be redeployed in time to meet the Russian threat.

However, the Schlieffen Plan had several flaws. It underestimated Belgium's resistance, which slowed the German advance and allowed Britain to enter the war in defence of Belgian neutrality. Additionally, the plan's rigid timetable left little room for adjustments, and the logistical challenges of moving large armies quickly proved more difficult than anticipated. Ultimately, the plan's failure contributed to the stalemate and trench warfare that characterised much of World War I.