Western Civilization II / Unit 14 WC2 1308 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Schlieffen Plan
Captions available
The idea
Facing France and Russia at once, Germany planned to knock France out in six weeks by wheeling through Belgium, then rail its army east before Russia's slow mobilization finished. France's own plan aimed at Alsace-Lorraine; Russia's at East Prussia.
In practice
Plan XVII and Plan 19, the witness names them.
Where people slip
Every staff had a plan; none had a plan for failure.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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