History 20

The development of war plans was the major preoccupation of every European military general staff. Generals would spend months planning how to move troops from one part of the country to another, how best to use their railroads, how to use new weapons, tactics, or how a new alliance would benefit them in a military sense.

Once the planning was finished, they would turn around and do it over and over again in the attempt to build a better plan. Once several revisions had been made, they would test their plans during the annual field maneuvers. During these maneuvers, the plans would be put into practice on a small scale.

Thus, in the first week of August 1914, all the work that the various general staffs had been preparing, for many decades, became a reality. For the generals who issued the orders, they believed the war would be a short, almost fun, adventure. The generals anticipated the same type of victories that like the ones during the Napoleonic Wars a century earlier.

Unfortunately, the officers who were soon to lead their nation's men into battle had little or no military experience. The only experience they gained was from training manuals that had been written about previous wars. Nothing had prepared them for the war they were about to face.

German plans for the war were based upon the work of a Count Von Schlieffen. He had proposed a way for Germany to face a two-front war. Von Schlieffen planned to take advantage of the much slower mobilization capabilities of the Russian military. The plan called for pushing the bulk of the entire German army against France in a massive six-week campaign. Once France had been defeated, the German army would then quickly move to the Eastern front and face the Russians.

The success of the German plan required the utilization of Germany's very efficient railroad system. The railroad was essential to concentrate seven of Germany's eight armies on the Western Front in order to attack France. Once France had been defeated, the railroads would be used to quickly move the victorious German armies back to face the massive Russian army.

The plan was designed to outflank the strong fortifications that the French had built along the German - French border. France had spent large sums of money to build massive fortifications near the towns of Verdun and Belfort in order to ensure the safety of their border. Thus, the German army prepared to attack the northern part of France where the French army was weakest. In one massive wheeling maneuver, hinged upon the town of Verdun, the German army would sweep around the French army, and destroy it in a massive trap.

Von Schlieffen finished his plans in 1894. Everything was carefully planned to fit a very strict timetable of movement and operations. His plan was continually improved and tested during field maneuvers in the twenty years before its use in 1914. Although the plan made sense, to attack the enemy at the weakest point, several major problems existed with the plan. One of the most important problems was the need to travel through Belgium and Luxembourg. This meant that Germany would have to ask permission to move cross these countries, or force their way through.

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