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The '''Schlieffen Plan''' was a plan for a German invasion of France that was drawn up in 1904 by Count Schlieffen, chief of the German General Staff. It evolved into the plan of attack used in [[World War I]] (1914-1918). Although the plan used in 1914 is quite different from any plan that Schlieffen himself was responsible for, it is customary to refer to it as the Schlieffen Plan.
The '''Schlieffen Plan''' was a plan for a German invasion of France that was drawn up in 1904 by Count Schlieffen, chief of the German General Staff. It evolved into the plan of attack used in [[World War I]] (1914-1918). Although the plan used in 1914 is quite different from any plan that Schlieffen himself was responsible for, it is customary to refer to it as the Schlieffen Plan.
In 1904, Schlieffen proposed that the German army outflank the French fortresses on the Franco-German border by advancing through Belgium. After Moltke replace Schlieffen in 1906, he made various modifications in the plan. However, this basic concept was retained. If France could be knocked out of the war quickly, Germany could then focus on Russia. When Moltke put the plan into effect in in 1914, the speedy result the Germans desired proved unobtainable. Violating Belgian neutrality was a major disadvantage of the plan since this provoked Britain to enter the war as a French ally.
==Development==
In the 1890s, German strategy was defensive with most troops assigned to deterring a Russian attack. With Russian attention focused on the Far East during the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), such caution seemed excessive. Schlieffen sketched a plan to outflank the French fortresses on the Franco-German border by advancing through Belgium. A large German force would swing around Paris and attack the French from the south. This "Memorandum for a War against France" was an early version of the Schlieffen Plan. It ignored Russia altogether.
In the 1890s, German strategy was defensive with most troops assigned to deterring a Russian attack. With Russian attention focused on the Far East during the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), such caution seemed excessive. Schlieffen sketched a plan to outflank the French fortresses on the Franco-German border by advancing through Belgium. A large German force would swing around Paris and attack the French from the south. This "Memorandum for a War against France" was an early version of the Schlieffen Plan. It ignored Russia altogether.