Changes

When the Japanese defeated the Russians in 1905, the kaiser expressed interest in the plan. Schlieffen had to confess that the German army was not in fact ready for a war with France. The French had recoilless artillery, which the Germans lacked.<ref>Röhl, p. 416.</ref> The plan contemplated a significantly larger army than the one Schlieffen commanded.<ref>"There was a Schlieffen Plan" by Gerhard P. Gross in ''[https://books.google.fi/books?id=IVjCBAAAQBAJ&hl=fi&source=gbs_navlinks_s The Schlieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy for World War I],'' (2014), pp. 100-101.</ref> Schlieffen may have seen his plan a tool for obtaining weapons and more soldiers rather than as a practical battle strategy.<ref>Gross, pp. 103-104. Schlieffen's memorandum is, "A program for further expansion of the army and its mobilization," according to the archive's official description.</ref>

When the Japanese defeated the Russians in 1905, the kaiser expressed interest in the plan. Schlieffen had to confess that the German army was not in fact ready for a war with France. The French had recoilless artillery, which the Germans lacked.<ref>Röhl, p. 416.</ref> The plan contemplated a significantly larger army than the one Schlieffen commanded.<ref>"There was a Schlieffen Plan" by Gerhard P. Gross in ''[https://books.google.fi/books?id=IVjCBAAAQBAJ&hl=fi&source=gbs_navlinks_s The Schlieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy for World War I],'' (2014), pp. 100-101.</ref> Schlieffen may have seen his plan a tool for obtaining weapons and more soldiers rather than as a practical battle strategy.<ref>Gross, pp. 103-104. Schlieffen's memorandum is, "A program for further expansion of the army and its mobilization," according to the archive's official description.</ref>

When Schlieffen retired in 1906, Wilhelm replaced him with Moltke, the emperor's former adjutant. The plan was reviewed by Erich Ludendorff, who was promoted to a senior position in the General Staff in 1908. After measures were taken to impose secrecy, Ludendorff began reworking the plan in 1909 with the help of Hermann von Stein and Gerhard Tappen.<ref>Mombauer, p. 90.</ref> In 1912, von Stein left the General Staff and Ludendorff replaced him in the No. 2 spot.

When Schlieffen retired in 1906, Wilhelm replaced him with Moltke, the emperor's former adjutant. The plan was reviewed by Erich Ludendorff, who was promoted to a senior position in the General Staff in 1908. After measures were taken to improve secrecy, Ludendorff began reworking the plan in 1909 with the help of Hermann von Stein and Gerhard Tappen.<ref>Mombauer, p. 90.</ref> In 1912, von Stein left the General Staff and Ludendorff replaced him in the No. 2 spot.

The degree of admiration that Schlieffen's plan received both at the time and since is hard to justify. The plan assumed no resistence from either the French or the Belgian armies. Prisoners of their own "lost province" propaganda, the French counterattacked in the heavily fortified Lorraine sector. If they had focused on a less fortified sector, the results could have been catastrophic for an overextended German army.

The degree of admiration that Schlieffen's plan received both at the time and since is hard to justify. The plan assumed no resistence from either the French or the Belgian armies. Prisoners of their own "lost province" propaganda, the French counterattacked in the heavily fortified Lorraine sector. If they had focused on a less fortified sector, the results could have been catastrophic for an overextended German army.