Changes

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.

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. In addition, the plan had an unrealistic expectation of how long German troops could march without rest.

==The ''Daily Telegraph'' Affair (1908)==

==The ''Daily Telegraph'' Affair (1908)==