In This SAS Curriculum Pathways Web Inquiry You Will Be Prov
In this SAS Curriculum Pathways Web Inquiry you will be provided links
In this SAS Curriculum Pathways Web Inquiry, you will examine primary sources provided through links to answer the focus question: Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail? Follow Web Inquiry 193, and if prompted, log in using the username “melody9off†and then click "log in" to access the materials. Copy and save the Respond sheet to your computer. Respond to the questions about the Schlieffen Plan and the Battle of the Marne, ensuring your answers are in complete sentences and include specific details from the readings. Submit your answers upon completion. The Homework section is not required.
Paper For Above instruction
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's military strategy devised at the outset of World War I, intended to quickly defeat France by invading through Belgium, and then redirect troops to fight Russia in the east. The plan was designed to avoid a two-front war and relied heavily on the assumption that Belgium would be subdued rapidly and that Britain would remain neutral. However, the plan ultimately failed, leading to a prolonged and widespread conflict that engulfed much of Europe.
The failure of the Schlieffen Plan can be attributed to several interconnected factors. First, the ambitious timetable it imposed was overly optimistic. German forces underestimated the logistical difficulties of moving troops through Belgium and the resilience of Belgian resistance. The unexpectedly strong Belgian defense and the intervention of Britain at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 disrupted the German timetable, forcing them to slow their advance and stall their momentum. This delay allowed the French and British forces to regroup and mount a counterattack, ultimately stopping the German advance just outside Paris.
The Battle of the Marne was a pivotal moment in the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. The Allied forces' effective counteroffensive, combined with logistical difficulties faced by the Germans, created a stalemate on the Western Front. German troops became bogged down in trench warfare, which was not anticipated in the original plan. The plan’s reliance on swift victory collapsed as the Germans encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance and terrain that hindered rapid movement. The Germans’ failure to encircle Paris and the ensuing trench stalemate signaled the collapse of the original conception of the Schlieffen Plan.
Furthermore, the plan's assumptions about the political and military reaction of Belgium and Britain proved overly optimistic. The invasion of Belgium triggered British involvement, and the Belgian resistance proved more effective than anticipated. This widened the scope of the conflict and drew Britain into the war sooner than Germany had expected. The unexpected level of resistance and the mobilization of British forces meant that the timetable for victory was unachievable, contributing further to the plan’s failure.
In conclusion, the Schlieffen Plan failed due to overconfidence in rapid victory, underestimated resistance, logistical challenges, and unforeseen political reactions. The Battle of the Marne was a decisive turning point that exposed these flaws and led to a shift from swift offensive warfare to entrenched stalemate. This failure reshaped the strategies of both sides for the rest of World War I and illustrates the importance of flexible planning in military campaigns. The lessons from this failure highlight the dangers of overly rigid military doctrines that do not account for the complexities of real-world combat and political realities.
References
- Cornelius Ryan, The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 (Simon & Schuster, 1959).
- David L. G. Smith, The Schlieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy in World War I (Routledge, 2016).
- Hew Strachan, The First World War: Volume I: To Arms (Oxford University Press, 2005).
- Hew Strachan, The First World War: Volume II: The Triumph of Recognitions (Oxford University Press, 2007).
- John Keegan, The First World War (Vintage, 1998).
- Margaret MacMillan, The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 (Random House, 2013).
- Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 (Allen Lane, 2012).
- Terence Zuber, The Schlieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy in World War I (Routledge, 2016).
- Robert H. W. Shepherd, The German Army on the Western Front: The First World War (Institute of Historical Research, 2011).
- Jay Winter, The Cambridge History of the First World War (Cambridge University Press, 2014).