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The First BATTLES

The First BATTLES. The Battle of Liege, 1914.

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The First BATTLES

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  1. The First BATTLES

  2. The Battle of Liege, 1914 • Something of a moral victory for the Allies as represented by Belgium, the Battle of Liege ran for twelve days from 5-16 August 1914, and resulted in surprisingly heavy losses upon the German invasion force by the numerically heavily outnumbered Belgians. • The Battle of Liege signified the first land battle of the war, as the German Second Army crossed the frontier into neutral Belgium (since 1839) so as to attack France from the north.  The Schlieffen plan had started. • The initial aim of Von Bulow’s Second Army, which comprised 320,000 men, was to seize the city of Liege, gateway to Belgium, which blocked the narrow gap between the 'Limburg appendix' and the Ardennes, the best entrance into Belgium.

  3. The Schlieffen Plan • Germany’s military plan to defeat France and Russia. • “Knock out blow” aimed at France first. • Avoid French defences by invasion of Belgium. • Germans thought Britain would not intervene.

  4. Schlieffen Plan • Count Alfred von Schlieffen drew up the Schlieffen Plan in 1905 when he was German Chief of Staff. • In a general European war, Germany would face France in the west and Russia in the east, and would need to defeat France within six weeks before Russia mobilised her troops. 1. As most of the French army was stationed on the border with Germany, the Schlieffen Plan aimed for the quick defeat of France by invading it through neutral Belgium and moving rapidly on to capture Paris. 2. The Germans did not believe that Britain would go to war over their 1839 treaty with Belgium, which they described as a 'scrap of paper'. 3. Even if Britain did defend Belgium, the Kaiser believed that there was no need to fear the British Expeditionary Force, which he called a 'contemptible little army'. 4. Having defeated France, Germany would then be able to concentrate her efforts on defeating the Russians in the east rather then having to fight on two fronts at once.

  5. In 1904 France and Britain signed the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). The objective of the alliance was to encourage co-operation against the perceived threat of Germany. Negotiations also began to add Russia to this alliance. As a result of these moves the German military began to fear the possibility of a combined attack from France, Britain and Russia. • Alfred von Schlieffen, German Army Chief of Staff, was given instructions to devise a strategy that would be able to counter a joint attack. In December, 1905, he began circulating what later became known as the Schlieffen Plan. Schlieffen argued that if war took place it was vital that France was speedily defeated. • If this happened, Britain and Russia would be unwilling to carry on fighting. Schlieffen calculated that it would take Russia six weeks to organize its large army for an attack on Germany. Therefore, it was vitally important to force France to surrender before Russia was ready to use all its forces. • Schlieffen's plan involved using 90% of Germany's armed forces to attack France. Fearing the French forts on the border with Germany, Schlieffen suggested a scythe-like attack through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The rest of the German Army would be sent to defensive positions in the east to stop the expected Russian advance.

  6. When Helmuth von Moltke replaced Alfred von Schlieffen as German Army Chief of Staff in 1906, he modified the plan by proposing that Holland was not invaded. • The main route would now be through the flat plains of Flanders. Moltke argued that Belgium's small army would be unable to stop German forces from quickly entering France. Moltke suggested that 34 divisions should invade Belgium whereas 8 divisions would be enough to stop Russia advancing in the east. • On 2nd August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into operation when the German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. However, the Germans were held up by the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian Army's advance into East Prussia. The Germans were also surprised by how quickly the British Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium. •  On 3rd September, Joseph Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief of the French forces, ordered his men to retreat to a line along the River Seine, south-east of Paris and over 60km south of the Marne. Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force agreed to join the French in attacking the German forces.

  7. On 2nd August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into operation when the German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. However, the Germans were held up by the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian Army's advance into East Prussia. The Germans were also surprised by how quickly the British Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium. •  On 3rd September, Joseph Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief of the French forces, ordered his men to retreat to a line along the River Seine, south-east of Paris and over 60km south of the Marne. Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force agreed to join the French in attacking the German forces. • The French 6th Army attacked the German Ist Army at the Marne on the morning of 6th September. General Alexander von Kluck wheeled his entire force to meet the attack, opening a 50km gap between his own forces and the German 2nd Army led by General Karl von Bulow. The British forces and the French 5th Army now advanced into the gap that had been created splitting the two German armies.

  8. For the next three days the German forces were unable to break through the Allied lines. At one stage the French 6th Army came close to defeat and were only saved by the use of Paris taxis to rush 6,000 reserve troops to the front line. • On 9th September, General Helmuth von Moltke, the German Commander in Chief, ordered General Karl von Bulow and General Alexander von Kluck to retreat. The British and French forces were now able to cross the Marne. • The Schlieffen Plan had not succeeded. The German hopes of a swift and decisive victory had been frustrated. However, the German Army had not been beaten and its successful retreat and the building of trenches between the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier ended all hope of a short war.

  9. What actually happened? • Belgium, Britain and France responded to the launching of the Schlieffen Plan in different ways. • The Germans were not expecting any resistance from Belgium, but the Belgian army fought bravely and managed to delay the German advance. Members of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived to help, and the Germans were held up at Mons. • The Belgians later prevented the Germans from taking the French channel ports by flooding their land. • Britain declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Belgium. Although the BEF consisted of only 125, 000 men, they were well trained and equipped, and ready for action within less than one week. Having helped the Belgians hold the Germans up at Mons, the BEF then moved to support the French on the River Marne and prevent the Germans from reaching Paris. • Losses were heavy and by December 1914 more than half of the original BEF were dead. • France responded quickly to the German attack by launching an invasion of Alsace and Lorraine, but this failed. They then switched troops to the defence of Paris in a desperate attempt to hold the Germans up, which involved transporting troops to the front line in fleets of taxis. • The battle at the Marne was a turning-point; with the help of the remaining members of the BEF the German advance was not only halted but the Germans were also pushed back about 35 miles. The British and French then moved to secure the Channel ports.

  10. Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail? • The plan relied upon rapid movement. The resistance of the Belgians and the BEF prevented this. • Russia mobilized its troops quicker than expected. Within 10 days the Russians had invaded Germany, which meant that the Germans had to switch troops away from western Europe to hold up the Russian invasion. • Both sides now had to secure the land that they held. Trenches were dug and machine-gun posts erected. The first exchanges of the war were over; from now until 1918, neither side would advance more than 10 miles forward nor backwards from the positions they now held • The fact that Belgian troops were able to hold up the German advance gave time for the BEF to arrive. Together they were further able to delay the Germans at Mons, and this allowed the French to switch their troops from Alsace-Lorraine to defend Paris.

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