25 replies to this topic

[Jimmy Bloggs]

Hello. I'm a bit confused about the Schlieffen Plan. I understand it was a plan to help Germany win WWI quickly, but how was it supposed to work and why did it fail?

I'd appreciate any ideas.

[Mr S Drew]

Jonny

At its most basic here we go!

The Schlieffen Plan reflected German concerns about the risk of fighting both France and Russia at the same time.

The Germans believed that the Russians would take weeks to mobilise their troops and so if Germany attacked France first with a hammer blow of soldiers, they could knock France out of the war and so not have to fight the dreaded 'war on two fronts'.

Drawn up by Schlieffen in 1905, it was based on the key assumption of the number of German troops to be sent into battle with France and the slowness of the Russian mobilisation.

However when it was used in 1914, two key things happened to mess it up:

1) The new German commanders reduced the numbers of soldiers sent into France so fatally weakening the German Army's attack.
2) The Russians mobilised much quicker than expected so there was danger on the Eastern Front far sooner than expected.

This meant that the advance of the German Army in France was much slower than expected and troops could not be sent to help the attack get back on course as they were needed in the East to defend against the Russians.

To find out more about the answer to your exact question, I suggest going to this website:

The Schlieffen Plan BBC Bitesize

Edited by Mr. D. Bryant, 22 April 2010 - 03:41 PM.
Changing link

[Jimmy Bloggs]

Thank you very much for this Mr Drew. You've explained it very well. I wish you were my history teacher.

[richcollinsuk]

Hi,

I have just started my first question of year 10 GCSE coursework, the schlieffen plan. I was wondering becuase there are teachers on here what things i should look to include in my answer.

This is the question i have been set:

" Explain how the schlieffen plan was meant to work"

I would be thankful for any help


Richard

[Mr S Drew]

Without doing your coursework for you :lightbulb: I think we can safely give you some ideas and links to explore.

1) Make sure you explain what the details of the Schlieffen Plans were.

2) Make sure you explain who the countries involved in the plan were.

3) Make sure you explain the historical background to the plan.

4) Make sure you explain the plan from the point of view of the Germans as this will make sure you actually get to the main point of the question.

KEY POINT: remember that the details you put in your coursework are only part of the way to getting a good grade. The key thing is the EXPLANATION. You can put in all the details in the world but if you do not EXPLAIN why they are important and what they tell us about the plan you will not get the grade to which you aspire.

There are some good sites on the net that will help you:

Spatacus Educational website on the Schlieffen Plan

BBC GCSE Bitesize explanation of the Schlieffen Plan

A basic but useful overview of the Schlieffen Plan (scroll down the page to find the Germany bit)

I hope all this helps!

Good luck with your coursework and remember that it is not WHAT you know that gets you the best marks it is what you DO WITH IT.

[richcollinsuk]

Thanks for the Help, Ill let you know how i get on. This is such a good site!


Rich

[Mrs Faithorn]

Did you spot that Mr Drew had also posted another reply to a similar enquiry back in October? You might also find that helpful.

http://www.schoolhis...3&st=0

[Mr S Drew]

You are correct in assuming that we will not mark your work, but you have clearly followed the advice given.

Any more than that would be unfair help to you from us and would not be popular or acceptable to the exam board (or your own teachers!)

I think it would be best to ask your questions, take the advice given and then show your draft versions to your own teachers in future.

Keep up the good effort and work though.

[Mr Field]

Under no circumstances should you post your coursework on this board though. I have now recorded the content of your message and deleted your message.

It is breaking exam regluations to post such material on this discussion board. You need to discuss what you are allowed to do with your teacher.

[richcollinsuk]

Oh ok, im very sorry. I did not know and know i do. From now on i will just post questions. Im very sorry



Richard

[Mr S Drew]

Thank you Richard.

We understand that you did not realise, we just need to make sure that everything we do is fiar and allowed. Then you can carry on recieving the help that you need.

p.s. Your rmanners are excellent. Helping students like you is well worth it.

[richcollinsuk]

No problems, i understand that it a lot easier and better for you the teacher if im polite!

[ratty46]

Hello.  I'm a bit confused about the Schlieffen Plan.  I understand it was a plan to help Germany win WWI quickly, but how was it supposed to work and why did it fail?

I'd appreciate any ideas.

 

yer me 2 stuck big time ?????///

[ratty46]

yer me 2 can ney1 help stuck big time exam in 2 weeks errrgh

[Mr Field]

I'm not really sure how replying twice in two minutes is going to help much.

What help do you need? If you look above you can see that the answer for the Schlieffen plan has been given