year 9 history: world war i...by 1914 the german army had decided to invade france by advancing...

His_Y09_DS3_SS_SchlieffenPlan.pptx

Year 9 History: World War I


In 1904 France and

Britain signed a treaty

with the intent of

combining their forces to

defend against the threat

of Germany. France and

Britain also wanted to

add Russia to this

alliance.

As a result of this, the

German military began to

strategise to win a

possible future war

against France, Britain

and Russia.

Historicair (original); Fluteflute & User:Bibi Saint-Pol (translation)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svg CC BY-SA 2.5

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en [accessed 5/1/13].

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en


The Schlieffen Plan was a

strategy designed in 1905

for the German Empire in

the event of a possible

future war. The plan aimed

to ensure victory for

Germany if it had to fight a

war on two ‘fronts’: France

to the west and Russia to

the east.

The plan was created by

Count Alfred Von

Schlieffen, from which it

takes its name.

Historicair (original); Fluteflute & User:Bibi Saint-Pol (translation)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svg CC BY-SA 2.5

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en [accessed 5/1/13].

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Europe_alliances_1914-en.svghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en


The Schlieffen Plan was based on four

assumptions:

1. Russia would take at least six weeks to

mobilise its army for war

2. France would be easily defeated in six weeks

3. Belgium would not resist an attack by Germany

4. Britain would remain neutral


By 1914 the German Army had decided to invade France by advancing through Belgium in order to bring about victory in a two-front war (with France and Russia).

On the 2nd August 1914, the German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan.


The German Army encountered resistance in the form of the Belgian Army which was backed up by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).

Russia mobilised its army in just 10 days and Germany was forced to withdraw some of its troops from executing the Schlieffen Plan to defend its eastern border.

Between August and December 1914, the British and French armies, along with the smaller Belgian force, fought a series of offensives against the German Army known as the ‘Race to the Sea’ as both sides raced to be first to the English Channel in a bid to outflank each other.

Gsl, 2004, Race to the Sea, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Race_to_the_Sea_1914.png [accessed 19/11/13].

The Race to the Sea

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Race_to_the_Sea_1914.pnghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Race_to_the_Sea_1914.png


Execution of the Schlieffen Plan was initially successful as much of northern France fell to the advancing German Army.

However, French forces eventually stopped the German army at the Marne River.

Marne River


Germany underestimated the strength of the British-Belgian alliance and believed that Britain would remain neutral if Belgium was invaded.

However, when Germany invaded Belgium on the 4th August 1914, Britain came to the aid of the smaller nation in accordance with the London Treaty of 1839 and declared war on Germany.

By December 1914, the mobile warfare that had occurred across northern France and Belgium between Germany and Britain and France had ground down to a stalemate as both sides engaged in trench warfare.


The line of trenches that

spanned from Belgium and

across northern France

became known as the

Western Front.

In many locations along the

Western Front there would

be very little movement for

almost four years.

Many hundreds of

thousands of soldiers lost

their lives at the Western

Front during World War I.

Medical facilities – WW1 (ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland Incorporated)

http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/anecdotes/medicalfacility.html [accessed 5/12/13].
http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/anecdotes/medicalfacility.html

year 9 history: world war i...by 1914 the german army had decided to invade france by advancing...

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