Alfred von Schlieffen

Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) was a Prussian field marshal and chief of the German General Staff. He is best known for the strategic concept later called the Schlieffen Plan.

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder: A Prussian field marshal who led Prussia’s armies in the wars of German unification and served as chief of the General Staff. Moltke’s reforms and command tradition shaped the General Staff Schlieffen later led.
Schlieffen Plan: A German strategic concept for defeating France quickly before turning against Russia in a two-front war. This later name is attached to the memorandum and planning associated with Schlieffen.
Franco-Russian Alliance: A military alliance formed by France and Russia in the 1890s against the possibility of conflict with Germany and its partners. It made simultaneous pressure from France and Russia a central concern for German planners.
Battle of the Marne: A 1914 battle in which French and British forces halted the German advance toward Paris. Its outcome ended the rapid western advance associated with the plan bearing Schlieffen’s name.
Helmuth von Moltke the Younger: A German general who served as chief of the General Staff from 1906 to 1914. He revised Schlieffen’s strategic memorandum and directed German mobilization in 1914.
German General Staff: The Prussian and later German institution responsible for military planning, operational preparation, and advice to commanders. Schlieffen led this institution, where strategic studies became operational planning.
Franco-Prussian War: The 1870–1871 war in which Prussia and its German allies defeated France and established the German Empire. Its swift German victory informed later expectations about a future war against France.
First World War: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918, primarily between the Allied and Central Powers. The conflict tested German strategy after Schlieffen’s death and gave his plan historical significance.
Erich Ludendorff: A German general who became a leading military and political figure during the First World War. His 1914 operations in East Prussia unfolded as Germany’s western offensive faltered.
Two-front war: A conflict in which a state must conduct major military operations against adversaries on separate fronts. The threat of simultaneous war with France and Russia framed Schlieffen’s central strategic problem.

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Prussian General StaffRelated: Schlieffen’s tenure carried the institution into mass-army planning before the First World War.