Schlieffen Plan

Germany’s prewar strategy for a rapid defeat of France, using an advance through Belgium before shifting forces east against Russia. Its 1914 execution differed from Alfred von Schlieffen’s original memorandum.

Alfred von Schlieffen: German field marshal who led the Great General Staff from 1891 to 1906 and developed the plan’s central ideas. His 1905–06 memorandum became the plan’s namesake and strategic foundation.
German General Staff: The Prussian and later German military institution responsible for operational planning and army leadership. It developed, revised, and transmitted the plans associated with Schlieffen.
Schlieffen Plan memorandum: A 1905–06 German General Staff memorandum outlining a hypothetical campaign against France while Russia recovered from war. It was a conceptual exercise, not a complete operational order for the 1914 campaign.
United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany: Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 4 August 1914, following Germany’s invasion of Belgium. The invasion helped bring Britain into the war against Germany.
German invasion of Belgium: Germany’s August 1914 military entry into neutral Belgium during its advance toward France. The northern route through Belgium was central to the planned sweep around French defenses.
Franco-Russian Alliance: A military alliance formed by France and Russia in the 1890s against the possibility of German aggression. The alliance made Germany fear a two-front war.
Moltke Plan: The German deployment and operational plan used under Helmuth von Moltke the Younger in 1914. It differed from Schlieffen’s memorandum in force allocation and the conduct of the western advance.
Battle of Tannenberg: An August 1914 battle in which German forces defeated Russia’s Second Army in East Prussia. German troops had to be diverted east while the western campaign was still unfolding.
Battle of the Frontiers: A series of battles in August 1914 between German forces and French and British armies near France’s borders. These battles formed the opening combat phase of the western offensive.
Alfred von Waldersee: A Prussian general who served as chief of the German General Staff from 1888 to 1891. His tenure preceded Schlieffen’s and the staff’s later planning for a two-front war.

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