Count Alfred von Schlieffen

Schlieffen believed that Germany’s geographic position put it at greater risk of invasion from France or Russia. Once Europe had divided into two sides, he knew that France and Russia would be serious enemies. In 1905, after finding inspiration from the Russian military’s performance in its ill-fated war with Japan, he formed the Schlieffen Plan.

Schlieffen noted that Russia was enormous but lacked railways; any full mobilisation of its forces would take several weeks, perhaps as long as three or four months. The plan meant that Germany could attack France whilst Russia mobilised her army, then it could defeat the latter.

In August 1905, at the age of 72, Schlieffen was kicked by a companion's horse, making him 'incapable of battle'. He retired in 1906, but his plan was modified by General Helmuth von Moltke, who put it into action in August 1914.

Although Count Alfred von Schlieffen died in 1913, before the outbreak of war, his influence lasted for many years afterwards. Even at the end of war, his treatise was studied by military students across the world. Historians still debate the strengths and weaknesses of the Schlieffen Plan.

See also: The Schlieffen Plan