It was named after Alferd Von Schlieffen. His idea was to have a quick victory in 6 months. He planned war on two fronts. The first one was to quickly defeat the French by invaiding Belgium anf flanking them from the rear. While at the other front a war with Russia. They planned to hold off Russia untill France had fallen. That is what Germany planned to accomplish during WW1. Five German armies were sent to pass through Belgium. One armies duty was to
go around and invaid Paris. This would allow the Germans to attack from the rear.
The Invasion of Belgium
On August 2nd Germans Luxemburg. There was an order passed to Belgium troops that there were to open fire on any Germans trying to cross in to Belgium. This slowed down Germany from entering Belgium. On August 3rd Germans demanded free passage. Belguim gave them it.
This also slowed down ther Schlieffen plan. They did not expect Belgium to try to stop them.
The Alliance System
There were two sides in the war. The Allies and the Central Powers. The Allies were made up of France, Britain and Russia. Those were the main powers. The Central Power were made of Germany and Austria-Hungry. Some countries joined as the war went on.
The Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was when Germany reached within 30 miles of Paris. The France troops retreated, wich allowed Germany to get that far into France. France decited to make a move. They attacked Germany. Thay had to defeat them or they would most likely have lost the war. The Schlieffen plan didn't work out like it was suppose to. The one group of soilders didn't invaid Paris like they were orderd to. This cause France to attack from the rear. This cause German armies to retreat. This is what started Trench warfare.
Trench Warfare and Race to the Sea
After The Battle of th Marne there was a stalemate. The Germans retreated and created Trenches. Threnches were holes dug around 5 feet deep. They provided cover from the enemies. it was very hard to get to the ohter army's trench. This caused France to build trenches. The Race to the Sea was when both armies were in a stalemate. Then one army tried to go around the trench and were forced to retreat from the opposing side. Then the army built a trench. This continued to the sea.
