Why read The Schlieffen Plan?

Book cover of The Schlieffen Plan: Critique of a Myth

Book description

Using a copy of the Schlieffen Plan unearthed in 1953, Ritter examines the man and his plan for the German campaign to France through Belgium in 1914.

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Schlieffen Plan as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Eric Dorn Brose

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Facing a two-front war against France, Britain, and Russia in 1914, Germany opted to strike west first against the French and English; win a quick victory by avoiding French fortresses with an outflanking push through Belgium; and then turn east against the Russians. This operational plan was the brainchild of former Chief of the General Staff Alfred von Schlieffen. In the 1920s, many German generals argued that the inept execution of Schlieffen’s plan explained their loss of the war. Ritter’s work is the classic critique of this argumentation, showing that in reality the flaws of the plan and Schlieffen’s narrow-minded…

From Eric's list on the German army in World War One.