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NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Geography and History Activity
netw rks
World War I and the Russian Revolution
The Schlieffen Plan
Political geography, a subdivision of human geography, examines the
connection and interactions between geography and politics. Geopolitics
concerns the foreign policies of individual states that are determined by
each state’s location, natural resources, and physical attributes.
Geographers use both of these concepts to study international conflicts,
such as World War I. The Schlieffen Plan was a military strategy that the
Germans implemented at the outset of World War I.
As the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary broadened to include
other European nations, Germany, located in Central Europe, found itself
facing rivals to its west (France) and its east (Russia). The Schlieffen Plan
was named after Count Alfred von Schlieffen, former chief of the German
general staff, who formulated it years before the outbreak of World War I.
By the time he retired in 1905, Schlieffen had developed the plan that
would be used when war broke out in 1914.
Why did Schlieffen think Germany could delay conflict with Russia and
attack France first? Schlieffen considered Russia’s location, resources, and
physical attributes. He knew that in the event of a war, Russia would need
time to mobilize and assemble its forces, given the immense size of the
country, its sparse rail system, and the inefficiency of its government.
Because of this, Schlieffen suggested using a minimal number of defensive
troops (just one-eighth of total troops available) to face Russia on the
Eastern Front while concentrating most of its troops (the other seveneighths) on the Western Front against France. A quick victory in France
would then free those German troops to concentrate on the Russian
menace once Russian troops had mobilized in the east. The plan might
have worked, but it was modified by Helmuth von Moltke, who used a
smaller attacking army than Schlieffen had recommended and was later
blamed for Germany’s failure to achieve a fast victory.
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
In creating his plan, Schlieffen considered the political geography of
Europe. Instead of first concentrating on a strike against Russia before
fighting France, Schlieffen suggested invading northern France with a large
force by marching through Belgium, a neutral country, and then sweeping
around to the south to crush the French armies with a smaller German
force. Germany’s coastline was blocked from the Atlantic Ocean by the
breakwater of the British Isles, so the invasion would have to be over land.
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Geography and History Activity Cont.
netw rks
World War I and the Russian Revolution
The Schlieffen Plan
UNITED
KINGDOM
North
Sea NETHERLANDS
The Schlieffen plan
involved a two-front
attack by Germany
against France.
Brussels
GERMANY
BELGIUM
50°N
LUX.
N
Paris
W
E
FRANCE
0
0
S
2°E
100 miles
100 km
6°E
Directions: Answer the questions below in the space provided.
Understanding Concepts
1.
Interpreting How did the political geography and geopolitics of 1914
Europe influence the development and implementation of the Schlieffen
Plan?
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2.
Explaining Explain why Germany’s location in Europe contributed to
its being involved in a two-front war.
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Caption: The Schlieffen Plan involved a two-front attack by
Germany against France.
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Geography and History Activity Cont.
netw rks
World War I and the Russian Revolution
3.
Making Connections German troops could have entered France by
going through Switzerland. Use what you know about both political
and physical geography to explain why it made more sense for them
to go through Belgium.
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Applying Concepts
Calculating Within one week of the declaration of war in 1914, the
German reserves were called up and 3.8 million men were in the
German Army. Divide the circle below into a circle graph that shows
the number of men that would have fought on Germany’s Western
Front in France and how many would have been ready to face the
Russian army on the Eastern Front, according to the Schlieffen Plan.
Then label each circle section.
5.
Drawing Conclusions Notice that neutral Belgium is located
between Germany and France. How do you think Belgium and the
rest of the world regarded Germany’s violation of Belgium’s
neutrality?
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
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