Asking Schlieffen: A Further Reply to Terence Zuber

• Autores: Terence M. Holmes
• Localización: War in history, ISSN-e 1477-0385, ISSN 0968-3445, Vol. 10, Nº. 4, 2003, págs. 464-479
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article continues the debate arising from Terence Zuber's claim that the Schlieffen plan was written solely to demonstrate that the German army would be too weak for such an operation. I argue to the contrary that both variants of the Schlieffen plan are presented as workable strategies within the existing resources of the German army. The plan was based on the official deployment scheme for a one-front war, and the strong right-wing offensive through Belgium and into northern France was successfully rehearsed on the general staff ride of 1905. The article concludes by showing that the younger Moltke's primary intentions in 1914 may also be seen as a version of the Schlieffen plan.