Who was Count Alfred Graf von Schlieffen?
Q: Who was Count Alfred Graf von Schlieffen?
A: Count Alfred Graf von Schlieffen was a German military strategist who worked for the Prussian Army from 1853-1871 and later in the Imperial German Army from 1871-1906. He died in 1913 aged 79.
Q: What was the Schlieffen Plan?
A: The Schlieffen Plan was a strategic plan made by Count Alfred Graf von Schlieffen in 1905 for a war between France on one side and the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Italy on the other. It involved Germany and their allies invading France through Belgium instead of directly attacking.
Q: Why did Moltke still attack France through Belgium even though he didn't have enough men to beat them?
A: Moltke believed that attacking was always better than defending due to Japan's success in the Russo-Japanese War where they always attacked and won. He thought that this strategy would work like it would in Schliffen's hypothetical war even though things had changed significantly within the decade since then.
Q: What did Schliffen believe about defense versus attack?
A: Schliffen believed that defending was usually better than attacking because a defender's men can ride trains to a place faster than an attacker's men can walk there, plus trenches, machine guns, and barbed wire would help the defender a lot.
Q: How did Hitler use similar tactics as those used in the Schlieffen Plan during World War II?
A: During World War II, Hitler's generals Erich Von Manstein and Heinz Guderian used similar tactics as those used in the Schlieffen Plan by invading France through Belgium and The Netherlands with mostly South Belgium being invaded rather than North Belgium which is what France expected based on how Germany had previously attacked using this plan. This allowed them to trap half of French troops who were starving without food resulting in their surrendering while also weakening France too much for them to resist any further leading to their eventual surrender as well.
Q: When did Schliffen retire?
A: Schliffen retired from working for the Imperial German Army in 1906 nine years before World War I began in August 1915.
