How WW1 ended up in the trenches

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The Schlieffen Plan

  • Germany had created the Schlieffen plan, in anticipation of a war on two fronts. 
  • The majority of German troops would attack France
  • Going through Belgium first rather than attacking the French boarder.
  • A small amount would head towards the Russian boarder, but Russia was anticipated to 6 weeks to mobilise.
  • Once France had been taken, all German troops would head towards Russia.
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Problems with the Schlieffen Plan

  • Belgium put up an unexpected fight, slowing Germany down
  • This gave time for Britain and France to mobilise
  • Secondly Russia took less time to mobilise
  • Germany was still fighting in France when they invaded
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France & Plan 17

  • The plan to directly attack Germany through Alsace-Lorraine
  • It didn’t work as many troops were cut down by machine gun fire, as they were still using old fashioned methods of attacking
  • They lost 200,000 men in 12days
  • This plan was abandoned so they could protect Paris 
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The Race for the Sea

  • The Race for the Sea began in October, when German generals realised they couldn't break through allied lines
  • Both sides charged towards the sea, as the Allies had to stop the Germans outflanking them and advancing.
  • This was because the combined French and British forces were able to stop the German advance, at the River Marne but could not push them out of France entirely.
  • Both sides eventually had to dig trenches to protect themselves as neither were making any progress.
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Battle of Ypres + Extra info

  • Both sides lost large numbers of men at the first battle of Ypres in October 1914.
  • However Britain managed to keep control of the English Channel Ports, necessary for supplies.
  • By the end of 1914 the fighting had reached a stalemate, both sides has experienced large losses and weren’t moving anywhere fast.
  • Trenches ran from the English Channel to the Alps. 
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