The document discusses reasons for the stalemate on the Western Front in World War 1. It describes the original Schlieffen Plan to quickly defeat France by enveloping its forces, but changes made by Von Moltke reduced forces on the decisive right wing. This caused supply issues for Germany and altered the force ratio against France. As a result, the Germans halted near Paris instead of capturing it, allowing the French to counterattack at the Marne. The battle resulted in a German retreat to the Aisne River, where trench warfare became entrenched for the duration of the war, causing the stalemate.

1. WW1 – CORE STUDY
Reasons for the Stalemate on the Western Front

2. THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN
• Developed between 1891 and 1905 – The plan was developed
because Germany predicted they would be fighting a war on 2
fronts, France in the West and Russia in the East. The plan
focused on a crushing defeat of France.
• Germany intended to swing around the French forces and
capture Paris therefore neutralising France so that they could
focus their attention on Russia.
• They believed it would take Russia about 6 weeks to mobilise
so they had the time to focus their attention on France and
then send most of their forces over to the Eastern Front.

3. HELMUTH VON MOLTKE
• When Schlieffen retired as General in 1905, Von Moltke took
over as General.
• Schlieffen stressed the need for an all out right wing sweep of
France however, Moltke was not courageous enough to risk his
whole army. As a result he made some changes to the plan that
would prove to be disastrous for Germany:
• He abandoned the German advance through Holland.
• He reduced the size of the right wing and increased the size of the left
wing along the Franco-German border.

4. GERMAN AND FRENCH PLANS

5. IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHANGES
• The changes created a huge supply problem:
1. Germany advancing through Belgium saw the need for the army to
capture the Belgian town of Liege in the first few days of the war. It also
created a big bottleneck which lead to problems with supply for the
German Army.
• Political Implications:
1. The changes meant that Germany needed to rely on Austria for help.
2. The changes to the plan committed Germany to war, therefore preventing
any possibility of a peaceful resolution.

6. IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHANGES
• Changes to soldier ratios and further changes to the
plan:
1. Moltke’s redeployment of soldiers changed the ratio of German to French soldiers
from 100:15 to 100:42.
2. Moltke’s changes saw French troops draw back and create their own fortress barrier to
stop German advances.
3. By the start of September, German forces were only 48 Kms from Paris however,
Commander Von Kluck decided not to encircle Paris. Instead he moved past Paris and
halted on the River-Marne.
4. Capturing Paris was important to deflate French morale. Instead, they were able to
counter-attack leading to the Battle of the Marne from 6-9 September. A victory for
the French.
5. This lead to a German retreat to the River Aisne where they were to hold for the
remainder of the war, effectively starting the trench warfare which characterised the
rest of the war.

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJXAcl8D51Y

8. WRITING PRACTICE
SECTION 1 – 10 MARKS
1. Explain why there was a stalemate on the Western Front by the end of 1914.
• Use Sources A and B and your own knowledge to answer this question.
When war broke out in August of 1914 both the Allied Powers and the Central
Powers put into place mobilisation plans that they thought would win them the war
very quickly. This was not the case and certain factors lead to a major stalemate on
the Western Front in 1914. This happened for two major reasons. The Schlieffen
Plan developed by General Von Schlieffen and Frances Plan XVII. Major changes
to the Schlieffen Plan and Frances inability to predict Germany’s advances through
Belgium lead to both sides digging a long line of trenches which is why the
Stalemate occurred on the Western Front in the early days of WW1.

9. WRITING PRACTICE
SECTION 1 – 10 MARKS
1. Explain why there was a stalemate on the Western Front by the end of 1914.
• Use Sources A and B and your own knowledge to answer this question.
1. Source A is a map of the Schlieffen Plan as it happened in August 1914…
• Paragraph 1 - Start by detailing the original Plan developed by Schlieffen
• Paragraph 2 - Then write about the changes developed by the new General, Von Moltke
2. Source B is an extract from a book about WW1 by Simkins, Jukes and Hickey.
It details the inefficiencies of the Schlieffen Plan in brief.
• Paragraph 3 - Explain the effects that the changes to the Schlieffen Plan had on the overall outcome.
• Paragraph 4 – Explain how Germany did not invade Paris, instead moving to the River Marne, which lead
to the Battle. This pushed Germany back to River Aisne where they dug in which was the beginning of
trench warfare which characterised the rest of the war.