Threats
Belgium resistance was stronger than anticipated and delayed german troops
Russia was ready for action quicker than expected and germans diverted east
100,000 British men were sent to help Belgium. The Germans had not anticipated such a quick response
Retreating Belgian troops destroyed railway tracks and road bridges. Germans couldn’t receive food or ammunition
Weaknesses and mistakes
The Germans reduced the number of soldiers on the outer hook
Large numbers of soldiers were left to hold key Belgian towns.
At the battle of the mons, the Germans suffered 5000 casualties against the British.
The Germans were expected to march 30km per day which made them very tired and they began to slow down.
German troops had to eat food from fields which made them ill
Paragraphs weakness
The Schlieffen plan failed for many reasons. The Germans had many weaknesses including that aerial reconnaissance and radio technology were limited leading to lack of communication. This made it hard for German generals to know where and what was happening during the attack. The Germans also had very poor preparation eg: they didn’t bring enough food so German troops had to eat food from fields which made the men and their horses very ill
Paragraph threats
The Germans faced many threats including that the Belgian resistance was a lot stronger than expected, delaying the German troops. Another threat was Russia, they were ready for action quicker than expected so the Germans diverted east
Paragraphs mistakes
Some mistakes include that they expected soldiers to march 30km per day which made them very tired. The Germans left a lot of their troops behind in Belgian towns such as Brussels and Namur.
When did the Schlieffen plan happen
The German army invaded Belgium and France in August 1914
