Why was the war not over by December 1914?
There are 4 Focus Points in this section:
1. How was the Schlieffen Plan intended to work?
2. How important was Belgium's reaction to the Schlieffen Plan?
3. How successful was the British Expeditionary Force (BEF)?
4. Why did both sides introduce trenches?
Use the Keynote Presentation below to explore all 4 Focus Points.
(There are also IGCSE History Past Paper Questions & Markschemes at the end of the Keynote Presentation too)
1. How was the Schlieffen Plan intended to work?
2. How important was Belgium's reaction to the Schlieffen Plan?
3. How successful was the British Expeditionary Force (BEF)?
4. Why did both sides introduce trenches?
Use the Keynote Presentation below to explore all 4 Focus Points.
(There are also IGCSE History Past Paper Questions & Markschemes at the end of the Keynote Presentation too)
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How was the schlieffen plan intended to work?
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When Germany invaded Belgium how did France and Britain respond?
the France response and Plan 17
At the beginning of WWI, France carried out Plan XVII. After initial success through the Alsace-Lorraine region, strong Germany resistance and success of the Schlieffen Plan resulted in the French armies being halted. In the early 20th Century, wars could be won with whatever nation or group of allies could get to the “enemy” country the fastest with the most troops. Plan XVII was a mobilization and concentration plan developed in 1913 by the French General Staff to do just that.
After Germany declared war on France in 1914, France executed Plan XVII. The French attacks went in as planned but resulted in worse losses than predicted. The French army doctrine did not anticipate that the plan required a much closer cooperation between artillery support and infantry. Additionally, the doctrine did not predict the full value of reconnaissance on the battlefield.
From a military perspective, the failure of Plan XVII can be directly linked to an outdated military doctrine, rigidity in command, and a good defense by the Germany military. After this failure and France’s retreat back to their original positions, Germany attacked using their Schlieffen Plan. Once the German armies outran their supply lines, the two sides quickly dug in and trench warfare became the deadly result.
After Germany declared war on France in 1914, France executed Plan XVII. The French attacks went in as planned but resulted in worse losses than predicted. The French army doctrine did not anticipate that the plan required a much closer cooperation between artillery support and infantry. Additionally, the doctrine did not predict the full value of reconnaissance on the battlefield.
From a military perspective, the failure of Plan XVII can be directly linked to an outdated military doctrine, rigidity in command, and a good defense by the Germany military. After this failure and France’s retreat back to their original positions, Germany attacked using their Schlieffen Plan. Once the German armies outran their supply lines, the two sides quickly dug in and trench warfare became the deadly result.
The British Response and the BEF
Until the early 1900s, Britain was more concerned about Russia and France than Germany. Relations between Britain and Germany were very good. This began to change, however. When Kaiser Wilhelm II took control of Germany, he was anxious for Germany to be a great power. He felt that Russia to the east and France to the west were encircling Germany. As a result, he built up his armed forces. France and Russia feared Germany and did the same. During the 1900s, all of the great powers in Europe began to build up their armies and navies.
British policy in Europe intended that no country in Europe should become completely dominant. If Russia, France, Germany and Austria-Hungary worried about each other, then they would be less of a threat to Britain. By about 1907 it was becoming clear to Britain that the greatest potential threat to Britain was going to be Germany. The strong economy, large population and powerful armed forces of Germany seemed to be capable of dominating Europe. As a result, Britain began to support Russia and France. Britain joined the Triple Entente.
Despite being part of the Triple Entente, Britain was not committed to going to war in 1914. The Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, spent much of the summer of 1914 furiously trying to reassure Russia and Germany and prevent a war happening. Even when German troops invaded France and Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan, Britain did not have to go to war.
Germany hoped Britain would stay out of the war altogether. However, the Germans knew that Britain had promised to defend Belgium under the Treaty of London of 1839. The Germans wanted the British government to ignore the Treaty of London and let the German army pass through Belgium. The British government made much of their duty to protect Belgium. Belgium's ports were close to the British coast and German control of Belgium would have been seen as a serious threat to Britain. In the end, Britain refused to ignore the events of 4 August 1914, when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Within hours, Britain declared war on Germany. The Kaiser said how foolish he thought the British were. He said that Britain had gone to war for the sake of a "scrap of paper".
Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. On 6 August, the Cabinet agreed to send four infantry divisions and one cavalry division of the BEF to France immediately, with another to follow. One division was retained in Britain for home defence and to deal with any civil unrest, which had been a prominent feature of British life prior to the war.
General French crossed the Channel on 14th August with strict orders from Kitchener that he should “cooperate with the French but not take orders from them”. He was also urged to be cautious and to avoid being exposed to “forward movements where large numbers of French troops are not engaged”.
Mobilisation went extremely smoothly. Embarkation for France began on 9 August and the BEF was assembled at its concentration point of Maubeuge by 20 August. The force was commanded by Sir John French and was initially divided into two corps, each of two divisions; 1 Corps was commanded by Sir Douglas Haig and ll Corps was commanded by Sir Horace Smith-Dorian, who replaced Sir John Grierson, after his sudden death on reaching France. A fifth division landed in France on 22 August.
Over the following days, French held lengthy discussions with President Poincare and General Joseph Joffre, the Commander in Chief of the French Army, mainly discussing the unfolding disaster in Belgium with the collapse of the forts at Liege imminent.
The first major contingent of the BEF followed French two days later, on the 16th August, and the next day French met with General Charles Lanrezac, the Commander of the French 5th Army. Mutual dislike immediately sparked between them, with communication made difficult by the fact the fact that neither spoke the other’s language well. Lanrezac’s Chief of Staff, Hely d’Oissel, began proceedings on a sarcastic note when he remarked to French “At last you are here: its not a moment too soon. If we are beaten we will owe it to you”.
Friction between to two commands would continue across the next week in the lead up to the first major action of the BEF – the Battle of Mons that began on 23rd August.
British policy in Europe intended that no country in Europe should become completely dominant. If Russia, France, Germany and Austria-Hungary worried about each other, then they would be less of a threat to Britain. By about 1907 it was becoming clear to Britain that the greatest potential threat to Britain was going to be Germany. The strong economy, large population and powerful armed forces of Germany seemed to be capable of dominating Europe. As a result, Britain began to support Russia and France. Britain joined the Triple Entente.
Despite being part of the Triple Entente, Britain was not committed to going to war in 1914. The Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, spent much of the summer of 1914 furiously trying to reassure Russia and Germany and prevent a war happening. Even when German troops invaded France and Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan, Britain did not have to go to war.
Germany hoped Britain would stay out of the war altogether. However, the Germans knew that Britain had promised to defend Belgium under the Treaty of London of 1839. The Germans wanted the British government to ignore the Treaty of London and let the German army pass through Belgium. The British government made much of their duty to protect Belgium. Belgium's ports were close to the British coast and German control of Belgium would have been seen as a serious threat to Britain. In the end, Britain refused to ignore the events of 4 August 1914, when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Within hours, Britain declared war on Germany. The Kaiser said how foolish he thought the British were. He said that Britain had gone to war for the sake of a "scrap of paper".
Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. On 6 August, the Cabinet agreed to send four infantry divisions and one cavalry division of the BEF to France immediately, with another to follow. One division was retained in Britain for home defence and to deal with any civil unrest, which had been a prominent feature of British life prior to the war.
General French crossed the Channel on 14th August with strict orders from Kitchener that he should “cooperate with the French but not take orders from them”. He was also urged to be cautious and to avoid being exposed to “forward movements where large numbers of French troops are not engaged”.
Mobilisation went extremely smoothly. Embarkation for France began on 9 August and the BEF was assembled at its concentration point of Maubeuge by 20 August. The force was commanded by Sir John French and was initially divided into two corps, each of two divisions; 1 Corps was commanded by Sir Douglas Haig and ll Corps was commanded by Sir Horace Smith-Dorian, who replaced Sir John Grierson, after his sudden death on reaching France. A fifth division landed in France on 22 August.
Over the following days, French held lengthy discussions with President Poincare and General Joseph Joffre, the Commander in Chief of the French Army, mainly discussing the unfolding disaster in Belgium with the collapse of the forts at Liege imminent.
The first major contingent of the BEF followed French two days later, on the 16th August, and the next day French met with General Charles Lanrezac, the Commander of the French 5th Army. Mutual dislike immediately sparked between them, with communication made difficult by the fact the fact that neither spoke the other’s language well. Lanrezac’s Chief of Staff, Hely d’Oissel, began proceedings on a sarcastic note when he remarked to French “At last you are here: its not a moment too soon. If we are beaten we will owe it to you”.
Friction between to two commands would continue across the next week in the lead up to the first major action of the BEF – the Battle of Mons that began on 23rd August.
The key battles of 1914
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Research the following details;
1. When and where did the battle take place? 2. Who was involved in the battle? 3. What were the main events? 4. Who won? 5. In what ways was the battle significant? |
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How successful were the BEF?
Why did both sides introduce trenches?
The race to the sea
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Why did the Schlieffen Plan Fail?
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Evaluation: Why was the war not over by December 1914?
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additional resources
Voices of the First World War: Over By Christmas
French civilians also came under fire. Helena Reid remembers how Lille was affected. So we started our life in a different mood. And very soon after, Lille being a very short distance from Germany, the Germans invaded neutral Belgium so very soon they were on our doorstep.
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