Alfred von Schlieffen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Generalfeldmarschall Graf Alfred von Schlieffen
Alfred von Schlieffen in 1906
Chief of the German Great General Staff
In office 7 February 1891 – 1 January 1906
Monarch	Wilhelm II
Chancellor	Leo von Caprivi Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Bernhard von Bülow
Preceded by	Alfred von Waldersee
Succeeded by	Helmuth von Moltke the Younger
Personal details
Born	(1833-02-28)28 February 1833 Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Died	4 January 1913(1913-01-04) (aged 79) Berlin, German Empire
Resting place	Invalidenfriedhof, Berlin
Spouse	Anna Gräfin von Schlieffen ​ ​ (m. 1868; died 1872)​
Children	2
Known for	the Schlieffen Plan
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Prussia (1853–1871)  German Empire  Kingdom of Prussia (1871–1906)
Branch/service	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1853–1906
Rank	Generalfeldmarschall
Commands	1st Guards Uhlans
Battles/wars	Austro-Prussian War Battle of Königgrätz Franco-Prussian War
Awards	Order of the Black Eagle

Alfred von Schlieffen (born February 28, 1833 – died January 4, 1913) was a very important German field marshal and military thinker. He was the chief of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906. He is best known for the "Schlieffen Plan", a military strategy he developed in 1905–06. This plan was designed to help Germany win a war if it had to fight on two fronts at the same time, especially against France and Russia.

Biography of Alfred von Schlieffen

Alfred von Schlieffen was born in Prussia, Germany, on February 28, 1833. His father was an officer in the Prussian Army. Alfred came from an old noble family. He lived with his father on their family estate in Silesia until he went to school in 1842.

When he was young, Schlieffen wasn't very interested in joining the military. So, he didn't go to the special military schools. Instead, he studied law at the University of Berlin. But in 1853, he joined the army for his one year of required military service. After that, he decided to stay in the army and became an officer candidate. He had a long military career, serving for 53 years.

In 1868, Schlieffen married his cousin, Anna Schlieffen. They had two daughters. Sadly, his wife died after their second child was born. After her death, Schlieffen focused all his energy on his military work.

Schlieffen's Military Career

Because his commanders recommended him, Schlieffen was accepted into the General War School in 1858. He was only 25, which was much younger than most students. He graduated in 1861 with high honors. This meant he was guaranteed a job as a General Staff officer.

In 1862, he worked in the Topographic Bureau of the General Staff. This job taught him a lot about geography. He learned how important the land and weather were for military plans. This knowledge helped him throughout his career, especially when he created war plans like the famous Schlieffen Plan.

Schlieffen first experienced war as a staff officer in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War. He was part of the Battle of Königgrätz. This battle involved surrounding the enemy, and this idea became a key part of his military thinking.

During the Franco-Prussian War, he led a small group in the Loire Valley. This was a very tough campaign for the Prussian Army. After the war, he was promoted to Major. He then worked closely with other important military leaders like Helmuth von Moltke the Elder.

Schlieffen continued to rise through the ranks. In 1886, he became a Major General. He later became Deputy Chief of Staff and then Lieutenant General. By 1893, he was a General of the Cavalry.

In 1904, during a conflict in German South West Africa (now Namibia), Schlieffen supported strong actions against local groups. He believed that once a conflict started, it could only end with one side completely winning or losing. He agreed with orders that were very harsh, even for women involved in the fighting. However, after the German Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow worried about Germany's image around the world, Schlieffen agreed to change these harsh orders in December 1904.

In August 1905, Schlieffen was injured by a horse. At 72 years old, he decided to retire. He left the army on New Year's Day, 1906. He passed away on January 4, 1913, just 19 months before World War I began.

The German Army and Schlieffen's Ideas

Schlieffen worried that the German army was smaller than France's army. This was made worse by the alliance between France and Russia. He believed that Germany's military skills couldn't make up for having fewer soldiers.

Schlieffen wanted Germany to have universal conscription, meaning everyone would serve in the army. He also wanted to create many new units from trained reserve soldiers when war broke out. However, the War Ministry didn't agree with his ideas at first.

He continued to believe that using large numbers of reserve battalions was very important. This idea was central to his famous "Schlieffen Plan" memorandum in 1906. This document wasn't a final war plan. Instead, it showed what Germany could achieve if it used universal conscription and had a much larger army. The huge number of divisions needed for this plan didn't exist in 1906 or even in 1914.

Schlieffen's War Planning

The Schlieffen Plan of 1905, showing how Germany planned to attack France.

A key part of Schlieffen's war planning was the idea of a "strategic counter-offensive." This means letting the enemy attack first, then hitting them back very hard. Schlieffen believed Germany could use its railways to quickly move troops. They could defeat one enemy, then quickly move their soldiers to fight the other enemy.

He also understood that sometimes an army needs to attack first. In 1897, he developed a plan to get past France's strong defenses on their shared border. He thought it was important to go around the French forts to the north and attack them from north to south, starting near Verdun.

In 1905, Schlieffen created his first real plan for a big attack. This was the famous Schlieffen Plan memorandum. This plan was based on the idea of a war only between France and Germany, without Russia involved. It suggested that Germany should attack France.

The plan suggested that Germany would need more soldiers. It also said that German forces would move through the Netherlands and northern Belgium. They would protect southern Belgium and Luxembourg to keep Germany safe from a French attack during this move.

Schlieffen's genius showed in the second part of his plan. He saw how strong France's second line of defense was, especially around Verdun, Paris, and the Marne River. He knew that to win, German forces would need to cross the Seine River to the west of Paris. If they could do this with enough strength, they might be able to push the French back from the Marne and even surround Paris.

However, most of Schlieffen's plans still favored a counter-offensive. He believed that Germany's best chance for survival in a war against both France and Russia was to defend first.

In 1905, after his injury, Schlieffen began planning his retirement. Helmuth von Moltke the Younger became the new Chief of Staff after Schlieffen retired.

Moltke tried to use Schlieffen's offensive plan against France in 1914, even though Germany was fighting on two fronts (against France and Russia). Schlieffen had warned that this offensive plan would only work if Germany was fighting France alone. Because Moltke had too few troops to carry out the plan as Schlieffen intended, the German attack failed at the Battle of the Marne.

Schlieffen's Influence

The grave of Alfred von Schlieffen in Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery, Berlin.

Schlieffen was one of the most famous military thinkers of his time. He wrote an important book called Cannae. This book was about an ancient battle in 216 BCE where Hannibal defeated the Romans by surrounding them. Schlieffen used this battle to explain his ideas about how to surround an enemy.

His ideas were studied a lot in military academies, especially after World War I. American military leaders thought his work was so important that they translated Cannae for their army.

Schlieffen was known for being a great strategist. Unlike some other military leaders, he stayed away from politics. He focused on preparing war plans and making sure the German Army was ready for battle. He spent a lot of time on training, military education, and using new technology for military purposes.

He believed it was important to teach young officers to take responsibility for planning and directing military movements. General Walter Bedell Smith, a chief of staff during World War II, said that many American officers were inspired by Schlieffen's ideas of bold movements to achieve decisive results.

General Erich Ludendorff, another important German military leader, called Schlieffen "one of the greatest soldiers ever." Schlieffen's ideas about surrounding the enemy were used by Ludendorff in the Battle of Tannenberg.

Long after his death, German military officers in the years between the World Wars and during World War II used Schlieffen's theories to develop the Blitzkrieg (lightning war) strategy.

Quotations

• "A man is born, and not made, a strategist."
• "To win, we must endeavour to be the stronger of the two at the point of impact. Our only hope of this lies in making our own choice of operations, not in waiting passively for whatever the enemy chooses for us."

Honours and awards

German decorations

Foreign decorations

See also

In Spanish: Alfred von Schlieffen para niños