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International Relations1900–1939

Why did the Assassination in Sarajevo Lead to War? Part 3

The Outbreak of War

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This is a 6-slide excerpt from Boardworks KS4 History

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The outbreak of war

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The outbreak of war

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The start of the war

The Schleiffen plan was supposed to win the war for Germany. However, things did not go according to plan.

The French and Belgian forces offered stiff resistance, helped by the small, but effective British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The Germans were not able to reach Paris in the six weeks they had planned.

By 4th September 1914, the Germans were in sight of Paris, but they were forced to turn back. The French had been able to divert troops to defend their capital thanks to the French rail network.

The Germans were stopped at the Battle of the Marne and Paris was saved.

The BEFImage courtesy of The World

War I Document Archive.

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The start of the war

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The Schleiffen Plan in reality

Why do you think von Moltke said this?

Whilst the German advance in the west was grinding slowly on, the Russian army was mobilizing with surprising speed.

Germany had expected Russian mobilization to take 6 weeks. Russian forces entered German territory on 17th August – just 16 days after Germany had declared war.

The Schlieffen Plan had failed and a quick victory was now impossible. Both sides in the west were forced to dig in. Soon, the war of mobility lead to a war in the trenches.

The leader of the German military, Helmuth von Moltke, on hearing of the Russian mobilization told the Kaiser…

The war is lost!