The Schlieffen Plan ( , ) was a name given , after the First World War , to German war plans , the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium which began on 4 August 1914 .

The Schlieffen Plan ( , ) was a name given , after the First World War , to German war plans , the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium which began on 4 August 1914 .

In 1905 and 1906 , Schlieffen devised Creating an army deployment plan for a war-winning offensive against the French Third Republic .

In 1956 , Gerhard Ritter published Publishing ( `` The Schlieffen Plan : Critique of a Myth '' ) , which began a period of revision , when the details of the supposed Schlieffen Plan were subjected to scrutiny and contextualisation .

In 1956 , Gerhard Ritter published Publishing ( `` The Schlieffen Plan : Critique of a Myth '' ) , which began a period of revision , when the details of the supposed Schlieffen Plan were subjected to scrutiny and contextualisation .

Inferences that Schlieffen 's war planning was solely offensive were found Know to have been made by extrapolating his writings and speeches on tactics into grand strategy .

From a 1999 article in War in History and in `` Inventing the Schlieffen Plan '' ( 2002 ) to `` The Real German War Plan , 1906–1914 '' ( 2011 ) , Terence Zuber engaged Participation in a debate with Terence Holmes , Annika Mombauer , Robert Foley , Gerhard Gross , Holger Herwig and others .

Zuber proposed Creating that the Schlieffen Plan was a myth concocted in the 1920s by partial writers , intent on exculpating themselves and proving that German war planning did not cause the First World War , a view which was supported by Hew Strachan .