What was plan 17 ww1

Students of history know WWI was a nasty affair that resulted in the deaths of millions. It wrought havoc everywhere and instead of solving any problem, it actually put into motion events that would result in World War Two and the deaths of many more millions. After initial success through the Alsace-Lorraine region, strong Germany resistance and success of the Schlieffen Plan resulted in the French armies being halted. But how. German heavy artillery was now superior in weight and numbers to anything that France possessed, and yet it was still thought to be incapable of destroying the new chain of forts and fortresses which provided a curtain along their mutual frontier.

Of these the Verdun system would become the most disputed. In December von Schlieffen finally decided that pounding the forts to dust was out of the question and the answer lay in violating Belgian neutrality.

Belgium had only come into existence as a nation state in and its neutrality had been guaranteed in by Prussia, Britain and France. Using almost all of its strength 35 Corps of infantry and 8 of cavalry German forces would swing across Belgium and Luxembourg, before entering France via Flanders in the north.

The French forts would, in the main, never be encountered. By the 22nd day of mobilisation, German forces would be on the Franco Belgian frontier.

A week later it would be approaching the Somme and ready to swing around the back of Paris before turning east. Along the Franco German border, where it was hoped that the French might try and seize back the lost territories, they would play a holding game with just 5 infantry Corps and 3 of cavalry. They would allow the French to advance into Germany and across the Rhine if necessary as the giant lid on the box closed behind them.

The further the French were distanced from Paris the greater their disaster. Just six weeks to deal with France before turning east to deal with Russia. It had been achieved in seven weeks in and von Schlieffen was sure of being able to better his predecessors. Project maintenance. Register Don't have an account? Plan XVII. Edit source History Talk 0. Cancel Save. Plan B for Balkans detailed the requirement for six Austro-Hungarian armies in the field, three to invade Serbia, with a further three guarding the Russian border to dissuade an attack from that quarter.

Plan R for Russia essentially revised Plan B, allowing for a greater volume of troops to guard against Russian assistance for the Serbs in the south, whilst assuming German activity in the north. This led to four armies being deployed against Russia and two against Serbia. Whilst the chosen plan in August , in the event this strategy never came to fruition, since in committing to the Schlieffen Plan Germany devoted the bulk of its manpower to the west before intending to turn its attention to the east.

Russia, meanwhile, put together two very different plans for war. Plan G assumed that Germany would launch the war with a full-scale attack against Russia; the opposite of what actually transpired. Unusually, Plan G was content to permit German infringement of Russia's borders, with the consequent loss of territory and large-scale casualties, pending completion of Russian army mobilisation.

In short, the Russian military assumed that the country could readily bear a string of defeats at the start of the war, such was the reserve of manpower ultimately available to the army. Once effectively mobilised, they believed that the Russian army would inevitably eject Germany from within its borders. Napoleon had failed to conquer the vastness of Russia; it was assumed that Germany would likewise fail.

Plan 19 - also known as Plan A - was less drastic in its initial sacrifice of Russian manpower. Russia's French partners pressed the Russian military to devise a more offensive war strategy. Plan 19, devised in by General Danilov and substantially modified in , correctly assumed that Germany would open the war with an attack against France rather than Russia.

This being the case, two Russian armies would advance into East Prussia and to Silesia en route to central Germany. Russia would at the same time make use of a fortress defence against invading forces.

In the event, the Russian advance into East Prussia was thrown back almost immediately upon the start of the war, with the Russian army suffering a particularly crushing defeat at Tannenberg , followed by lesser setbacks at the First and Second Battles of the Masurian Lakes. Unlike these powers, Britain had no particular desire for war to break out, and had no plans for expansion, although she was keen to protect her interests, in particular her trading links with her far-flung empire.

However once war broke out Britain, governed by Asquith's administration, and after some initial confused dithering, determined to come to the aid of 'Brave Little Belgium' as Belgium was represented in the initial British propaganda recruitment campaign and to France.

In the absence of a conscripted army, the British Expeditionary Force or BEF was to be transported to the continent and onwards by rail to Belgium and the French left flank.