I've been listening to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History about the First World War. It's amazing how little they teach Americans, i basically had no idea what was going on or why until now. The sheer amount of information in the podcast is a bit overwhelming at times, and one point i was never super clear on was the Schlieffen plan. Can some give me an ELI5 on that? I'm embarrassed to even give what my impression of it is because of how confused I am.
ELI5? - The Schlieffen plan was the German's daring plan to win the war quickly and decisively. It was a decisive plan to end the war before the Triple Entente could effectively mobilize and stop the German attack. The Schlieffen plan would go into effect once Russia mobilized its forces due to the increasing tension. It gave the Germans six weeks to invade France through Belgium and decisively defeat the French. Then, using the Germans railway system, transport the German forces to the East to fight the Russians. France's quick defeat would dissuade the British from reinforcing the French.
Now, the Schlieffen plan was pretty ambitious. It would require the Germans to stomp the French army in a time frame of 6 weeks. It also required the Germans to hold back any Eastern assault commited by the Russians. It also required Britain to go back on its promise to protect the Belgians if invaded.