The Schlieffen Plan - And Why It Failed I THE GREAT WAR Special feat. AlternateHistoryHub

[@AlternateHistoryHub]

Fantastic video! This is one of my favorite channels on KZbin so it was great working with you! -Cody

[@3percentxen58]

I'm actually happy you guys both did a crossover episode since I was already subscribed to both of you guys

[@TheGreatWar]

likewise! happy and proud it worked out.

[@kristenkong9263]

+3percentXen Same!!

[@maniam5460]

+The Great War It worked coz I was only subscribed to Alternate History Hub and now to u now

[@bradlemmond]

Cody: I've been a fan of your channels for a while now. Thank you for them and the recommendation to this one. Indy: I'm a new fan of your channel. I really like getting multiple views on the same topic from different perspectives/podcasts/etc.

[@fobusas]

That's how it should be done. Similarly sized channels should cross promote, especially if they are of different spins of the same general theme. It's a mistake to go alone.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Vaidas Šukauskas And it's a lot of fun as well!

[@toddcrane4318]

+The Great War nice video you should read 13 rules of war by Alexander Bevin he wrote a nice section over the plan and how it could have succeeded also in my opinion the plan was good but the problem was that it asked for quick advances which would only possible with the advent of tanks and planes which is how France fell in 1940

[@fobusas]

***** It's only a video a week. You need to watch only ~60 videos to catch up :) I noticed this channel after the initial promos in the press. I think it was around a month or two old. But didnt have time to catch up at the time. So did it over the summer in a couple of days. Better than any documentary i've ever seen on WW1. And fingers crossed they gonna do the same for WW2 :)

[@mr.ramfan8100]

Only if you lose, ace...

[@HamboThomp]

It was really akward when we watched this video on class

[@Vitorruy1]

This is better than TV

[@TheGreatWar]

Welcome to the show.

[@Vitorruy1]

Thank you

[@badturtleman]

IM BLACK

[@haharhyan]

i want to kill a small child

[@HassanRahees]

@@badturtleman 🥷🏿

[@Rickinsf]

Schlieffen was a focused guy. I've read that, during a morning ride with some other officers, he passed through a valley with a stream meandering through it. A young officer remarked on how lovely the view was. Schlieffen responded, "It is a minor obstacle."

[@driftsolstice3685]

It's not entirely fair to blame Schlieffen. Schlieffen had four plans. Moltke chose the one designed for a war where France fought alone, without Russia, so the full German army could be sent West. The real question is - why did Moltke choose this plan for a war already declared against a mobilising Russia? Why not the one Schlieffen drew up specially for a two-front war: encircling each enemy in turn with counter-offensives inside German territory, as they then did at Tannenberg?

[@TheGreatWar]

The plan Moltke choose was the only one that was so far fleshed out that it was actually possible to put it into action. Another problem was that the German railway infrastructure was not sufficient in the East to quickly move troops in and out.

[@driftsolstice3685]

That didn't bother Hindenberg and Ludendorff. Your episode on the Battle of Tannenberg shows them doing exactly what Schlieffen had originally recommended. I did say that Schlieffen recommended counter-offensives _inside_ German territory. (Aufsmarsch II West / Aufsmarsch I Ost)

[@matheusmelo6022]

Schlieffen was counting on Russia taking that 6 weeks to mobilize its army to attack Germany. But as you probably now, the Russian army was already modernizing by the 1910's and before the War had started in 1914 it was already mobilizing and closing in the Prussian border. That's what made the German generals and aristocrats panick and led to the start of the war. Moltke thought that he could steamroll through France and reach Paris in a few weeks, then ending the war with France rapidly. But he couldn't achieve this because he had diverted many of his troops to the East and there weren't enough divisions for the plan to work, anyways. My guess is that Moltke went with this plan because that's what favoured Germany the most: Germany couldn't stand a long war of attrition on 2 fronts, so Moltke wanted to make a push into France while defending from the weaker Russian army to the East. He didn't think Belgium would put much of a fight.

[@driftsolstice3685]

That still doesn't explain why they thought an offensive into France would do better than a counter-offensive inside Germany. Schlieffen seemed to understand the defensive power of modern war, why couldn't they?

[@orpheonkatakrosmortarchoft4332]

@@driftsolstice3685 It's not that Schlieffen understood the defensive nature of the war to come, it's more of a coincidence between old military principles and what actually happened. Schlieffen's plan against both France and Russia was a "worst case" scenario of Germany fighting both France and Russia at their full strength. In such case going on the offensive isn't an option he dismisses, it is just impossible so a defensive strategy is all what Germany can do. But between the drawing of this plan and Moltke doing his thing Russia was defeated by Japan and France struggled against the Rifan rebellion in Morocco. This reassured the German high command in its feeling of superiority and so Moltke thought that if it acted quickly enough the "superior" german army could win the war this way.

[@Slayer_Jesse]

So essentially, it was a blitzkreig plan without the means to actually make it work.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

blitzkrieg was never an official doctrine. Germany had always been about a mobile war. The fact that aircrafts, tanks and wireless radio became effective and available in large numbers in WW2 simply allowed Germany to go back to mobile warfare again. Germany been all about mobile warfare since the nation's creation.

[@HamboThomp]

@commonsense unlikely the germans proably wouldnt have taken too much land

[@Arcaryon]

@@HamboThomp Aye. Probably just a bit of France and then reparations. Eastern Europe however would look much diffrent.

[@yggdrasil9039]

@commonsense No, there was never any plan for Germany to take over the entire universe if they won WW1.

[@yggdrasil9039]

@commonsense You're already speaking german anyway. English is a germanic language.

[@thathorsethatdrivesasherma7003]

It's really impressive to see all the things that went wrong with the Schlieffen Plan, poor communications, stubbornness of high officials, and the like. It really shows just how far warfare has come since 1914.

[@TheGreatWar]

Yeah and how much more mistakes it took them to learn there lessons afterwards.

[@DavBlc7]

Yep that's right but no problems in the second World war with the Germans having better communications and more planes, tanks and men. Similar plan but altered a bit by Hitler himself.

[@ashirvadmohanty5331]

Is it me, or does the pre-WW1 Germany look cooler on the map.

[@theholyhay1555]

Ashirvad Mohanty T H I C C

[@jeeveey]

It’s true.

[@jonathanccast]

It's part of the overall effort to keep Germany from being a threat - make them look less cool to weaken them spiritually.

[@riograndedosulball248]

Look Hans, it's *B E A U L T I F U L*

[@helpiamstuckonthismanshead3385]

👍

[@juniperbug8699]

I was reading the Guns of August, and the apparently the general who was in charge of rail ways took the statement that it was impossible to redeploy on the east, he wrote an entire book of how he could have gotten 3 of the 5 armies within a reasonable amount of time, plus supplies

[@lucius1976]

6:08 Moltke the elder was spinning in his grave by that statement.

[@leonpaelinck]

Why?

[@سقراط-ي7ز]

لاتوجد جطة عمليات تمتد باي قدر من اليقين إلى مابعد الاتصال الأول مع القوه المعاديه الرئيسيه (مولتكه) ​@@leonpaelinck

[@wonderbouy]

And here I was thinking that The Schlieffen Plan was all about Germany invading France at night time while everyone was Schlieffen!

[@jayveeamolato9429]

hahhaha sleepin you mean haha

[@badturtleman]

OMG same bruv, so relatable!!!!!!

[@haharhyan]

my wife once a divorce

[@hidof9598]

Lol lol

[@okrajoe]

Interesting breakdown.

[@cherudium]

I love how every channel I watch is involved with this one or watches this one. Forgotten weapons, c&rsenal, alternate history hub. its nice to see open conversation and enthusiasm between fellow enthusiasts.

[@TheGreatWar]

+cherudium We are a big family of history channels and have to stick together.

[@OneOnOne1162]

This reminds me of the Roman legions vs. the phalanx. Adaptability will nearly always defeat inflexibility.

[@TheAztecGamer123]

That's true

[@desi_jalepeno1935]

100%

[@kembowhite1903]

Popescu Rene tt

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Except for WWI, where the inflexible defensive lines of the trenches of WWI bleed the Germans to death. You can draw a parallel between how sturdy the defensive of a phalanx was to a trench line.

[@clintjensen]

I just started watching these today and I can't get enough, thank you guys. These are great

[@TheGreatWar]

Welcome to the Family! :)

[@MrOwnerandPwner]

AlternateHistoryHub? I came.

[@raseiniuprokuroras198]

+MrOwnerandPwner MOAP

[@TheGamingDutchmenMapping]

Hi MOAP.

[@raseiniuprokuroras198]

***** i'm not really a mapper... i only watch mapping

[@MistaChris]

Hi MOAP

[@kasp3094]

+MrOwnerandPwner I really enjoy it, when two good youtubers come together to promote eachothers content (as long as it's relevant as in this case.)

[@oliversherman2414]

It's amazing how much the Great War and Alternate History Hub channels have progressed and improved over the years. I hope they continue to get better and better

[@pedrollex3308]

You are a lackwit

[@wsswetghg8791]

Less theatre, more facts. Universal advice to 99% if such channels.

[@manictiger]

I swear, I've learned more in just a few dozen hours of KZbin than I have from 12 years of school, plus college classes.

[@MrSegrist]

Haha! Another great episode. I dug the humorous cross-promotional bit. Seeing Indy transmogrified into an AlternateHistoryHub avatar was well worth the watch. Keep up the good work!

[@TheGreatWar]

+MrSegrist Yeah, we always love how his hair is modelled as a comic character. Same with his avatar on Extra Credits.

[@Wobbly_Wombat_two]

I believe Helmuth Von Moltke said it best back in the 1800s: "no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force".

[@Rickinsf]

+Generictwat1 I heard an Isreali officer say that "...a battle plan is little more than a line of departure..."

[@RegulatedMilitia]

+Generictwat1 "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face" -mike tyson

[@Wobbly_Wombat_two]

***** It's all good... I grabbed the quote from here: en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Elder

[@troy9477]

Generictwat1 No doubt he was paraphrasing von Clausewitz

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@troy9477 U. S. Grant said basically the same thing. Eisenhower said it but then quickly added, but no action succeeds without a plan.

[@lordpatience5772]

Super good stuff. I love it i cannot get enough. I fall asleep every night listening to this channel. I was always looking for good stuff on WW1. I cannot believe it took me until last month to find this channel. I am glad i did.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Lord Razoun Thanks a lot, we're glad you did too!

[@cedkira]

I'm here from Cody. liked the vid. here's my sub.

[@TheGreatWar]

+cedkira Thanks a lot and welcome!

[@anon9579]

+The Great War I'm here from Cody too

[@thespyfromtf2133]

+cedkira me too

[@gunstock3]

Same, I'm also from Cody, channels that discuss WW1 in detail are few and far between

[@RHICfct]

+cedkira me 2

[@Kumpelblase397]

love ure channel, in german school we only got the basics about ww1, but nothing more specific

[@emiruslu4564]

i feel great when youtubers protect each others .good to see this friendship :)

[@zzeegermantube]

I would recommend reading some of the "newer" research on this matter. In the early 2000s new documents became available, that have shed new light on the subject. Recent research based on these new documents essentially proves that no Schlieffen Plan existed and that Moltke's opportunistic actions in part actually ran contrary to what may be termed a "Schlieffen Doctrine". See the books by Terence Zuber, especially The Real German War Plan 1904-14.

[@zulubeatz1]

To ease the lockdown blues ive decided to watch this whole series and im glad i did. Its a fascinating series that covers just about every part of this huge conflict in detail.

[@guel95ftw]

Thank you cody for showing me this guy, I can already tell I'm going to love his videos if they are anything like this one.

[@hardeho]

Awesome vid, awesome channel. Between your channel, and listening to all of the Hardcore history episodes on WW1, I feel like some kind of WW1 expert.

[@billcravens5907]

I couldn't find the @Alternatehistoryhub video on Britain Joining the Central Powers during WWI. That would be an interesting "What If".

[@Brian0wns]

I find it amazing (or horrifying) progress on the part of mankind that between the start of WW1 - and the explosion of the first atomic bomb - was 31 years.

[@oberstjazzen6037]

The LOLbertarian Humanity is frightening..

[@mitchelll7846]

66 years between first powered flight and reaching the moon

[@connormac4401]

two bloody and most devastating wars, all in 31 years too. The fact is unsettling

[@shirleymental4189]

12 years between 'Rock around the Clock' and Sargent Pepper.

[@bogdangabrielonete3467]

What can I say? We love killing each other, apparently. Welcome to Modern Warfare

[@GroovinMagicK]

I've following your channel after the ama session in reddit and what a suprise, the content in this channel exceeds any other source i could find about ww1 in internet. Helps a lot, Thx keep the great work!

[@joey8062]

what was the Kaiser's response to Hitler's conquest of France in 1940?

[@eddienom]

+joey8062 He was thrilled that the German Army was able to subdue their archenemy.

[@jreiland07]

"Congratulations, you have just won using MY troops"

[@kuribayashi84]

+joey8062 He personally sent Hitler a telegram: "My Fuhrer, I congratulate you and hope that under your marvellous leadership the German monarchy will be restored completely." Hitler was reportedly exasperated and bemused by this. "What an idiot!" he said to Linge, his valet.

[@liubei7276]

kuribayashi84 Das ist auch Schwachsinn.

[@kuribayashi84]

I just assumed that the wikipedia Article about him is correct. It cites 'The Second World War' by Antony Beevor as source.

[@Stirl2]

I'm so glad that I found this channel, and goddamn, it needs a lot more attention! Keep up the amazing work!

[@LeandroCM]

Barbara Tuchman's awesome book "guns of august" made me an impression that the plan almost succeeded and could have succeeded even with the unpredicted belgian resistance. It seems the major flaw came from one of the generals on the right flank.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Leandro CM Well, we're not so sure. Reaching Paris would have been one thing. Encircling it and defeating the French forces would have been another.

[@michaels5917]

remember if they are besieged, the french can't retreat as usual. LOL jk

[@michaels5917]

I know, but I felt the need to say some stereotypical stuff about the French. And also they do have a talent for retreating. Cough cough Dunkirk

[@wierdalien1]

That was the british

[@michaels5917]

No, the remaining French retreated there as well. By then, the rest were dead or had..... surrendered

[@alanhopgood1888]

I had the youngest Helmuth von Moltke in my English class at summer school at Kelly College, Devon in 2002. Then aged about 9. I was the teacher.

[@lborges1313]

Loved the graffiti on the train carts!!!

[@giorgosmichael9142]

Indiana, can you please do a special on Plan 17( French offense plans in case of German invasion and it included French invasion plans through the Saarland)

[@fhsreelfilms]

+ The Great War. Great video, as always. I am harassing my friends and family to watch this channel all the time. You are doing such important work. I think one thing worth mentioning is that the Schlieffen plan vastly underestimated the courage and tenacity of the French and British soldiers. I can't remember if this is in Gilbert or in Anthony Clayton's book, but one of the German generals said that the fact that French soldiers who had marched for hundreds of kilometers could, at a moments notice, pick up their rifles and keep fighting was something the German planners never accounted for. The Schlieffen plan's rigidity was a dastardly thing - indeed, the Germans used it to justify attacking France in the first place rather than placing hope in a mediated solution. It created a vicious circle.

[@fhsreelfilms]

+ The Great War I found the quote, from General Kluck: "the reason that transcends all others was the extraordinary and peculiar aptitude of the French soldier to recover quickly. [...] That men will let themselves be killed where they stand, that is well-known and counted on in every plan of battle. But that men who have retreated for ten days, sleeping on the ground and half dead with fatigue, should be able to take up their rifles and attack when the bugle sounds, is a thing upon which we never counted. It was a possibility not studied in our war academy."

[@el1tefire252]

Yea I’m happy u guys collaborated because now I watch this channel and I love it

[@Oshnook]

Love this, could you talk more about the different offensive, in the special episodes?

[@TheGreatWar]

+jonathan Walworth Thanks a lot! We will consider it and see what we can do!

[@angelkennethtolentino8261]

Thank you for existing. I love history lessons like these. Thank you alternate history hub for introducing.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Angel Kenneth Tolentino Thanks for watching! And welcome to the family.

[@iramoser6136]

I wish history had been taught like this when I was in HS. (*Forty years* ago...) I have to laugh at myself; I'm 58, hated history in school, and now I study it constantly. Then again, watching this is a lot more fun than having to memorize a bunch of dry names and dates. Subbed. Keep up the great work! I hope this channel helps students who are in the same position now, as I was back then.

[@thebestofallworlds187]

awesome video. can you make a video about Benjamin H. Freedman's speech?

[@GregoleX2]

I had no idea this channel existed - I am liking what I'm seeing!

[@TheGreatWar]

+GregoleX2 Welcome to the family.

[@lestershinglesnack9210]

I love seeing you collab with AlternateHistoryHub and HistoryBuffs

[@polstierna4251]

It would be so cool if you guys, at some point would do a special on the more unknown, experimental and sometimes rejected weapons and equipment that was developed during the war. Like the T-Gewehr, body armor, sniper masks, and Dr. Pollacks protective helmets!

[@TheGreatWar]

+Emil Maxén That's a pretty cool idea, thanks! We'll keep it in mind, and see if we can fit that in somewhere.

[@Micouniverse]

Minute 6 you said "the Kaiser" context is correct as Kaiser Wilhelm II said that, but the picture shows the Austrian Kaiser. 🖖🏽🙂 But none the less thank you very much for your work. 🍀👍

[@farathor_]

A very interesting video, good job!

[@TheGreatWar]

+Captain Farathor Thanks a lot!

[@farathor_]

+The Great War If I could do a suggestion, I would say you guys should do a video about grenades in the war, since the modern handgrenades were introduced in the war. Keep up the good work!

[@kolyayerg1118]

Indy are you German born or not?

[@farathor_]

kolya yerg He mentioned that he was from Texas in an out of the trenches

[@kolyayerg1118]

thanks i didnt see tthat

[@theluumukiisseli3844]

The first Great War video I ever watched, found you through AlternateHistoryHub

[@JaesadaSrisuk]

Such an illuminating video. On a side note: where did you purchase your desk? I love it! Is it constructed out of an antique steamer trunk?

[@mehmetalipasa]

Great video mate. That’s TV quality. Love it. Content is also extremely interesting

[@andyberkemeijer9620]

Great work Indy. Guess our German friends hadn't learned that in most any engagement the first casualty is the battle plan

[@GlosurDarloc]

Just found this channel, it's great! Keep doing what you're doing!

[@TheRealFlenuan]

What's the song from 1:34 to 2:34?

[@sebaseba6710]

battlefield 1brought me here awesome channel!!!I've been watching it all day !

[@TheGreatWar]

+Seba Seba welcome to the show

[@sebaseba6710]

+The Great War glad to be here, did you guys make an episode on mustard gas?

[@Crick1952]

I came from Cody. I like what I see *subbed*

[@TheGreatWar]

+Crick1952 Welcome!

[@Remus-z6y]

I'm so glad you did this cross over I would never have found this great channel! You my friend just got a new subscriber!

[@TheGreatWar]

welcome to the family!

[@lilpenpusher]

"When the war began over a year ago..." Uh... Yeah, you could say that.

[@caitlinparkerfilms]

this was explained concisely, and was very clear to understand, thank you.

[@Oscuros]

02:32, not only was Schlieffen not CoS anymore, he was also dead (1913) by the time war broke out. I do appreciate you pronouncing Schlieffen properly, since even some of my professors on the UK used to get it wrong as the Schlye-fen plan, which is a really common mistake to make.

[@awilbroappears]

It was a great idea to work with Cody. It made me subscribe this channel. Thanks a lot!

[@TheGreatWar]

+Le Fransoos Thanks, we enjoyed it a lot. Welcome!

[@danteuss88]

AlternateHistoryHub brought me here! great channel!

[@TheGreatWar]

Welcome to the show.

[@gameofthrones373]

hi

[@mingqi575]

yp

[@Dahotdogman17]

Same here

[@explosivoification]

Came from AlternateHistoryHub. Great video, great channel, subbed. Keep it up.

[@Digiornoflocka]

this is such a great idea for a show and its produced so perfectly

[@TheGreatWar]

Thanks.

[@Fribourg-bb3sn]

cool stuff with sub titles Indy ty

[@crosseightyeight]

I love these inter-channel crossovers. Although I must admit, the banter was a little groan-inducing. I think it would be great if future crossovers had both parties contributing to the same episode, like with C&Rsenal and Extra Credits. Hi Flo!

[@seanrea550]

+Cross88 that works if they dont go about the same subject in a compleatly diffrent way. one way it could have worked in this situation is if alt history explained the plan on this channel and Indy explained the base flaws on the alt history channel. from their the shows could have progressed as normal for them.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Cross88 Well, we enjoyed it very much either way. We're always up for trying out new ideas. And of course for us, in order for channel crossovers to work, it's always a matter of production schedules and possibilities. So we're quite happy with the way we got to connect to such an amazing channel. Hi Cross! ( unfortunately this is Laura as Flo's on his well deserved holiday. But ill be sure to pass your hi on!)

[@StrangerOman]

I don't really comment on old videos, but I just wanna say that AlternateHistory could be interesting, but straight up facts of real history is more interesting. I stumble upon AlternateHistory channel a few times and everytime I'm not into it. What you guys did and still doing here is much more interesting, entertaining and educational. I'm still going through the war from day one, hope to catch up.

[@monophthalmos9633]

It would be great, if you made a video about the "Großer Ostaufmarsch-Plan", the war plan that Germany had until 1913, which was completely different compared to the Schlieffen Plan.

[@alexmackelly3222]

Came here from Alternate History, I love the Great War and I am amazed I never found your channel before!

[@TheGreatWar]

+Alex MacKelly Welcome to the family!

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

The Schlieffen-Moltke plan is a better term since Moltke ignored much of Schlieffen's advice. As with Operation Barbarossa, it's not that they thought it would work so much as that it was the best they could think of and waiting would only make things worse. An interesting thing about both World Wars (and also the Pacific theater of the 2nd WW) is that the forces starting the wars didn't really think they could win.

[@roberthaworth8991]

Schlieffen never commanded troops or experienced combat. He was always a General Staff analyst and planner. Had he more practical experience, he would have anticipated that the “wide right hook” that was key to his plan must well not work - that soldiers afoot could not execute it before becoming exhausted, and in time to prevent the enemy from being able to recover somewhat.

[@maniam5460]

3:15 I just came from ur channel

[@gunstock3]

Same

[@victorrattesdf]

Same

[@Hanekin]

+Tekkogs Steve Opposite, I started to watch alternative hub.

[@dams6829]

+KingLitauen Es ar tu lietuvietis?

[@masonverkruisen]

I like your cooperation with other youtubers.

[@jeffreyreardon7487]

Great episode,as always. hope I can be of some help with the small arms episodes

[@TheGreatWar]

+Jeffrey Reardon Thanks a lot!

[@josephdawson8073]

+The Great War came here from Alternate History Hub, you have great channel for explaining a part of history that's very confusing to some people like me.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Joe Dawson Thanks a lot! Welcome.

[@davidvergara607]

I love the show I have subscribed

[@ThomasHaberkorn]

5:45 pretty sure that's the wrong Kaiser (should be Wilhelm, not Franz Joseph) ?

[@Rickinsf]

+ThomasHaberkorn I wondered about that.

[@JafuetTheSame]

***** and? youre saying that its one man responsibility or what? hardly my friend

[@JafuetTheSame]

***** in fact he didnt want the war. he was too conservative and war is a big step. he didnt even like military excercises (militärmanöver) becouse soldiers were muddy and messing around - he liked polished uniforms and everything in order- that was his attitude. the people around him were pushing him to war.

[@JafuetTheSame]

***** i believe there was so much hatred and ill-pride among people in europe in that time that his signature was just a triviality. franz josephs time was long gone a he was just observer.

[@JafuetTheSame]

***** im not sympathetic. i just know thigs in life arent such simple...and i'm not austrian

[@hornchief4839]

Yes! this is the best colab. ever!

[@TheGreatWar]

thanks!

[@Librariansaysook]

Going "eh, we'll figure out how to deal with Russia later" would seem to always be a mistake

[@apudharald2435]

A war that passed my country by and of which i was as ignorant as Chamberlain of Czechoslovakia, becomes clearer in its full and horrible majestät.

[@THE1970ROBOT]

we need more history channels, come on don't we have enough gaming channels? (sorry for my english)

[@TheGreatWar]

+I Am A Soft Bear We concur! Do you know our sister Channel kzbin.info yet?

[@zaidmadi318]

What's wrong with your English??

[@SoggyBacco]

Jarle Patrick Nielsen Your english is perfectly fine, dont worry about it

[@klein2042]

Your English was fine

[@saturninedays]

You are so engaging and entertaining! Subscribed!

[@Engel990]

Very interesting and thank you for that easy and very well done explanation. My grandpa always told me that the reason the Germans didn't go through the Netherlands was because the Germans of that time thought the Netherlands were as brothers to them. I never really put much after thought on that issue after that. How much of that is true though? Although they never went through the Netherlands their trade routes/supply routes on the North sea got blocked anyway, what is the context of that historically. What I mean is, what would have been different and would it be better if they just went ahead marching through the Netherlands anyway?

[@leonpaelinck]

Moltke the Elder: "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." Moltke the Younger: 5:55

[@podemosurss8316]

7:13 Actually the original Schlieffen plan though that Russia, although strong, would require an important time to mobilise and send all their forces to the border, so the Germans would have time to invade France before the Russians were able to mass reserves as the German border and the Russian border troops would be easily managed by the better equiped German forces.

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!

[@keithouderkirk7493]

the plan "never really had a chance" and yet the way it was explained in the regular episode about the battle of the Marne it makes it look like a little better communication by the German generals and sticking to the plan may have actually won that battle and the war.

[@leonpaelinck]

I believe it could have worked if the germans took more risks: 1) Do not send troops to the east (with hindsight we know it was not neccessary as ludendorfs won tannenberg before the reinforcements arrived) 2) Do not stop the momentom, who knows Francy might not even exploit the gap

[@stevebarrett9357]

I read an article which suggests that von Schlieffen did not anticipate an offensive posture for the Imperial German Army unless the war was one-on-one, i.e., Germany vs. France xor Germany vs. Russia. If facing both, the article suggests that he advocated a defensive strategy which would, from a tactical standpoint, surround the enemy once they reached German territory and annihilate them. In any case, the plan executed in 1914 by the Imperial German Army was not von Schlieffen's plan, it was von Moltke the younger's plan. I fail to understand why historians have chosen to place the responsibility of this plan on von Schlieffen who had died more than a year before WWI and had been out of the German general staff for 8 years. The article also suggests that von Schliieffen wanted Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz to be his successor but the job went to von Moltke the younger because the Kaiser favored the latter over the former. Another article I've read suggests that the term "Schlieffen Plan" came out after the war for political purposes to explain why the deployment against France in 1914 failed. It may be convenient to refer to this deployment as the Schlieffen Plan, but I don't believe it's appropriate.

[@jwkennington]

Great video! Just one point, though. At 5:44 you say The Kaiser and show a video of Franz Josef. I am sure you know the error.

[@TheGreatWar]

+John Kennington Hi John, indeed, that is indeed the wrong Kaiser. Thanks for the heads up.

[@tvanb8729]

Hi Nigel. Fantastic video's. But what video are you referring to that Alternatehistory made about GB siding with CP in WW1? Can't seem to find that one.

[@redram5150]

Moltke wasn’t wrong though about redirecting troops on a whim. Troops cannot be mailed from place to place as an independent resource. Rather it requires a large logistical army of supplies and engineers that must arrive before a troop ever sets foot n the field. But yes, he was inflexible

[@ditty5380]

Awsome subscribed look forward to supporting liking and sharing your videos! Amazing work!

[@lucius1976]

5:44. Talking about the German Kaiser while showing Kaiser Franz Joseph II of Austria-Hungary is confusing.

[@TheGreatWar]

+lucius1976 Sorry about that.

[@almeade1]

very good injoying your vids very much

[@BigAirWindJam]

Hey Cousin, I recognized the voice from the "What if the Schlieffen Plan Succeeded?" video. It's hard to tell what you are up to. -NUX

[@marknieuweboer8099]

A rarely mentioned problem is that the front widened the more Von Kluck advanced. His dilemma - either passing Paris at the west and creating a gap with his neighbour Von Bülow or deflecting inwards and exposing his right flank was completely predictable. The Germans could have won by nót attacking France and thus nót invading Belgium.

[@yggdrasil9039]

1:51 "Against arch-enemy France, you do not take an offensive posture". Yes you do. That's exactly what you do, and what Germany should have done. Protect the gains made in Alsace-Lorraine / Elsaß-Lothringen, and force France to commit the crime of having to march through Belgium and be the attacking force, not Germany. Germany lost the propaganda war in WW1 by invading neutral Belgium, and once you lose that, you lose the entire war. This is what Bismarck realised in the Franco-Prussian war, where France were the aggressors, and Germany the ultimate victors. The Schlieffen plan correctly identified the problem, but the solution was entirely wrong.

[@trewill7190]

great video man keep up the good work

[@SwordlordRoy]

*Germany:* How could the Shlieffen Plan fail?!?! We gamed it out in Kriegspiel hundreds of times! It was perfect!! *Historians:* Are you sure you played it out without bias? *Germany:* Oh...

[@rohiths9099]

Perfectly well said.

[@buckyryan2804]

thanks