The Schlieffen Plan
Extract from the handwritten notes of the original Schlieffen Plan, December 1905.

First written by the retired German army general Alfred von Schlieffen in 1905 (and revised at various times before his death in 1913), the plan formed the basis for German military strategy in August 1914. Here Schlieffen expounds on the benefits of attacking France via Belgium 'on the left bank of the River Meuse', a course of action that would involve - as he freely recognises - the violation of Belgian neutrality. Catalogue reference: CAB 20/1 (1905)

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