Military Incident #4 THE PRICE OF INFLEXIBILITY: VON MOLTKE PROCEEDS WITH HIS PLAN

Kaiser Wilhelm II had On the very brink of World War, on 1 August 1914, Kaiser less than an hour to Wilhelm II suddenly became aware of the possibility of fighting change the course of only Russia. His ambassador in London, Prince Lichnowsky, world history. reported that if Germany did not attack France, Britain would stay out of the war. Additionally, Britain would act to keep France from supporting Russia militarily. Unfortunately, this intelligence came in just one hour before the scheduled German seizure of a railway junction in Luxembourg. This act would inevitably draw both France and the British Empire into full- scale war against Germany.

An exquisitely detailed Turning history around was not going to be simple. The German deployment and General Staff had planned full mobilization for war against employment plan for a France for years. With little command guidance, General two front war was Helmuth von Moltke's staff had spent the last 10 years perfecting already in motion. the plan. The original plan, meticulously developed under General Count Alfred von Schlieffen, was a detailed mobilization, deployment, and employment plan that struck first in the West. The slower reacting Russian army would be held while the German Army enveloped the French Army by moving through Belgium and the Netherlands. After the French Army was crushed, the German Army would be transported east to defeat the Russians. The overall approach to staff work, planning, detailed construction, and expense of this massive plan gave German mobilization, once initiated, a life of its own.

The plan’s inherent Suddenly, the Kaiser was suggesting to General von Moltke inflexibility and that years of dedication, incredible attention to detail, logistics, momentum led to virtually a whole culture, and his own life’s work be thrown out world tragedy. the window on an hour’s notice. Von Moltke refused, and the move into Luxembourg proceeded as scheduled. Despite the obvious advantage of making war only on Russia and avoiding battle with the strongest powers of Europe, the plan’s momentum took away the last opportunity to stop the chain of events that drove the world into the nightmare of World War I.

The von Schlieffen plan, this extraordinary incident, and the events which inevitably followed represent one of the greatest tragedies of modern times. Millions of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and civilians died, and western culture itself changed radically as a result of World War I. Possibly history’s most extreme case of a plan guaranteeing its own inflexibility, this incident shows that the events of an era can depend on a staff’s ability and willingness to react to changing military and diplomatic situations. URGENT FURY, a small operation marked by flexibility in planning and execution, demonstrates that effective response requires flexible doctrine and the ability to recognize the need to adapt plans to take advantage of opportunities.