Schlieffen? Nearly everyone knows who he was and no-one is in any doubt about his work: he devised the plan of attack for the German army in 1914, namely to cross our country to defeat France before turning back to fight against Russia! A somewhat simplistic and inaccurate view, but one which will undoubtedly be widespread for a long time, unless you read this fascinating book (1), written by Christophe Bechet, an assistant at the University of Liège and specialist in the history of the First World War.

Before dissecting what is commonly known as the Schlieffen Plan and the strategic thought of its author, Christophe Bechet introduces the reader to the man and his environment. He shows that Schlieffen is, first and foremost, a product of the 19th century. Born in 1833 into the landed Prussian gentry, his father was a soldier and was honoured on the Napoleonic battle fields! A long way from the First World War. The environment in which the young Alfred was raised left no doubt as to his schooling and future destiny: from the age of nine, he attended a highly religious military boarding school (the pupils were given ranks), which only accepted sons from the richest families of the landed gentry. Its philosophy was simple: 'make young boys understand that the group, the common good, always supersedes the individual and that joy and pain must be shared in the community', summarises Bechet. A line that the religious staff applied through practices which appear, in many ways, very modern: no set classes, but friendly groups where everyone developed according to their own abilities, sports but also physical work like gardening and 'discovery' activities such as walks and many excursions during which teachers instilled in their pupils love for the homeland (Heimat) and displayed to them the country's past glories. The five years he spent in this Pedagogium appear to have marked the young Alfred for life, despite the fact that he went on to continue his education in Berlin. When he left school, the young man did not appear to think a career in the military was possible, because of his strong myopia. He therefore enrolled as a law student at the University of Berlin, while volunteering in an Uhlans Guard regiment. This proved to be a decisive experience, as he abandoned law after a few months to devote himself to the army. In 1858, he joined the Kriegsakademie, a school which prepares students for careers as military staff officers. There was nothing exceptional about his early career. He fought in the war against Austria in 1866 and then against France in 1870 (after having been military attaché to Paris!). But Helmuth von Moltke (the 'Great Silent one'), head of the German General Staff, didn't take to this subordinate who he felt to be lacking in 'spirit'.  This opinion wasn't to change until the summer of 1875 and the Kriegsspiel which took place that year in Pomerania (in an interesting passage in his book, Bechet stresses the importance of these manoeuvres for training German troops). From this point onwards, his career accelerated, initially as commander of the prestigious first Uhlans Guard regiment, then, from 1884, as an officer at the German General Staff. In 1888, Waldersee succeeded Moltke as head of the GQG and Schlieffen become one of this three deputies, holding the rank of Lieutenant General. By his own account, this should have been the height of his career. But this didn't anticipate a wrong move by Waldersee, who fell out of favour with Emperor Wilhelm II during manoeuvres (again!). A few months later, on 7 February 1891, Schlieffen replaced him, thus acceding to the highest position in the imperial army.

(1) Alfred von Schlieffen. L’homme qui devait gagner la Grande Guerre. Christophe Bechet, Paris, Argos.