Schlieffen

British  

/ ˈʃliːfən /

noun

1. Alfred (ˈalfreːt), Count von Schlieffen. 1833–1913, German field marshal, who devised the Schlieffen Plan (1905): it was intended to ensure German victory over a Franco-Russian alliance by holding off Russia with minimal strength and swiftly defeating France by a massive flanking movement through the Low Countries. In a modified form, it was unsuccessfully employed in World War I (1914)

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Example Sentences

German tactics centered on the “Schlieffen Plan,” named after its author, Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen, who had devised it in the first years of the twentieth century.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

The defeat of the Germans left the Schlieffen Plan in ruins.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

Nonetheless, speed was vital to the Schlieffen Plan.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

The Germans had violated almost every cardinal doctrine of their cherished idols�Clausewitz, Schlieffen, Frederick the Great�and they were paying a fearful price.

From Time Magazine Archive

Count von Schlieffen, who had vacated the appointment of Chief of the General Staff in 1906, had prepared this plan.

From The War in the Air; Vol. 1 The Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force by Raleigh, Walter Alexander, Sir