Biography
Schlieffen was born in Berlin on February 28, 1833 as the son of a Prussian army officer and he was part of an old Prussian noble family. He lived with his father, Major Magnus Von Schlieffen in their estate in Silesia. Soon Alfred Von Schlieffen left to go to school in 1842. Growing up, Schleiffen showed no interest in joining the military and so he did not attend the traditional Prussian cadet academies. Instead, he studied law at the University of Berlin. While studying law, he enlisted in the army in 1853 for his required one year volunteer military service. After his one year was up, instead of joining the reserves, he was chosen as an officer candidate. Thus he started a long military journey, working his way up through the rankings, and lasting 53 years in service.
During the middle of Schlieffen's military duties, he married and had a family. He married his cousin Countess Anna Schlieffen in 1868. They had one healthy kid, however after the birth of their second child, Anna passed away. After his wife's death, Schlieffen focused all his attention on his military work.
Read more about this topic: Alfred Von Schlieffen
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