Plan XVII - Plan XVII Enacted

Plan XVII Enacted

When Germany declared war in 1914, France began the execution of Plan XVII with five initiatives, now collectively known as the Battle of the Frontiers:

1. Battle of Mulhouse - (7–10 August 1914)
2. Battle of Lorraine - (14–25 August 1914)
3. Battle of the Ardennes - (21–23 August 1914)
4. Battle of Charleroi - (21- August 1914)
5. Battle of Mons - (23–4 August 1914)

The German strategy, the Schlieffen plan, included an attack through Belgium and northern France to encircle Paris.

Plan XVII was implemented as an offensive into Alsace-Lorraine. The German defense of Alsace-Lorraine turned out to be much better than expected and force proved to be a more and more meaningless concept in wars fought by modern, huge armies supplied by industrialized countries.

Within a few weeks, the French were back in their starting positions, having suffered great losses. Meanwhile the Germans had advanced against resistance through Belgium and northern France and were threatening Paris. Only the fact that the German attack ran out of steam, and that Joffre was able to re-organise his armies across France, allowed the French and their British allies to halt the German advance in the First Battle of the Marne.

The original Schlieffen Plan had little defense in Alsace-Lorraine in order to lure French forces away from Paris into Germany, then to be double-enveloped and destroyed. In this perspective the failure of the French in Alsace-Lorraine has contributed to their success at the Marne and it would have been even worse for France if it had been more successful.