The upcoming war was what Moltke wished for, even though he knew that they could be defeated. “Moltke not only disguised his own doubts about Germany's ultimate chances of victory, but despite them - or worse even because of them - became a constant advocate for war the sooner the better.” Moltke pushed forward with his plans for war; with the first step of the plan calling for the invasion of Luxembourg and Belgium. At the beginning of the war, Moltke launched his Schlieffen-Moltke plan to defeat the French. He wished to move three armies into Belgian territory, spreading towards Lille in France. He planned two armies to storm through Luxembourg and into Verdun, while another two watched over Lorraine and Strasbourg. Luxembourg and Belgium …show more content…
However, both Schlieffen and Moltke believed that superior soldiers would be able to beat larger forces with weaker soldiers. They both assumed their enemies were inferior to themselves, but this may not be the case soon. When going to war was an option, Moltke took it due to his beliefs in the German soldiers. “With hindsight one can see that both Schlieffen and Moltke underestimated the strength and determination of Germany’s future enemies and thought that a numerical inferiority on Germany’s side could be matched with superior morale and training.” Although the German soldiers may well have been superior on the battlefield, strong leadership is crucial in wars, and Moltke was lacking leadership. “Moltke’s main share of responsibility lies in encouraging, almost to the point of deception, an aggressive foreign policy although he was not certain that Germany’s military potential could guarantee success in a coming conflict.” Moltke urged his fellow staff members that Germany would be successful in the upcoming war and wished to fight now and not later even though he could not guarantee