Why Did Schlieffen And Moltke Decide To Invade Holland

Although Schlieffen and Moltke wished to invade Luxembourg and Belgium, a difference between Schlieffen and Moltke’s plans was that Schlieffen wished to gain the Netherlands. They both were aware that moving straight through France would tie the German army down in a drawn-out conflict, so they planned to move through Belgium, Luxembourg, and for Schlieffen, Holland. The reasons for not entering the Netherlands from Moltke’s perspective was due to British relations with Holland. “Fearing the effects of a potential British blockade on Germany, he canceled Schlieffen’s proposal to march through neutral Holland, and instead sought to secure that country as a “windpipe” through which Germany could continue to import vital foodstuffs and raw materials.” Moltke believed that it was unnecessary to take the risk of a British blockade by invading Holland. His decision led to the storming of Liège.

“Changing the deployment plan in the West to ensure that neutrality was preserved created its own problems, not least because the massive armies of the right wing now had to march through a relatively narrow “corridor” into Belgium.” With his decision to advance a large army through a small passage, Moltke was forced to move his army into Belgium before the Allies could react. “This, in turn, required an almost immediate dispatch of troops into neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before war was even declared, as was indeed the case in August 1914.” These actions were mean’t to boost the German’s chances in the war, yet the decision ultimately