The Schlieffen Plan

About this board game

The Schlieffen Plan is a two-player wargame, with games lasting about 360 minutes, that simulates the campaigns in Belgium and France from August to November 1914.

As commander of either the German or Allied armies, you control forces based on those available to the historical participants. The German side advances according to the Schlieffen Plan, sending powerful forces through Belgium and northern France in an attempt to reach Paris from the rear, while France responds with the offensive-minded Plan 17.

The opening campaign presents both sides with major strategic challenges. Belgium resists the German invasion despite overwhelming odds, Great Britain lands an expeditionary force in France, and French armies suffer heavy losses as they attack along the German border. Players make their own decisions and execute plans that may change the course of events.

• Campaign: Belgium and France, August–November 1914
• Scale: 20 kilometers per hex, with four days per turn
• Units: Divisions and brigades
• Components: 24-by-17-inch map and 560 backprinted counters
• Complexity: Medium, with very high solitaire suitability

The historical plans fail through mistakes in execution and causes that might have been anticipated, leaving neither side able to achieve its objectives. In The Schlieffen Plan, players can explore whether different strategic choices could have avoided the stalemate of trench warfare.

Released in 1997, this is the first game in David Schroeder’s Der Weltkrieg series. It is self-contained, yet designed to interlock with later simulations covering conflicts across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, including land, sea, and air warfare.