Alfred von Schlieffen
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Graf Alfred von Schlieffen |
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|---|---|
von Schlieffen in 1906
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| Born |
February 28, 1833 Berlin |
| Died | January 4, 1913 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
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| Service/branch | German Army |
| Years of service | 1853-1906 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands held | General of the Cavalry |
| Battles/wars | Franco-Prussian War |
| Awards | Order of the Black Eagle |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Schlieffen |
Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, mostly called Count Schlieffen (German pronunciation: [ˈʃliːfən]; 28 February 1833 – 4 January 1913) was a German field marshal and strategist who served as Chief of the Imperial German General Staff from 1891 to 1906. His name lived on in the 1905–06 'Schlieffen Plan', then Aufmarsch I, a deployment plan and operational guide for a decisive initial offensive operation/campaign in a one-front war against the French Third Republic.
Born in Berlin on 28 February 1833 as the son of a Prussian army officer. He was part of an old Prussian noble family, the Schlieffen family. He lived with his father, Major Magnus von Schlieffen, on their estate in Silesia, which he left to go to school in 1842. Growing up, Schlieffen had shown no interest in joining the military, so he did not attend the traditional Prussian cadet academies. Instead, he studied at the University of Berlin. While studying law, he enlisted in the army in 1853 for his one year of compulsory military service. After this, instead of joining the reserves, he was chosen as an officer candidate. Thus he started a long military career, working his way up through the officer ranks, eventually completing 53 years of service.
In 1868, fifteen years into his military career, Schlieffen married his cousin Countess Anna Schlieffen. They had one healthy child (Gräfin Elisabeth Auguste Marie Ernestine von Schlieffen, 13 September 1869 - 23 September 1943), but after the birth of a second (Marie, who became a nun), his wife died. After that, Schlieffen focused all his attention on his military work.
On the recommendation of his commanders, Schlieffen was admitted to the General War School in 1858 at the age of 25, much earlier than others. He graduated in 1861 with high honors, which guaranteed him a role as a General Staff officer. In 1862, he was assigned to the Topographic Bureau of the General Staff, providing him with geographical knowledge and a respect for the tactical and strategic value of terrain and weather that would serve him well throughout his career, particularly in the war games he conducted and in the devising of various war plans including the famous Schlieffen Plan. In 1865 he was transferred to the German General Staff proper, though his role was initially a minor one. He first saw active war service as a staff officer with the Prussian Cavalry Corps at the Battle of Königgrätz of 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War. The tactical "battle of encirclement" conducted there was from then on be a constant feature of his tactical doctrine, even as his strategic doctrine consistently favoured the counter-offensive due to both his understanding of terrain and his respect for Clausewitz's assessment of the constantly-diminishing strength of the offensive.
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