Germany
Alfred von Schlieffen
1833–1913 Chief of the German General Staff, 1891–1906
Born into an old Prussian noble family, Alfred von Schlieffen began studying law and entered the army in 1853. He served as a staff officer at Königgrätz in 1866, fought in the Loire campaign of 1870–71 and in 1891 succeeded Waldersee as Chief of the General Staff. Facing a likely war against both France and Russia with a smaller army, he wrote studies of Hannibal's victory at Cannae to teach the ideal of the battle of encirclement. His memorandum of 1905–06, written for a war against France alone, assumed 96 divisions that did not exist. Historians disagree on whether it was an operational plan. Moltke, his successor, applied a modified version in 1914, and the German advance halted at the Marne. Schlieffen died on 4 January 1913.