In the decade before the FIrst World War, Germany and Austria-Hungary put little effort in to coordinating their military strategies in the event of a war on two fronts. Germany’s chief of General Staff Helmuth Von Moltke assured Austria that the plans inherited from Alfred Von Schlieffen, his predecessor, would offer the best chance that the central powers had of overcoming unfavourable odds. The plans were out of date by 1914, however, and both Germany and Austria-Hungary went to war basing th
Reading time:
1–2 minutes
Explaining History Podcast
For more than a decade, the Explaining History Podcast has helped listeners around the world make sense of modern history. What began in 2012 as a simple experiment—short, accessible episodes explaining major historical events—has grown into a long-running library of carefully researched, thoughtful explorations of the 20th and 21st centuries.
If this was useful, there’s more where it came from.
Every week I publish one piece connecting a current event to its historical roots — free, every Tuesday. Paid subscribers get two additional deeper dives and full archive access.
Subscribe to Explaining History →