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Schlieffen was born in Berlin on 28 February 1833 as the son of a Prussian army officer. He was a part of an old Prussian noble family. He lived with his father, Major Magnus Von Schlieffen in their estate in Silesia. Soon Alfred Von Schlieffen left to go to school in 1842. Growing up, Schleiffen showed no interest in joining the military and so he did not attend the traditional Prussian cadet academies. Instead, he studied law at the University of Berlin. While studying law, he enlisted in the army in 1853 for his required one year volunteer military service. After his one year was up, instead of joining the reserves, he was chosen as an officer candidate. He was then admitted to the General War School in 1858 at a particularly young age compared to others and he had been recommended by his commanders. He graduated 3 years later in 1861 from the General War School and received high honors which guaranteed him a role as General Staff officer. In 1862 he assigned to the Topographic Bureau of the General Staff. He was transferred to the actual general staff itself in 1865. His first involvement in war was in the Battle of Königgrätz. He participated in the Austro-prussian War in 1866 as a staff officer. By the time the [Franco-Prussian War]] started, he was already a part of the Great General Staff. He was soon promoted to Major after a trip to France with Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden. There he took command over a small army in the Loire Valley. He later became head of the military-history division. On December 4, 1886, he was promoted to Major General. Shortly after, he replaced Helmuth von Moltke, and became Deputy Chief of Staff, alongside Alfred von Waldersee, who was Chief of staff. He soon became Quartermaster General and then on December 4, 1888, he became Lieutenant General. He eventually was promoted General of Cavalry on January 27, 1893. After nearly 53 years of service, Alfred Von Schlieffen retired on January 1, 1906. He later died on January 4, 1913, just 19 months before the outbreak of World War 1. In reference to his Schlieffen Plan, Schlieffen's last words were said to have been, "Remember: keep the right wing very strong."

During Schlieffen's military duties, he found time to get married and have a family. He married his cousin Countess Anna Schlieffen in 1868. They had one kid and after the birth of their second child, Anna passed away. After his wife's death, Schlieffen focused all his attention on his work.

In creating the Schlieffen Plan, Schlieffen came up with the concept as a result of portraying the worst case scenario. In dong so, he realized that Germany's army was too weak to withstand the possible forces of the French. He believed that Germany needed more units. Consequently, he came up with the idea of universal conscription. Rather than focusing on analyzing war, Schlieffen focused on the tactical-strategical situations. He focused on Germany's serious problems. Schlieffen was often concerned with the strength of the German army. Consequently, he never stuck to a single plan. He was constantly making changes to his strategies. Schlieffen's main goal and strategy was clear however. His plan was to enforce a preventive war. Schlieffen believed that war was imminent.

Schlieffen avoided political affairs and instead he focused on preparing for war, including preparing the German army. He knew that a weaker power could not overthrow a stronger, more powerful army. Instead, he believed that planning would lead to their success. Knowing what was to come would be the best way possible to prepare. He believed that, given Germany's inferiority, their best hope was to increase their mobility and elasticity. He focused much of his work on building up the German army. He focused on training, military education, new technology for militaristic purposes, and strategic planning. There are said to be four principles that made up Schlieffen's view of war. These are The Offensive, Maneuver, Mass, and Economy of Forces. By taking the offensive aggressively, he believed that the enemy would conform. It was Schlieffen who became aware of the fact that France and Russia could easily form an alliance, consequently enclosing Germany on the two fronts. Schlieffen believed that, given there be a Franco-Russian alliance, Germany's only hope was to have a more effective mobilization system. He also persisted that they have better strategic plans and gain stronger army forces, including the generals and privates. The whole German military was to be stronger. Schlieffen's early thoughts about what could happen ultimately helped Germany to prepare for war. The Schlieffen Plan was created by Alfred Von Schlieffen as a strategy for world war 1.

In 1894, Schlieffen came up with a strategical plan. It was modified in 1897 in which it was to be used in Lorraine. This was the first concept of the Schleiffen Plan. He introduced the idea of entering through the North of France and Forcing The French down by using a wheel like motion. Schlieffen was known to always be changing and modifying his plans. Thus by 1905, the final draft of this plan was complete. It was called the Schlieffen Plan.

Given the fact that Germany was soon to face a battle, it was Schlieffen's responsibility to prepare his country for war. Schlieffen knew that if France and Russia formed an alliance, they could easily overpower Germany. Thus, in 1905, he came up with the Schlieffen Plan. It allowed Germany to avoid fighting a two-front war against the Franco-Russian alliance. The Schlieffen Plan was the idea that to overthrow France first, it meant that Germany would need to use lightning warfare, known as Blitzkreig. Knowing that the French always had a defensive strategy, Alfred Von Schlieffen devised the plan so that Germany would send their troops through neutral Belgium, Holland, and the North of France. While using minimum force to withstand Russia forces on the East, Germany would send troops to France and try defeating them using a giant flanking movement, forcing France to fight while retreating south, or by forcing them to flee to Switzerland. Germany could then send a vast majority of their troops to the Eastern front to fight a war against Russia. By attacking along the flanks of France, it allowed Germany to avoid many costly deaths, and it forced France off balance.

In August of 1905, Schlieffen kicked by a companion's horse, making him incapable of battle. During his time off, now at the age of 72, he started planning his retirement. His successor was was to be determined. Von der Goltz was the primary candidate, however, the Emperor was not too fond of him. A favourite of the Emperor was Helmuth von Moltke. He became the German Chief of staff after Schlieffen had retired. During Schlieffen's absence, Moltke had ideas of his own. He inherited Schlieffen's ideas but he disagreed with them in a few ways. He made a few modifications, but nothing too substantial. Upon Schlieffen's return, he insisted that France could only be beaten by a flank attack through Belgium. Knowing this, Moltke still morphed the plan. The Schlieffen Plan was used during World War 1, in which it's failure was a huge upset. Luckily Schlieffen has already passed away, thus he never witnessed the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was later used again during World War 2.