ABSTRACT
The strategic planning of the Great Powers prior to 1914 has been a topic of continual fascination to historians for both military and non-military reasons. The frequency of imperial collisions and the growth of alliances and ententes between the Great Powers simply accentuated the desire to be prepared for war and to have an effective strategy against likely opponents. Leading figures in both the central government and the military were seeking an excuse to go to war from the controversial Kriegsrat of December 1912 onwards. The first, and most important, aspect has always been concerned with the extent to which operational planning factors encroached upon the freedom of action of the central government itself, either by affecting its foreign policy or in actually provoking a decision for war. Moltke's clever use of the German railway network to transport and supply his large armies produced great admiration and emulation in foreign states.
