The Schlieffen Plan

When Bismarck was dismissed, France found out that Germany was very poorly governed as far as foreign policy. They thought they had solved the problem of their own security by having a Russian ally. So Germany came up with a plan, the Schlieffen plan, and it was very simple: You do not go to war with Russia when a war breaks out. It'll crush you maybe with population, but it will take weeks, if not months, to mobilize.