Alfred von Schlieffen was a German field marshal and strategist who served as Chief of the Imperial German General Staff from 1891 to 1905. He is best known for developing the Schlieffen Plan, a military strategy for Germany to quickly defeat France in the event of a two-front war with France and Russia. The plan was a major influence on German military thinking leading up to World War I. Schlieffen's strategic ideas and military theories continue to be studied and debated by historians and military analysts.