Another thing that slowed down the Germans was that the battles were taking longer than expected. These are just some of the main reasons the Schlieffen Plan failed. After the Schlieffen Plan failed Germany was forced to fight a two front war. This means Germany would have to face France in the West while facing Russia in the East. The only way Germany could do that is if they split up their army, some going West to fight the French, and some going East to fight the Russians. On the West, Germans were defending themselves in parts of France they gained through the Schlieffen Plan. The Germans and the French were both using trench warfare making almost no