Books & articles on the origins of Schlieffen and Moltke’s strategic plans

Articles in War in History by Robert Foley and Terence Holmes (2001-2014). 

The various academic responses to Zuber (see below) can be downloaded from the journal War in History, published by Sage. These tell you almost all you need to know
https://journals.sagepub.com/home/wih

The Reluctant March on Paris 		Terence Holmes   	2001 8 (2) pp 208-232

The Origins of the Schlieffen Plan 	Robert Foley		2003 10 (2) pp 222-232

The Real Schlieffen Plan 		Robert Foley	        	2006 13 (1) pp 91-115

Absolute Numbers: The Schlieffen Plan as a Critique of German Strategy in 1914
					Terence Holmes  	 2014 21 (2) pp 193-213

Books
The Schlieffen Plan: Gerhard Ritter (1958). Ritter was the first to challenge the accepted wisdom peddled by the German General Staff after the war. The first 130 pages are a highly readable analysis of documents written by Schlieffen and Moltke with key examples as appendices. 
Inventing The Schlieffen Plan-Terence Zuber (2000). Caused a stir when published leading to a protracted academic debate. Zuber’s summary of the arguments that took place in Germany after the war is worth reading even if his central thesis – as in the title –  has been thoroughly demolished by Holmes and Foley in particular (see above). 
Helmut von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War - Anika Mombauer (2008) A superb sympathetic portrayal of a complex and misunderstood man and the dilemmas he faced. It includes an excellent 60 page  chapter on Schlieffen and Moltke which explains an awful  lot. 
The Ideology of the Offensive - Jack Snyder (1984) The two chapters on Germany include Schlieffen before he wrote the Great Memorandum. 

German Strategy Path Verdun: Erich von Falkenhayn and the Development of Attrition – Robert Foley (2007) Foley is the man who should write the book on Schlieffen. This book is mainly about the alternative strategy, but obviously has to cover some Schlieffen ground

Recommended Reading on the First Six Weeks of the War
The Campaign of the Marne - Sewell Tyng (1935). My favourite, concisely written. Regularly used by other historians as a source and includes an excellent examination of the impact of the delay in front of Liege. 

The Marne 1914 - Holger H Herwig (2009). Good recent study but with a quite old-fashioned explanation of Schlieffen. It does include a detailed study of the of the mission of Oberstleutnant Richard Hentsch in September 1914. 

Ross Beadle / bd@beadledavies.co.uk