Why did Germany invade neutral Belgium in 1914?

Germany invaded neutral Belgium in 1914 as a core component of the Schlieffen Plan, the military strategy developed by Alfred von Schlieffen to address the threat of a two-front war against France and Russia.12

Because Germany faced numerically superior combined forces, the German general staff sought to avoid a costly, indecisive frontal assault against French border fortifications. Instead, the plan dictated that Germany should adopt a defensive posture in the east to contain slowly mobilizing Russian forces while concentrating the vast majority of its military strength in the west.12

By sweeping through neutral Belgium and northern France, the German army intended to bypass French defenses, envelop the French forces, and capture Paris to force a swift, decisive surrender of France within a few weeks. Once France was neutralized, Germany planned to shift its forces to the Eastern Front to confront Russia. Despite the violation of Belgian neutrality, which ultimately brought Britain into the war, this maneuver remained the central strategic objective for the German high command at the outbreak of hostilities.324