what was the sclieffen plan ?, and what did A J P Taylor mean by 'idealism perished on the somme'.?

Answer 1

The schliefen plan was the mobilisation of Germany's armed forces by railway to the Eastern and Western fronts.
Once this was started it could not be stopped because of the railway timetable , so making war inevitable.
Taylor meant that the romantic idea that it was an honour to die for your country perished on thr first day of the Somme July 1st 1916 when 60,000 british were killed

Answer 2

the sclieffen plan is when germany tried to go through belgium to get to France. Beligium would not let germany through so gremany retaliated eith war. Making belgium no longer neutral.