The First World War (Revision)

The rise of Germany upset the balance of power in Europe The Old Balance of Power - a balance of power was established between Russia, Austria, Prussia and France, with Britain holding the scales. The rise of a unified Germany upset this balance. Germany was unified not only by blood and iron but also by coal and iron. Rapid industrialization, concentrated military power, a young and dramatically increasing population (43% increase between 1880 and 1910) had raised it into a position of potential domination over Europe. With an expanding economy and overseas colonization, she now started to demand recognition as a world power. Yet Bismarck was wise and cautious enough not to alarm the other powers. He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. He put forward the idea of a balance of political power between the Republican West and the Autocratic East. He pledged to maintain peace in Europe and made alliances to keep his friends and to make his enemies friendless. He supported the Republicans in France, as it was the least revanchist. As long as France remained a Republic, the autocratic Russia and Austria-Hungary would not be allied with it and agree to maintain a certain relation amongst the three autocratic powers. Things changed after William II took over the power. The term Weltpolitik (World Policy) was first used by William II in 1896 as a description for the German version of an imperialism which was shared by the other Powers. It was summed up in his statement that nothing must henceforth be settled in the world without the intervention of Germany and the German Emperor. This concept of expansion found expression in the intervention in the Moroccan Crises, the construction of the Baghdad railway, the launching of a large navy and the quest for colonies both in Africa and Asia. Through their naval and colonial ambitions they were seen to menace British and French imperial interests. By assuming the role of protector of Turkey, Germany was felt to be thwarting the traditional aims of Russia in Asia and Asia Minor and in the Balkans. The Imperial and economic conflicts Imperial rivalries The scramble for colonies started in the 1880s. In the Conference of Berlin the powers discussed the partition of Africa in order to prevent conflicts, but it actually speeded up partition. Germany, which originally had little interest in imperialism, joined the imperial game and created fear among the powers. There were rivalries between France and Britain: Egyptian Sudan (Fashoda Incident) France and Italy: Tunisia France and Germany: Morocco Germany and Britain: the Boer Wars The only independent states in Africa by 1914 were Abyssinia and Liberia. The scramble for colonies in Asia Britain: India, Malaya, Burma, and Singapore France: Indo-china (Annam, Laos, and Cambodia) Germany: late comer, got only some Pacific Islands, a concession in Shandong

Belgium: East Indies (Indonesia) Russia: Siberia, concessions in North-east China The only independent state in South-east Asia was Siam (Thailand) The Alliance System the establishment of a new balance of power Bismarck's aim: i. To isolate France by making friends with other European great powers to prevent a war against Germany (especially by a nightmare coalition of Russia and France) on two fronts. ii. To maintain peace so that Germany could consolidate her power Alliances Dreikaiserbund (1872) Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary (1878) Revived Dreikaiserbund (1881) Triple Alliance between Germany, AustriaHungary and Italy (1882) Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia (1887). Results: - at first successful. His complicated system achieved the diplomatic isolation of France, an understanding with Russia and the maintenance of European peace. But at time passed, his task became more difficult because of the growing rivalries between the nations Bismarck sought to keep together. The collapse of Bismarcks system Bismarck clashed with the young Kaiser and resigned in 1890. With him were the disintegration of his network of alliances and a gradual realignment of the Powers which brought France, Russia and Britain together. - contrary to Bismarck's want - William II decided not to continue with Bismarcks idea of maintaining the friendship with Russia, he showed increasing interest in the Turkey. With a common fear of Germanys ambition, Russia turned from Germany to France. Franco-Russian Dual Alliance (1892) Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902) A common growing fear of German powers and its imperial demands led to further development: Anglo-French Entente Cordiale (1904) Triple Entente between Britain, France and Russia (1907). (These were settlements of outstanding colonial rivalries and brought to an end of a period in which Anglo-French rivalry and Anglo-Russian friction were dominant factors in international affairs.) Two hostile camps had begun The emergence of Europe into two rival and increasingly hostile camps reduced much of the flexibility of the old balance of power and made it much harder for statesmen to preserve the peace. Though it did not make war inevitable, it made it more likely. Armament Race The formation of alliances and the application of science and technology to warfare after 1870 created sense of insecurity. The aim of building armament was to have security, but it just increased insecurity (fear of the military strength of the opposing power). Compulsory military conscription - introduced by all European states except Britain

War plans and timetabling - most famous was Schleiffen Plan of Germany; the growth of permanent General Staff. Plans for mobilization later had a bad influence on government policy. Naval race between Britain and Germany. Germanys rise as a great power brought her into conflict with British interest in two things colonies and naval power. Colonies By the end of the 19th century, Germany overtook Britain in the production of coal and steel and had to make great efforts to gain a colonial empire in Africa and wherever else there was a chance. It brought a clash with British colonial and commercial interests Naval power Germany demanded recognition as a world power and wanted to have a navy to protect her growing overseas interests and started a big naval building programme (under the guidance of Admiral Tirpitz and the Navy Laws), thus alarmed Britain. A race to produce Dreadnoughts between the two countries. Armament race created fear and was extremely costly. Measures to limit armament race: First Hague Conference (1899) suggested by Russia Second Hague Conference (1907) called by US President Theodore Roosevelt Achieved very little, agreed to fight a war more humanly, established The Hague Court of Justice. Conflicting nationalism Success of German unification and Italian unification encouraged the rise of nationalism among subject peoples all over Europe, especially in the Balkans. Nationalism in nation-states also had undergone change aggressive nationalism, a will to dominate and control others. The late 19th and early 20th Centuries were full of nationalism: Balkans wish for self-determination Vs Turkish wish to keep her European lands The growth of Pan-Slavism Vs the growth of Pan-Germanism Austrian multi-national Empire Vs Greater Serbia Movement French idea of revenge against Germany Britain's desire to remain the Mistress of the Sea and Workshop of the World Vs Germany's idea of Weltpolitik (World Power politics) Some events caused by conflicts in nationalism The Moroccan Crises First Moroccan crisis 1905 - Germany was annoyed that she had not been consulted about the Anglo-French division of North Africa, William II went to Tangier. France yielded to German demand for an international conference - Algeciras Conference. (In fact she wanted to test the Entente Cordiale.) Second Moroccan Crisis 1911 - France sent an army to Fez and Germany sent a gunboat, Panther, to Agadir - Paris Conference Significance: The first crisis was the result of an exploratory attempt by Germany to test the solidarity of the newly established Anglo-French Entente. William II announced that he would aid Morocco at a time when the power of Russia was severely eclipsed by her defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and would not offer France effective support. He hoped to expose the weakness of British support for France. However he found that all powers except Austria-Hungary, rallied to Frances side. Britain was so antagonized that she promptly entered into defensive military

arrangement with France. J.M. Roberts described this crisis as marking the real end of isolation for England. The second crisis was a further German challenge to the Entente. Britain also viewed apprehensively the possibility of Germany constructing a naval base close to Gibraltar. She decided to stand firm against German challenge. David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, stated that Britain was not to be treated as if she were of no account in the Cabinet of Nationspeace at that price would be a humiliation intolerable for a great country like ours to endure. Thus the result of the two crises was a strengthening of Anglo-French relations and revealed in full the peculiar state of Anglo-German relations in the period of rivalry which preceded the First World War. Germany wanted a spectacular diplomatic victory and Britain tried to make sure that the balance of power in Europe would not be destroyed or British security endangered. The Agadir crisis wrecked any hope of improved Franco-German relations. Note also the effect of these crises on public opinion within Germany for instance, the Pan-German League and Admiral Tirpitz were able to manipulate the national sense of humiliation to press for a larger fleet. Moreover the Second Moroccan crisis encouraged Italy to seek compensation for French gains in Morocco. Italy declared war on Turkey in September 1911, landing troops in Tripoli. This further assault on Turkish rule in turn encouraged the outbreak of the first Balkan War. Bosnia crisis 1908 Young Turk Movement alarmed other powers. Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Austrian Foreign Minister, Alrenthal, believed that the Empire was close to collapse and that only a policy of annexation could restore Habsburg fortunes. He also wanted to humiliate Serbia which was encouraging Slav nationalism. Serbia became angry because she thought Bosnia-Herzegovina should be a part of a greater Serbia. The Balkan Crisis and the Balkan Wars First Balkan War 1912: Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria) aimed to partition the Turkish European territories among them. - Treaty of London - Turkey retained only Eastern Thrace in Europe Second Balkan War 1913: Bulgaria was not satisfied with the territories she got and wanted a larger share in Macedonia - Serbia was joined by Rumania, Turkey, Greece and Montenegro - The Treaty of Bucharest - Austria insisted to give independence to Albania having the Adriatic coast, thus keeping Serbia land-locked. Austria-Hungary was the main loser - to her, Slav national aspiration must be arrested - if Austria-Hungary lost the south Slav provinces, she would be reduced to the status of a small power. She hoped to save it by a preventive war against Serbia. To Serbia, she had disintegrated the Ottoman Empire and the next turn would be Austria-Hungary. Sarajevo Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated in the Bosnian capital by a Bosnian student Gavrilo Princip. Austria-Hungary demanded not only an apology and more demands that would have ended Serbias independence. to solve the problem once and for all. Ultimatum revealed Austrian decision. Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary, said, (the ultimatum was) the most formidable document I have ever seen addressed by one State to another that was independent.

Started as a local war but Russian decision to stand firm behind Serbia, Frances promise to back Russia and unconditional pledge of Germany to Austria-Hungary -> a general war (because of alliance system and pre-determined war plans) -> a world war (because of the participation of colonies, Japan, US and China) Peace Treaties President Wilsons 14 Points served as guiding principles: Two main ideas: (1) Self-determination (people ruling themselves, not being ruled by a foreign power) (2) International Cooperation Treaty of Versailles - Germany The terms covered the following areas: 1. Guilt for the war 2. Armed forces army limited to 100,000 men, no armoured vehicles, no submarines or aircraft, no conscription, only 6 battleships, Rhineland demilitarised. 3. Reparations - 6,600 million (set in 1921) to cripple the German economy 4. German territories lands and territories in Europe rearranged. 5. League of Nations new method of keeping peace. (gargle wash mouth with liquid) German reactions to the Treaty Feelings of injustice: - They did not feel they had caused the war - They did not even feel that they had lost the war - They felt they should have been involved in the treaty discussions. They resented about war guilt, disarmament, reparations, loss of German territories and not being invited to join the League.
They complained that the treaty makers did not follow Wilsons 14 Points.

Criticisms of the Treaty Views expressed at the time Some said that it was too harsh on Germany. They predicted that Germany would want revenge and there would be another war. Some said it was not harsh enough that it did not punish Germany enough Some said the USSR should have been consulted. The US Congress was very dissatisfied with the treaty and refused to sign it. Views of historians a failure because in 1939 war broke our again in Europe Two weaknesses: Germany was punished and humiliated. Although it might please people in the victorious countries at the time, it was shortsighted because when Germany did recover many of its people wanted revenge. The treaty created some new countries which were weak and unstable. However, it is important to realise how difficult a job the victorious allies faced. 1. The people of the Allies would not have accepted a fairer treaty. They had been told during the war years that Germans were wicked. Clemenceau was criticized in France that the treaty was not harsh enough. 2. In trying to ensure self-determination they faced the real problem that ethnic group (of different races) in Eastern Europe were so mixed up that it was impossible for each nation to rule itself.

Other treaties: St. Germain 1919 - Austria Trianon 1920 - Hungary Neuilly 1919 - Bulgaria Sevres 1920 - Turkey (later replaced by Treaty of Lausanne) War guilt debate The war guilt clause (Article 231) attributed responsibility for its outbreak to Germany and her allies. From the start this provoked violent controversy and resentment. It was immediately used to discredit the Versailles settlement and its reparation demands. - Many historians continue to see the conflict as overwhelmingly the result of German ambitions and actions. - Other would support the view put forward by the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, that the Powers stumbled into war. - Still others lay special emphasis on wider factors such as imperial rivalry, pressure of population, the development of military technology or a general will to war. - Most do not lay blame on any one of the powers. France, Great Britain, Russia, AustriaHungary and Serbia have all been apportioned responsibility. All governments made miscalculations and suffered from misconceptions. During the later stages there was also the crucial consideration of military momentum as a result of advance planning, e.g. the German Schlieffen Plan and a desire not to lose the race of mobilization which statesmen found impossible to resist. Later, debate centred on the arguments of the German historian Fritz Fischer who claimed that the German government deliberately tried in 1914 to achieve expansionist territorial and power-political aims which had been developed in the preceding years. His critics deny that Germany seized on the Sarajevo assassination to force a major war, and that her initial wish was only to encourage Austria to achieve a localized victory against the Serbs. They argue that it was only when it was obvious that Russia could not be kept out of an Austro-Serbian quarrel that the German military pressed for a major war. In this debate considerable attention had been paid to the role of the German Chancellor Bethmann Hollwegs motivation. Was he less concerned with avoiding war than with achieving the optimum international conditions for waging it? (It seems that he wanted to seize the best time to start a preventive war.) Or did he have no alternate but to back the Habsburg Monarchy once Russia had declared her support to Serbia? (He should have accepted the call for international conference.) As John Lowe points out, it is difficult to find a single constructive move that Germany made throughout the July Crises.
HKALE Questions How far do you agree that the Eastern Question became more complicated as a result of the Congress of Berlin (1878)? (94) How effective was Bismarck in maintaining friendly relations with Russia without offsetting Austria doing the period 1871-90? (95) How did the statesmen of Europe try to achieve a balance of power in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? How far were they successful? (96) Examine the main features of French policies towards Germany and Russia in the period 1870-1914. Did these policies succeed in protecting the interests of France? Explain your answer. (97) The Congress of Berlin (1878) provided the best answer to the Eastern Question. Explain whether you agree with this statement. (98)

"The Treaty of Versailles created more problems than it solved." Comment on the validity of this statement. (99) Trace and explain the relations between Germany and Russia in the period 1871-1914. (2k) Assess the influence of Britains foreign policy on relations among the European powers in the period 18121907. (2k) How did Austria-Hungarys foreign affect relations among European states up to the end of the 19 th century? (2001) How did the racial problem in the Austro-Hungarian Empire contribute to the outbreak of the First World War? (94) To what extent did the Paris peace treaties (1919-20) reflect the influence of President Wilsons Fourteen Points? (94) The year 1917 was the turning-point in the First World War. How far do you agree with this statement? (95) Evaluate the importance of Sarajevo Incident relative to other causes of the First World War. (96) Account for the involvement of France in the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911. Assess the influence of these two crises on international relations up to 1914. (97) Assess the importance of the Alliance System relative to other factors in bringing about the First World War. (98) Discuss the impact of Germanys foreign policy on the balance of power in Europe in the period 1870-1945. (98) Why has the Balkans been described as the "powder barrel of Europe"? Explain your answer with reference to the period 1870-1914. (99) Analyze the causes of Austro-Serbian conflicts which occurred in the period 1908-14. (2k) How important was the armaments race in affecting relations among the European powers in the period 18701914? (2001)