The outbreak of war in Europe was due to an aggressive German foreign policy which had been waged since

c.1900 how far do you agree? It has been a matter of fervent controversy that Germany went to war with aggressive or defensive intentions. Source V seems to be of the opinion that Germany went to war solely for defensive reasons due to the extensive array of alliances that encircled her as well as diplomatic tension. On the whole, Source W seems to take the opposite approach deeming how Germanys aggressive actions since the turn of the century resulted in war. Source X seems to be the synthesis for both these approaches and admits how it is a matter of great controversy but points towards the fact that Germany had always wanted colonial expansion. Indeed there is an array of information that supports this. Therefore, I maintain that outbreak of war in Europe was due to an aggressive foreign policy which had been waged c.1900.

Source states that Germany, felt encircled not only by the triple entente but also by the forces of change. Indeed an extensive alliance system did surround Germany but the question is how much of a threat were they. In 1904 Britain ended her policy of splendid isolation creating the entente cordiale with France, Russia joined three years later resulting in the Tipple Entente. Although it could be argued that Germany felt threatened by this alliance system as it seemed to encircle her, it is essential to note that an entente does not have the same status as an official treaty and many historians render it to be a mere handshake or an expression of good will. In contrast, Germany seemed to maintain more secure treaties as she was a member of the triple alliance with AustriaHungary and Italy. These countries had officially declared their allegiance towards each other so therefore it could be argued how Germany did not feel encircled as she was in a stronger position due to her secure alliance system. Indeed the alliance was so strong as immediately when there was immense tension between Austria Hungary and Serbia towards the end of July 1914, she started mobilising her army. Therefore, this statement could be challenged and portrays how Germanys intentions were not entirely defensive. Indeed the source goes on to reiterate how the 1913 Army Bill...had in part been a response to the tension in the Balklands. Although there was considerable tension in the Balklands due to the immense tension between Serbia and Austria- Hungary due to Serbias interests in annexing the Balklands, it is not safe to say that the Army Bill in 1913 was entirely in result of that. Since the turn of the century, Germany had expressed interests in expanding her military. Conscription was increased from 3-3 and a half years and the naval expansion policy of Flottenpolotik went to exhaustive efforts of making the navy match that of Britain. Nonetheless, it could still be argued how these military expansions were solely defensive due to Germanys paranoia that her internal and external enemies...wanted to destroy them. Indeed this synthesises with an excerpt from Source W, Tripitz, who built a battle feet aimed at the British...professed his peaceful intentions. An excerpt from Source X also, to an extent, agrees with the assumption made in this source that the war was mainly defensive as it mentions how, the constellation of forces against the central powers was unexpected, implying how Germany had no plans for a wide scale war.

However, despite these assumptions made in Source V that Germanys military plans were mainly defensive, Source W and part of Source X argues how the outbreak was a result of an aggressive foreign policy that originated from the turn of the century. Indeed it mentions how German actions going back to the 1890s had done much to create tension. There is considerable evidence that

supports it due to Germanys expansion policy of Weltpolotik. The Kaiser professed his desire to have a place in the sun and be on par with Britain and France whom maintained numerous policies. This programme resulted in considerable friction with Britain at many times. For example, in the 1902 Boer wars Germany supported the Dutch rather than the British in the hope they will divide the land they conquer with Germany. Her actions in Morroco further incensed Britain both in 1904 at Tangia and in 1907y at Agadir. This collaborates with part of Source X, ;the German plan to unleash a continental war... The expansion policy was initially initiated by Chancellor Von Bismark who followed it extensively despite little gains, accordingly the source states how bethman Hollweg was faced with reaping the whirlwind sown by his predecessors. Consequently the overall stance of the source is that despite the fact that Bethman Hollwg was a sensitive passive...man and Germany prefered to get what they wanted without war, their agresive actions intiated it. However, it could be argued how this source maintains severallimitartions. Firstly, it places no emphasis on matters that further accelerated tension both diplomaticly and internally such as the Zabern Afair and the Daily Telegraph Affair. Moreover, the source attributes a large amount of Germnys aggressive actions to the head of the navy Admiral Von Tirpitz, others bore more responsibility, like Tirpitz. However, it could be argued that this suggestion was unfair as Tirpitzs expansion of the navy was based on the Kaisers wishes, moreover Germanys surrounding countries such as Russia, France and Britain were rapidly expanding their military so accordingly Germany had just as much right too.

In conclusion it seems evident how it is a tentative matter if the outbreak of war in Europe was due to an aggressive foreign policy. However, despite Source Vs assertions that it was caused by defensive reasons, there is considerable evidence to challenge it such as Germnays expansion policy that caused very week diplomacy. On the contrary there is more evidence to support W that it was caused by a history of Germanys aggressive foreign policy and there is considerable evidence to support this such as Weltpolotik or both Morrocon crisises. Source, X seems to be a synthesis of both opinions. Ultimately, however I agree with SourceB that the war resulted as a result of an aggressive German foreign policy