7:The German Question and the Great War Flashcards

1
Q

the 3 foundations of German Power

A

demographic
industrial
military

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2
Q

how was the German demographic a foundation of its power?

A

-German population rose from 49.2m in 1890 to 67m in 1914
-French went from 38.3m to 40m in the same period

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3
Q

how was Germany industry a foundation of its power?

A

-Germany’s share of world manufacturing output rose from 8.5% in 1880 to 14.8% in 1913

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4
Q

how was Germany’s military a foundation of its power?

A

-The German army was 2’398’000 strong by 1914 and its general staff the model for other nations

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5
Q

what was the explanation behind Weltpolitik?

A

-colonies were regarded as a badge of prestige, Britain and France has huge empires
-Germany felt it had a right for “place in the sun” as well as the economic benefit

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6
Q

what was the benefit of weltpolitik domestically?

A
  • radical nationalist societies: Pan-German League and Navy League
    -nationalism and imperialism were used by elites to distract germans from domestic issues and class division
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7
Q

what did Weltpolitik mean for international affairs?

A

-a destabilising factor
-concerns other European nations
-what it achieves is limited

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8
Q

Weltpolitik in 1898

A

-Germany seized Kiaochow, sparking the scramble for china
-Kaiser visited the Middle East, British sceptical when he visited Jerusalem

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9
Q

Weltpolitik in 1905:

A

Morocco crisis worsened German relations with France and Britain

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10
Q

Weltpolitik in 1911

A

second Morocco (Agar) crisis further intensified Anglo-French suspicions about German ambitions

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11
Q

German actions that exacerbated the Anglo-German Antagonism

A

-German support for anti-British forces in South Africa
-German ambitions in the Middle East: Berlin-Baghdad railway
-1898:Germany began a major naval expansion programme
-1908: anti-British interview by Wilhelm II

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12
Q

Anglo-german Naval rivalry

A

1898:Germany began a major programme of naval expansion
Britain see Germany as a potential strategic threat
Arms race based on the construction of ‘Dreadnought’ battleships

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13
Q

Germany’s alliances

A

1882: Germany,A-H,Italy formed the Triple Alliance
1890: after Bismarck was ousted, Germany ended its treaty with Russia

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14
Q

other alliances in Europe

A

1894: Franco-Russian alliance
1904: Anglo-French Entente
1907:Anglo-Russian Entente

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15
Q

Diplomatic mission in Jan 1912

A

-a mission to Germany by Lord Haldane (British Minister of War) failed

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16
Q

what did the European alliances mean for the concert system?

A

-the concert system was replaced by a destabilising system of competing alliance blocs

17
Q

what was the July crisis?

A

-rapid change from peace to war
28th June 1914: assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
28th July:Austria declare war on Serbia
29th July:Russia mobilised against Austria

18
Q

events of the July crisis in August

A

1st: Germany declared war on Russia, France mobilised
3rd: Germany declared war on france
4th: Britain declared war on Germany

19
Q

World War 1 began as a war of 2 wars, they were linked but distinct. what were they?

A

1.Austria fought Russia to determine who was to be master in the Balkans
2.war fought to expand the power of recently united Germany

20
Q

what did the British decision to go to war in 1914 mean for the war?

A

-it ensured the European war would be transformed into a global conflict, it was an imperial power around the world

21
Q

why did Britain go to war?

A

-support Belgium
-triple entente obligation
-controlling channel ports, a hostile Germany doing so would be a threat
-balance of power considerations

22
Q

Events of the Great War in 1914

A

-Russian advance in the east halted at Tannenberg
-German advance on Paris halted at the Marne
-onset of stalemate on the western front
-race to the sea

23
Q

Gallipoli Campaign

A

-Feb 1915-Jan 1916
-an anglo-french operation against the Ottoman empire

24
Q

Events of the Great War in 1916-1917

A

-Battle of the Somme,Verdun, Passchendaele
-USA enters the war on 6th April
Russian Revolution nov 1917

25
Q

British Victories outside of Western Europe in 1917-1918

A

victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Middle East (modern day Iraq,Palestine and Syria)

26
Q

the Great War: March 1918

A

Russian defeat, Germany imposed the punitive treaty of Brest Litovsk

27
Q

The Great War: April-November 1918

A

final German offensive and the eventual collapse of the western front

28
Q

What did the Treaty of Versailles mean for German power?

A

-a punitive settlement that left the foundations of German power intact
-it was diplomatic, but it was heavily criticised and harsh

29
Q

Where did Germany stand after the war?

A

its position, geopolitically, was arguably stronger in 1919 than 1914
unlike France which was severely weakened

30
Q

Germany’s territorial losses as a result of the Treaty of Versailles

A

-loss of all German colonies
-Alsace-Lorraine to France
-Eupen& Malmedy to Belgium
-Memel to Lithuania
-Danzig a free city under LON

31
Q

How was German power restricted in terms of Land?

A

-Rhineland occupied for 15 years by the French and Germany were forbidden to station military forces there
-France given ownership of coal mines in Saar region

32
Q

How was German power restricted militarily?

A

-Army limited to 100’000 men
-no tanks, heavy artillery,aircraft,general staff
-Navy limited to 6 battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats, no submarines or naval aircraft

33
Q

How was German power restricted economically?

A

they had to pay huge sums in reparations

34
Q

Debates about German war guilt

A

-The Treaty’s “war guilt clause” held Germany legally responsible for the war
-Revisionist historians focused on structural explanations rather than german guilt
-By 1945, a new consensus argued that the great powers had stumbled inadvertently into war

35
Q

criticisms of the Treaty of Versailles

A

-key problem was more the failure to enforce, than the treaty terms themselves
-Germany left resentful and embittered
-Versailles was an outdated European settlement in a globalising world-artificial eurocentricity

36
Q

consequences of the Treaty of Versailles

A

-Bolshevik Russia was isolated and marginalised
-The US senate rejected the Treaty- an American retreat into “isolationism”?
-Britain and France proved to be unable or unwilling to enforce the Versailles system in the face of increasing costs and challenges

37
Q

the Great War and popular memory

A

-The pity of war and the myth of “futility”
-“rediscovery” of the poetry of Wilfred Owen in the 1960s
-The influence of TV comedies like “Blackadder goes forth”
-Niall Ferguson has criticised Britain’s decision to join the war as “the biggest error in modern history”