7:The German Question and the Great War Flashcards
the 3 foundations of German Power
demographic
industrial
military
how was the German demographic a foundation of its power?
-German population rose from 49.2m in 1890 to 67m in 1914
-French went from 38.3m to 40m in the same period
how was Germany industry a foundation of its power?
-Germany’s share of world manufacturing output rose from 8.5% in 1880 to 14.8% in 1913
how was Germany’s military a foundation of its power?
-The German army was 2’398’000 strong by 1914 and its general staff the model for other nations
what was the explanation behind Weltpolitik?
-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
what was the benefit of weltpolitik domestically?
- 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
what did Weltpolitik mean for international affairs?
-a destabilising factor
-concerns other European nations
-what it achieves is limited
Weltpolitik in 1898
-Germany seized Kiaochow, sparking the scramble for china
-Kaiser visited the Middle East, British sceptical when he visited Jerusalem
Weltpolitik in 1905:
Morocco crisis worsened German relations with France and Britain
Weltpolitik in 1911
second Morocco (Agar) crisis further intensified Anglo-French suspicions about German ambitions
German actions that exacerbated the Anglo-German Antagonism
-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
Anglo-german Naval rivalry
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
Germany’s alliances
1882: Germany,A-H,Italy formed the Triple Alliance
1890: after Bismarck was ousted, Germany ended its treaty with Russia
other alliances in Europe
1894: Franco-Russian alliance
1904: Anglo-French Entente
1907:Anglo-Russian Entente
Diplomatic mission in Jan 1912
-a mission to Germany by Lord Haldane (British Minister of War) failed
what did the European alliances mean for the concert system?
-the concert system was replaced by a destabilising system of competing alliance blocs
what was the July crisis?
-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
events of the July crisis in August
1st: Germany declared war on Russia, France mobilised
3rd: Germany declared war on france
4th: Britain declared war on Germany
World War 1 began as a war of 2 wars, they were linked but distinct. what were they?
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
what did the British decision to go to war in 1914 mean for the war?
-it ensured the European war would be transformed into a global conflict, it was an imperial power around the world
why did Britain go to war?
-support Belgium
-triple entente obligation
-controlling channel ports, a hostile Germany doing so would be a threat
-balance of power considerations
Events of the Great War in 1914
-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
Gallipoli Campaign
-Feb 1915-Jan 1916
-an anglo-french operation against the Ottoman empire
Events of the Great War in 1916-1917
-Battle of the Somme,Verdun, Passchendaele
-USA enters the war on 6th April
Russian Revolution nov 1917
British Victories outside of Western Europe in 1917-1918
victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Middle East (modern day Iraq,Palestine and Syria)
the Great War: March 1918
Russian defeat, Germany imposed the punitive treaty of Brest Litovsk
The Great War: April-November 1918
final German offensive and the eventual collapse of the western front
What did the Treaty of Versailles mean for German power?
-a punitive settlement that left the foundations of German power intact
-it was diplomatic, but it was heavily criticised and harsh
Where did Germany stand after the war?
its position, geopolitically, was arguably stronger in 1919 than 1914
unlike France which was severely weakened
Germany’s territorial losses as a result of the Treaty of Versailles
-loss of all German colonies
-Alsace-Lorraine to France
-Eupen& Malmedy to Belgium
-Memel to Lithuania
-Danzig a free city under LON
How was German power restricted in terms of Land?
-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
How was German power restricted militarily?
-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
How was German power restricted economically?
they had to pay huge sums in reparations
Debates about German war guilt
-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
criticisms of the Treaty of Versailles
-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
consequences of the Treaty of Versailles
-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
the Great War and popular memory
-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”
