Arms Races 1900-1914 Flashcards
Outline German expansions
a. Reasons
i. In 1898, Germany had the world’s 6th largest navy, though the ‘two power standard’ meant the gap between Britain was huge
ii. In a series of navy laws, Tirpitz was able to influence the Reichstag to make the navy the second biggest in the world (popular with shipbuilders and steel companies)
iii. Believed that Britain would not risk fighting the German Navy as even if victorious, she would leave herself vulnerable to France and Russia, therefore making a friendship with Germany logical
iv. There were flaws in this logic
1. Tirpitz assumes that British rivalry with France and Russia is an inevitable fact
2. Also assumed that Britain would not match German shipbuilding
Outline Anglo-German Naval Rivalry
a. Anglo-Japanese alliance 1902 – end of splendid isolation
i. Agreement that if Britain was in a war in the Far East with a third power, then Japan would remain neutral unless there were two powers involved, in which Japan would have to protect Britain (vice versa).
ii. Japan also recognised British interests in China and Britain recognised economic and political interests in Korea
iii. This allowed Britain to withdraw some of its naval presence in the Far East
iv. Following the Russo-Japanese war, the agreement was modified so that if Britain or Japan was attacked by just one power, then the other would intervene due to the growth of Germany whereas Japan agreed due to a fear of Russian retaliation
a. The expansion of the German navy led to the British belief that in order to preserve its empire, Britain had to retain control of the seas. In Sir Eyre Crowe’s memorandum spoke of the German threat and this proved influential
b. The German admiral, Tirpitz believed the larger German navy would force Britain to make major colonial concessions to Germany
c. The British responded to this challenge by building the Dreadnought battleship which made every other ship obsolete.
Outline Anglo-German economic rivalry
a. Germany experienced significant growth due German steel industries able to undercut the market price and being protected by tariffs and due to chemical, electrical and engineering developments
b. Possessed the second largest merchant shipping fleet, and was the third largest creditor nation. They had displaced British goods in South America and South Africa with their exports
c. This was a challenge to British supremacy
Outline the ‘Novelle’ Germany Navy Laws 1908
a. This accelerated the arms race with in Britain in two respects:
b. Cut the active lives of a number of obsolete warships and brought forward development
c. General expansion of the navy
Outline the ‘We want eight and we won’t wait’ British media campaign 1908
a. Liberal government less willing to spend on defence, and only wanted to build 4 in response to the novella
b. A press campaign led to 8 being built
Outline the mission to Germany 1912
a. Attempted to negotiate a ‘naval holiday’ and agree to a fixed ratio for capital ships but both were rejected
b. The Germans wanted an assurance that Britain would remain neutral if Germany had to fight France and Russia. Britain, however, could not allow this and see another French defeat of France by Germany, which would lead to the German domination of the European continent
c. Tirpitz believed that Britain was fearful of Germany’s naval programme
Outline the reopening of the Kiel Canal 1914
a. This was reopened so it was wide enough for dreadnoughts
b. This meant that the German navy could move ships from the North Sea to the Baltic far easier
c. At this point, Britain ‘won’ the naval race
Conclusion: Did Anglo-German military rivalry lead to war?
a. Debatable as to whether this contributed to war. Why would Germany fight a war when they lost the naval race? Why would Britain fight when it won the naval race?
Explain the German army law 1912
a. Single largest expansion of the German navy which had not increased since the later 1800s due to a lack of conscription and because officers had to be aristocrats, but there was a finite number of them
b. However, the expansion of the army meant there were less funds for the navy leading to a slowdown in the number of ships being ordered and built
c. The French responded with the Triennial Act of 1913, extending conscription and increasing the peacetime strength of the French army
d. However, it didn’t look like any country had a sufficient advantage in arms to go to war. Equally, no country was at such a disadvantage they were too weak to fight a war
a. Germany is an exception. In 1912, a cabinet meeting determines that if a war was to occur, it would be better sooner rather than later as von Molt believed that Germany’s advantage would only get smaller
Explain Germany’s Schlieffen Plan
- Schlieffen Plan (German)
a. Necessary as mobilisation had to be carefully planned, described by A.J. Taylor as ‘war but with timetable’
b. The Franco-Russian alliance meant Germany faced a war on two fronts. Although bigger than both armies, they were not bigger when combined.
c. This plan involving quickly defeating France with 90% of the army and then moving to attack Russia using Germany’s excellent communications. This plan was reliant on Russia’s poor communications, and therefore being unable to mobilise quickly
d. Issues:
i. Very tight schedule of 42 days to defeat France
ii. Britain could declare war Germany attacked through Belgium, though if the plan works then Britain would be unable to do anything
iii. The Germans would have to move a huge amount of equipment and soldiers across a huge distance
iv. Plan is compromised by von Molt in the future, as he fails to assign the ratios correctly (90:10)
Explain France’ plan XVII
a. An all-out offensive on Alsace-Lorraine based on a tactical doctrine and strategic miscalculation, in that France failed to factor in reserve troops who would be unable to push into Alsace-Lorraine
b. The tactical doctrine was misguided as well e.g. failing to take into account machine guns, slow firing artillery
Outline the British army and navy plan
a. These two plans did not agree with each other as there was no communication e.g. the army believed there would be a close blockade but the navy intended a blockade further out
Outline the effect of nationalism on the outbreak of war 1914
a. Grew in this period due to German, Italian and Serbian unficiation
b. Also grew in other areas e.g. the Croats and Romanians wanted their own states, as shown in Pan Slavism (Russia, Bulgaria etc.)
c. Revanchism (Alsace - Lorraine) - this determined the war plans
d. Nationalism was threatening to destroy both the Turkish and Austrian Empires
Outline the colonial and economic effects on he outbreak of war 1914
a. Great deal of friction over colonies, though these were all resolved
b. Moreover, the main colonial rivalries of Britain were Russian and French yet they don’t go to war
c. Marxist historians argue WW1 is a capitalist civil war, with Anglo-German economic rivalries growing throughout the period
d. Austria-Hungary was so undeveloped industrially it seemed that soon that she would not have the strength to maintain her position as a great power
e. However:
i. Some economic rivalries were resolved e.g Berlin-Baghdad railway
ii. By 1914, the ‘Scramble for Africa’ was largely complete, and motives for colonialism were sufficiently complex enough to involve more than just an equation of nationalism
Explain the effects of militarism on the outbreak of war 1914
a. An excessive belief in the importance of the military; a military embodies the strongest aspects of a state
b. This closely links to social darwinism - ie. that countries are competing against each other
c. This can be seen in the ‘we want eight and we won’t wait’ press campaign where the size of the navy represented national honour and the Triennial act
d. However, there are issues with this argument:
i. Civilians choose to go to war in France, GB etc. and not members of the military
ii. French had a distrust of the army as it was perceived to be aristocratic and royalist and the Triennial Act was hated
