B1) Causes of WW1 Flashcards
When was Germany unified?
1871 after the Franco-Prussian war.
Why was France bitter after the Franco-Prussian war?
They were badly defeated and Germany took control of Alsace-Lorraine (an important industrial area of France).
When did Germany form an alliance with Austria-Hungary?
1879
When did Germany form an alliance with Italy?
1882
What was the Triple Alliance and when was it formed?
The alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, 1882.
What was Germany’s population in 1914?
68 million
How successful were Germany in industry in 1914?
Very, was producing 2x as much steel as Britain and 1/3 of the world’s electrical goods.
Why was Germany interested in making alliances? (3)
- worried that France would want revenge for the Franco-Prussian war
- fear of encirclement
- interest in building an empire to rival Britain’s
What are the causes of the First World War? (MANIA)
Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, Assassination.
What were Germany’s strengths in 1914? (3)
- powerful, newly unified country
- big army
- leading the world in terms of industry
How big was Germany’s army in 1914?
2 million soldiers and 108 warships (biggest apart from Russia but better organised and equipped)
What were Germany’s weaknesses in 1914? (1)
Threat of encirclement from Triple Entente
What were Austria-Hungary’s strengths in 1914? (3)
- large empire in Central Europe
- quite big army
- support from powerful Germany
What were Austria-Hungary’s weaknesses in 1914? (1)
•empire was very unstable as it contained many nationalities and ethnic groups who wanted independence
Who governed Germany and what form of government was it under?
- Kaiser Wilhelm 2
* autocracy
What were Italy’s strengths in 1914? (2)
- protected by Triple Alliance
* starting to build an empire
What were Italy’s weaknesses in 1914? (1)
•not trusted to side with G and A-H if a war broke out
What is the Entente Cordiale?
An informal alliance between Britain and France.
When was the Entente Cordiale signed?
1904
Why was France interested in making alliances?
To gain power in order to have revenge on Germany after the Franco-Prussian war (1870).
When was the Franco-Russian Alliance agreed?
1894
Why was the Kaiser worried about the Triple Entente?
Encircled Germany.
Why was the Triple Entente formed?
All worried about Germany’s growing power.
When was the Anglo-Russian Entente made?
1907
Why was the Franco-Russian Alliance made? (3)
- Kaiser didn’t like close relations with Russia
- Russia needed a loan to help the economy
- France wanted revenge
Why was the Entente Cordiale made? (3)
- Anglo-German rivalry
- France wanted revenge
- agreed not to interfere each other’s empires
Why was the Anglo-Russian Entente made? (3)
- increased tension in Europe due to Moroccan Crises
- completes the Triple Entente
- agreed to settle differences in the Middle East
What were Britain’s strengths in 1914? (2)
- biggest + strongest navy in the world
* lots of resources from the empire
How big was the British Empire in 1914?
390 million people, biggest empire in the world.
What were Britain’s weaknesses in 1914? (2)
- empire was spread across the world
* Germany’s growing power was a threat to the empire and navy
What were France’s strengths in 1914? (1)
•strengthened by Triple Entente
What were France’s weaknesses in 1914? (2)
- not as strong as Germany
* weakened by loss of Alsace-Lorraine
What were Russia’s strengths in 1914? (2)
- massive army
* friendship with Serbia
What were Russia’s weaknesses in 1914? (2)
- not industrial
* weakened by defeat from Japan in 1904
How big was Germany’s empire in 1914?
15 million people
Why did Britain want splendid isolation?
Wanted to focus on expansion of the empire rather than getting involved in European rivalry.
Why did Britain come out of splendid isolation?
To try and stop Germany from threatening their position as the most powerful empire in the world.
What were the Kaiser’s main priorities? (2)
- ’place in the sun’
* wanted a powerful empire and navy to rival Britain’s
What was the Kaiser’s foreign policy?
Weltpolitik was the imperialist foreign policy adopted by the Kaiser. The aim was to transform Germany into a global power.
What kind of character was Kaiser Wilhelm 2? (3)
- unstable and unpredictable, very rash
- very ambitious
- unhappy childhood meant that he couldn’t interact with people well
Why did Germany want a big navy?
To protect their growing empire- led Britain to believe they were going to invade/ threaten their empire.
What is a dreadnought?
A new kind of British warship, made to strengthen their navy against Germany’s.
Features of a dreadnought. (4)
- thick army plating
- fast turbine engines
- long range guns
- rotating guns
When did Britain make the first dreadnought?
1906
What was Britain’s initial attempt to limit German naval expansion?
Offered an agreement with Germany in 1900 about naval expansion but Germany refused- tension.
How many dreadnoughts did Britain have in 1914?
29
How many dreadnoughts did Germany have in 1914?
17
Why did European rearmament increase the likelihood of war?
Made other countries nervous- who would attack first?
Who’s army had expanded the most by 1914?
Germany
Who was in charge of Germany’s navy?
Admiral Von Turpitz
What was Germany’s plan for war called?
The Schlieffen Plan
What did the Schlieffen Plan involve?
Take France by surprise by invading through neutral Belgium, defeat France in 6 weeks, double back to fight Russia.
Why did Germany think they could defeat France in 6 weeks?
They had done it before in the Franco-Prussian war.
What was Britain’s plan for war?
Create a small but strong military force (BEF) to aid France if they were attacked.
How many soldiers were in the BEF?
150,000
What was France’s plan for war called?
Plan 17
What did Plan 17 involve?
Attack Germany through Alsace-Lorraine and force them to surrender.
What was France’s army like in 1914?
Large and well-equipped.
What was Austria-Hungary’s plan for war?
Relied on the success of the Schlieffen Plan, wanted to fight alongside Germany.
What was Russia’s plan for war?
Overwhelm the German and Austrian armies with their millions of soldiers.
What was Russia’s army like in 1914?
Biggest in Europe but badly equipped and organised.
What was the point of the Schlieffen Plan?
So that Germany could avoid fighting on two fronts.
How long did Germany think it would take Russia to mobilise its army?
10 weeks
When was the First Moroccan Crisis?
1905-1906
When was the Second Moroccan Crisis?
1911
What were the events of the First Moroccan Crisis?
- France wanted control of Morocco
- Kaiser made a speech supporting Morocco’s independence
- Kaiser’s views were rejected at a conference in Algeciras
What were the consequences of the First Moroccan Crisis? (4)
- Triple Entente was completed the year after (1907)
- Kaiser concerned about how strongly Britain backed France- encirclement
- increased tension in Europe
- Kaiser humiliated
What was ‘the Panther’?
A battle ship sent to Agadir by the Kaiser in 1911.
What were the events of the Second Moroccan Crisis?
- Kaiser sent ‘the Panther’ to Agadir
- B and F got worried that he would try to set up a naval base
- another conference, Kaiser was given some land as compensation
What were the consequences of the Second Moroccan Crisis? (3)
- Kaiser humiliated again
- increased tension
- sped up battle plans -parliament started debating about readiness for war
When was the Bosnian Crisis?
1908
What does annex mean?
To take over
What were the events of the Bosnian Crisis?
- A-H annexed Bosnia unannounced
- Serbia is mad, appeals to Russia who call a conference
- A-H refuse to attend and are backed by Germany
- Germany intimidates Russia into backing down
Why was Serbia mad when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia?
They wanted to take over Bosnia to create a ‘Greater Serbia’ and unite the Slavs.
Why did Russia have a close connection with Serbia?
They were both Slavs.
Why did Russia submit to Germany after the Bosnian Crisis?
They weren’t ready for war, Germany was more powerful
What were the consequences of the Bosnian Crisis? (4)
- Russia is humiliated so starts making war plans
- A-H confident about Germany’s support
- Triple Entente are brought closer
- increased tension
Who was Archduke Franz Ferdinand?
The heir to the Austrian throne
When was the assassination?
28th June, 1914
Where did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand happen?
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Who killed Franz Ferdinand?
Gravrilo Princip
What was the name of the terrorist group involved in the assassination?
The Black Hand
Where were the terrorists from who assassinated Franz Ferdinand?
Bosnia but were trained and given weapons by Serbia.
Why did the assassination happen?
The Serbs and the Bosnians were mad at A-H for the Bosnian Crisis in 1908.
How did chance play a part in the assassination?
First attempt failed, the planned route was changed, driver got lost and happened to pass the cafe that Princip was in.
What did A-H send to Serbia after the assassination?
A 10 point ultimatum.
When did A-H send Serbia the ultimatum?
23rd July 1914
What was Serbia’s response to the ultimatum?
They accepted all but one point because they were keen to avoid war but they were unwilling to accept Austrian interference in the justice system.
Who was the first to declare war?
Austria-Hungary on Serbia.
When did Austria-Hungary declare war on Serbia?
28th July 1914
When did Russia mobilise its army?
30th July 1914
When did Germany declare war on Russia?
1st August 1914
When was Belgium declared a neutral country?
1839
When did Germany invade Belgium?
4th August 1914
When did Britain declare war on Germany?
4th August 1914
When did Austria-Hungary declare war on Russia?
6th August 1914
Why did A-H declare war on Serbia?
They didn’t accept all demands of the ultimatum.
Why did Russia mobilise its army after the first declaration of war?
Supported Serbia (both Slavs)
Why did Germany declare war on Russia?
Supported Austria-Hungary.
Why did Germany invade Belgium?
The Schlieffen Plan, take France by surprise by invading through neutral Belgium.
Why did Britain declare war on Germany?
Germany violated Belgium’s neutrality.
What is the order of the declarations of war? (7)
- A-H on Serbia
- Germany on Russia
- Germany on France
- Germany on Belgium
- Britain on Germany
- France on Germany
- A-H on Russia
When did Germany declare war on France?
3rd August 1914
When did Germany declare war on Belgium?
4th August 1914
When did France declare war on Germany?
5th August 1914
When did Germany start making dreadnoughts?
1908
