causes and effects of 20th century wars: first world war Flashcards
why did countries want an empire?
prestige
resources
trade
power
‘civilising mission’
~~~
who held colonies of Africa in 1914
Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Italy
when was the Moroccan crisis
1905-11
what was the moroccan crisis
britain and france had a deal where britain would stay away from french interests in morocco, in return for france keeping clear of british interests in Egypt.
in 1905 the German Kaiser promised the Moroccan sultan that he would help them against a french invasion or takeover.
when the french sent in troops against a moroccan uprising in 1911, and in reality, became part of the french empire, germany protested but was made to back down by britain and france.
who was the german kaiser in 1905
a series of agreements between france and england, almost against germany and it’s plans for territory.
who was Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz
a prussian general and philosopher of war
what was the triple entente
an informal alliance between russia, britain, ireland and france
what were the main european empires before WW1
the austro-hungarian empire british empire french empire german empire russian empire ottoman empire
why was this a global war and not a european war
each country had an empire which stretched across the world (e.g. britain controlled australia) which made it easy for them to have access to troops and mobolise them in other countries.
when did germany take alsace-lorraine from france
in 1871
what did japan and russia clash over in 1904
manchuria and teritory in northern china
when was the scramble for africa
1870s
what mainly led to the Boer War
britain wanting to control the wealth of south africa, and led to a conflcit in 1899 with the independent dutch speaking states in the region
how did the french feel about the loss of alsace lorraine
it had valuable natural resources and they felt humiliated by being ruled by germany
why did austria invade serbia and how did this act as a trigger for world war one
because austria felt serbia was a threat to its empire. economic growth in austrai had created more powerful weapons and armies, which led to heightened feelings of national power and pride
european powers after 1870
they increased: the size of their armies the sophistication of weapons technology used developed transportation more railways could carry greater numbers of troops every country had detailed war plans
what changed in european society after 1870
patriotism, nationalsim and imperialism
longer periods of conscription
praise for miltiary values in schools
military parades and naval days
press praised military virtues
~~~
what is mobilisation
putting armed forces on a war footing (calling up reserves and organising trains and transport to move troops to the battlefront). once this was underway, it was hard to stop and was seen as a declaration of war. politcal leaders were also aware that detailed war plans were of importance, and this made conflict a distinct option and risk worth taking. (desentisation etc)
factors that contributed to the build up of tensions
imperial rivalry
economic pressure
militarism
nationalism
what were the two sides that emerged in 1914
the triple alliance: austria, germany and italy
the triple entente: france, russia and britain
when did the first agreement between austria and germany come out and how
- germany wanted an alliance against france, which wanted revenge for its defeat in 1871. italy joined in 1992 because it was anti-french at that point.
alliances from 1879 to 1904/07
germany wanted an alliance against france, which wanted revenge for its defeat in 1871. . initally, germany had an alliance with russia, but was discared wwhen kaiser willhem II came to the throne in 1888. france then managed to get an alliance with russia in 1894, and both countries made agreements with britain over colonial possesions.
causes of the great war: imperialism
countries in direct competition for resources
patriotism building
mobilisation and empires lead to larger threats
defence against invasion
causes of the great war: alliances
empires vs empires
empires also controlled the countries within them
competitiveness between empires
causes of the great war: militarism
germany builds up navy which threatens britain’s two-navy rule/ideal. this meant britain consequently tried to increase theirs, and a rivalry developed.
detailed war plans normalized and desentised leaders to the idea of war
mobilisation threatened other leaders.
when was the breakup of the ottoman emprie
1908-1922
when were the balkan wars
1912-13
what is attrition
the process of wearing down the enemy by steady killing
when was the dual alliance
1879
when was the triple alliance
1882
what was the dual alliacne
germany and austria-hungary made an alliance to protect themselves from russia
when was the franco-russian alliance
1894
what was the triple alliance
germany and austria hungary made an alliance with italy to stop italy from taking sides with russia
what was the franco-russian alliance
russia formed an alliance with france to protect itself against germany and austria hungary. france also sought an alliance aginst germany
when was the entente cordiale
1904
when was the angol-russian entente
1907
what was the anglo-russian entente
this was an agreement between britain and russia about spheres of influence in asia
what was the triple entente (formation)
the entente cordiale adn the anglo russian entente made it seem that there was a friendship between france, russia and britain, the triple entente.
when was the triple entente
1914
what was the triple entente (reality)
britain, france and russia agreed not to sign for peace seperately.
when was britains alliance with japan
1902 treaty, promising mutual assistance if either were attacked by russia
when did austria invade serbia
1914 and the serbian defence lasted until 1918
what was the bosnian crisis
austria had occupied bosnia and herzegovina since 1878. in sept 1908, russia and austria agreed that at some point in the future, austria might offically absorb these provinces into austrian empire. in return, austria would support russias demand to move warships from the black sea into the meditteranean through the turkish straits. russia had been banned from this since 1841. in october 1908, austria annexed bosnia and herzegovina. many serbs lived in this area and were angered. austria had not kept to its side of the agreement, and russia gave support to the serbian protests. but germany backed asutria and forced russia to back down. russia was humiliated and serbia was resentful. austria were encouraged.
when was the bosnian crisis
1908
who formed the balkan league
serbia, bulgaria, greece and montenegro
when was the balkan league foremd
1912
what did the balkan league aim to do
drive the turks from europe
describe the state of the ottoman empire when the balkan league attacked it
they were distracted by an internal revolution and a war with italy over control of north africa
when were the balkan wars
1912-1913
who was unhappy after the treaty of london tried to slow down the rapid success of the league
bulgaria
what did bulgaria do after feeling cheated out of the treaty of london
declare war on greece and serbia, but they were defeated by serbia, greece, turkey and romania.
territoral changes that happened as an effect of the league
serbia expanded into kosovo and northern and central macedonia.
turkey was expelled from europe
turkeys navy was defeated by greece
austria insisted on an independent albania to restrict serbia’s access to the sea
bulgaria had been badly defeated and sought an ally in austria nd russia
major consequences of the balkan wars
austria saw serbia as a threat
russia had not directly backed serbia, but now had to in order to have good relations in the balkans
serbia resented austria and there were high nationalist feelings (due to land loss and albanian independence)
austria had approached germany for support against serbia and maybe russia.
what was the immediate trigger for the war
the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife
why did russia mobilise forces
national feeling for fellow slavs
military power and preservation
success in war would unite the country under the tsar
wanted supply route to sea through serbia
what was Franz Ferdinand relevance
heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire
where did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand take place
on a state visit to the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo
