Causes of WWI Flashcards
Why was there a surge in nationalism after the annexation of Bosnia in 1908?
The annexation of Bosnia meant that Serbia was denied the chance of an Adriatic port by the Austrian expansion into 375 miles of predominantly Slavic territory.
More slavs were also under foreign control
What affect did the fall of the ottoman empire have on the aims of Balkan powers
It was the Balkan States who wanted to support those ethnic minorities they believed to be living under Turkish oppression
What year was the Italian attack on Tripoli
1911 - war with Turkey in 1912
Who was the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, was instrumental in forming the Balkan League
Nicholas Hartwig
When did Bulgaria and Serbia form an alliance
Spring 1912
What did Greece and Montenegro do in May 1912
Join Serbia and Bulgaria to form the Balkan League
The league only agreed on one thing …
The removal of the ottomans from the Balkans
What year and months did the various nations in the league declare war
September (Bulgaria) and October 1912
what treaty after the First balkan war failed to properly address the desires of the Balkan nations
Treaty of London 1913
When did Bulgaria launch their surprise attack on Serbia
28th June 1913
After the defeat of Bulgaria what happened to Serbia
The Treaty of Bucharest granted them significant amounts of Bulgarian land and the country doubled in size.
Consequences of the Balkan wars for Serbia
- Now the significant power in the region
- Angry at Austria-Hungary for their part in the treaty of London
- Nationalist groups such as the Black hand began to emerge
- HOWEVER Bulgaria lost hope in pan-slavism and moved towwards the control of A-H
In july 1913 the German Army reached what milestone
Largest army it had ever had
What was signed between Britain and France in 1912
Anglo-French Naval agreement - British naval protection given to France in case of German attack
What date was the assasination of AD Franz Ferdinand
28th June 1914
What was the Austrian reaction to the assassination
a personal level Emperor Franz Joseph was far from devastated by the death of his nephew; he didn’t think he was conservative enough and he disapproved of his marriage to the non-royal Sophie Chotek - Austrians, however, were appalled by the assassination
Who was pushing for an immediate invasion of serbia
Chief of Staff Conrad von Hotzendorf
The Austrians knew that Russia would support their client state so what did they do
Look for a guarantee of German support
What date was the ‘blank cheque handed to Austria
5th July
What promise did Germany make in the Blank cheque
‘Austria can rest assured that His Majesty will faithfully stand by Austria Hungary as is required by the obligations of its alliance’
By the 14th of July what had Austria decided
they would go to war but they decided to first draw up an ultimatum
When did the Austrians send the ultimatum
23rd July - it must be responded to in 48 hrs and the Serbians must agree to all terms
what are some areas of debate around the ultimatum
- the ultimatum was meant to be impossible to agree to however serbia nearly agreed to all terms due to their exhausted army this shows that war could have been easily avoided if A-H had been willing to have further negotiations
What was Russia’s response to the ultimatum
25th they promised to go to the limit in defence of Serbia - not necessarily military support
When did A-H declare war on Serbia
28th July 1914
When was Belgrade finally taken
30th Nov
When did Germany begin to mobilise
30th July - Moltke was also sending telegrams to A-H encouraging their mobilisation
When did Germany begin to mobilise
30th July - Moltke was also sending telegrams to
When did Russia begin full mobilisation
30th July
When did A-H fully mobilise
31st July
When did Germany declare war on Russia
1st August
France was committed to offering military support to Russia because of what agreement
Dual Entente
When did Germany declare war on France
3rd August 1914
In what treaty had Britain and Germany agreed to protect the neutrality of Belgium
Treaty of London 1839 - Germany had violated this by carrying out the Schlieffen plan
Edward Grey - British Foreign secretary stalled not declaring war on anyone for as long as possible what might have been different if he had shown their true loyalties
It has since been said that if Britain had stated clearly his support for
France then Germany wouldn’t have proceeded so far in its mobilisation
Britians response to the invasion of Belgium
4th August - sent an ultimatum to germany to withdraw their troops or face war
- germany ignored and war was declared the same day
A-H motives for war
- Long-held desire to crush Serbia
~ Believed lack of action would expose the decline of their empire
~ Believed full mobilisation was needed or they would be exposed to an
attack from Russia
German motives for war
~ They were initially outraged by the assassination which prompted the
‘blank cheque’
~ Military officials wanted a small-scale war against Russia before its
armies grew to large
~ Moltke was keen to show his authority in Germany
Russian motives for war
~ They were determined not to lose their title as ‘Protector of Slavs’
~ Generals asserted themselves onto Tsar and pushed for general
mobilisation
~ Concerns over the strength of the Russian army may have convinced
officials that mobilisation before the other Powers was better
France’s motives for war
~ Motivated by fear of a strong Germany and their want of revanche
~ They had to support Russia according to the terms of the Dual Alliance
~ Wanted to persuade Britain to announce support for France and Russia
in the hope it would encourage Germany to back down
Britain motives for war
~ Grey was mildly anti-German but mainly hoped to not make any
commitments
~ Lloyd George was the highest-ranking cabinet member opposed to war, however, his opposition dropped after the invasion of Belgium
~ Defence of Belgium was an excuse not an actual binding
The Coming of War, 1911-17 10
Italy initially declared its neutrality on 2nd August 1914
many felt this broke the terms of the triple alliance
Italy’s motives for war
- if they stayed neutral it was likely that they would be treated harshly post war
- they wanted Tyrol and Istria
- the British promised Italy these lands during negotiations in 1915
Treaty of London between the allies and Italy signed on 26th April 1915
When did Italy declare war?
Declared war on A-H on the 24th May 1915
why would America not want to join the war
- Public favoured isolationism
- they saw the wars as monarchies fighting it out (they didn’t like European politics
- War brought economic instability
Financial reasons for intervention
The US were trading more with the allies (Britains naval blockade)
The British were borrowing money so if the allies lost they wouldn’t get it back
Sinking of the Lusitania
7th May 1915 - sunk by german U-boat
still 2 years before declaration of war though
when was Unrestricted submarine warfare restarted
1st Feb 1917
The Zimmerman telegram
German foregin minister proposes mexico should invade the USA in retune for an alliance with the central powers
when did the US declare war
2nd April Congress voted for war
6th April the US went to war
