causes ww1 Flashcards
what was the cause of the anglo-german naval race?
Britain was concerned germany had overtaken her to become the worlds largest economy
Kaiser Willhelm believed that to become a world power they needed a strong away like britain
so they passed naval laws to expand germanys fleet
What happened in the anglo german naval race?
germany passed the naval laws to expand their fleet
Britain felt threatened as they were an island dependent on their royal navy, sided with france instead of morocco to prevent germany gaining a naval base there that would threaten british trade routes
so in 1906 britain launched HMS dreadnaught, a battleship so fast and heavily armed that it made others obsolete
Germany launched her own RHINELAND which started a naval race
effects of the naval race
Britain maintained an advantage, building 29 dreadnaughts to germanys 17 Rhineland
this competition increasing tension between them
what happened w alsace lorraine
france lost coal rich alsace lorraine to the newly formed nation of germany, france wanted the territory back so spent millions a year on their military
Russia was humiliated by japan so spent even more on their military
germany was scared to lose military advantage over france and russia
the armies were so large that once mobilisation began it was difficult to stop
the opposition had to move quickly in response or face immediate defeat
what was the bosnian crisis?
the balkan region was controlled by the weakening ottoman empire but sandwiched between russia and Austria Hungary who both wanted to expand into the area
with german support austria took over bosnia
this angered serbia as they had just gained independence from the titan in empire and wished to unite with bosnia
effects of the Balkan wars
in 1912 and 1913 the Balkans fought two wards over territory
Serbia won both of these wars increasing its territory by 50% and its population by 80% making them a serious threat to austrias control over bosnia
how did Archduke Franz Ferdinand get assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria decided to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia
Bosnian terrorists, The Black Hand, killed him with weapons SUPPLIED BU THE GOVERNMENT
Gavrilo Princip shot him and his pregnant wife
What were the july days
the days leading up to the war
what happened during the July days
Austria-Hungary was outraged as they rightly believed that the Serbian government aided the assassination
so they wanted the crush the Serbian threat but wanted german support in advance
Germany believed the time was right to go to war with still weak Russia and France so gave Austria an assurance of assistance
Austria issued a ten-point ultimatum which would have severely limited Serbia’s independence, they agreed to all but the 10th (to have austria hungarian police occupy Serbia)
so Austria declared war
Russia saw themself as an ally of the slavic serbia so also mobilised
so Germany declared war in russia and france
britain tried to remain neutral but declared war when german troops invaded neutral belgium
what was the schlieffen plan
made by Alfred Vin Schlieffen to avoid fighting a war on two fronts
it involved invading France through Belgium and encircling Paris before the Russians were ready to fight
the massive german army were slowed down by belgian resistance and the british did not remain neutral as germany hoped
britain was obligated to defend belgium so the British expeditionary force, a small, professional and well equipped army was sent to Belgium to slow down the german advance
A combined French and British army drive the Germans back to Paris at the battle of the Marne
the germans were forced to divide their forces to fight a war on two fronts as the russian army had mobilised too quickly
the schlieffen plan had failed
what was the race to the sea
the germans tried to cut the British expeditionary force from the channel ports which were vital in keeping them supplied
the germans failed but the BEF had now lost most of their men
what was the schleiffen plan easier
by alfred von schlieffen
bc france and russia had signed an alliance germany was concerned
germany thought the best way was the attack the french first before the russian could mobilise
this failed as the well trained and equipped BEF slowed them,
french and british troops drove germans back at the battle of the marne where the germans were forced to divide their forces to fight in two fronts as the russians had mobilised
how big were british french and german trenches
2m deep by 1.8 wide
german trenches were often bigger and more advanced
how were the trenches built
trenches were dug in a zigzag shape so enemies could shoot straight down + bomb debris hit walls
conditions
cold and wet weather
developed illnesses like trench foot because feet were submerged in dirty water
shell shock from constant artillery bombardment
treated w electric shock and hypnosis
