Chapter 25: War and revolution Flashcards
What caused the outbreak of WW1?
No certain cause, multiple things combined caused international tensions - growing competition over colonies
- World markets
- Belligerent arms race
- Series of diplomatic crises
Growing international conflict - Germany-Prussia until 1890
European statesmen failed to resolve diplomatic problems - Germany’s rise to Great Power status
- Franco Prussian war and unification of Germany opened a new era in international relations
- 1871: wars end, France was defeated and Bismarck made Prussia
Germany very powerful
- Germany wanted to preserve peace
- Bismarck worried about France diplomatically isolated and without allies, and threat to peace of Austria-Hungary and Russia
1871 - late 1880s: Bismarck maintained German leadership + signed defensive allies with Austria-Hungary and Russia designed to isolate France
1890: William II dismissed Bismarck, disagreed with friendly policy toward Russia
The Triple Alliance
The Triple Alliance of Austria, Germany, and Italy faced an increasingly hostile Dual Alliance of Russia and France, and the German general staff began secret preparations for a war on two fronts
- As rivalries deepened on the continent, Great Britain’s foreign policy became increasingly crucial
British relations after 1891
After 1981: BUK = uncommitted Great Power
the good relations that had prevailed between Prussia and UK since the mid-18th = Anglo- German rivalry
- Commercial rivalry Germany-UK increased in 1890s (Germany became a great industrial power)
- Germany’s ambitious pursuit of colonies further threatened British interests Germany’s decision in 1900 to expand significantly its battle fleet posed a challenge to Britain’s long-standing naval supremacy.
- British leaders prudently shored up their exposed global position with alliances and agreements. Britain improved its often-strained relations with the United States, concluded an alliance with Japan in 1902, and allied with France in the Anglo-French Entente of 1904, which settled all outstanding colonial disputes between Britain and France.
Moroccan situation form 1905
After 1981: Britain was the only uncommitted Great Power
the good relations that had prevailed between Prussia and Great Britain since the mid-eighteenth century gave way to a bitter Anglo- German rivalry.
- Commercial rivalry in world markets between Germany and Great Britain increased sharply in the 1890s, as Germany became a great industrial power
- Germany’s ambitious pursuit of colonies further threatened British interests Germany’s decision in 1900 to expand significantly its battle fleet posed a challenge to Britain’s long-standing naval supremacy.
- British leaders prudently shored up their exposed global position with alliances and agreements. Britain improved its often-strained relations with the United States, concluded an alliance with Japan in 1902, and allied with France in the Anglo-French Entente of 1904, which settled all outstanding colonial disputes between Britain and France.
After 1907
1907: Russia agreed to settle its quarrels with Great Britain in Persia and Central Asia and signed the Anglo-Russian Agreement.
- laid the foundation of the Triple Entente: Britain, Russia and France International tensions increased when Germany decided to expand its navy - british leaders saw this as a military challenge that forced them to spend
their ‘peoples budget’ on battleships
The leading nations of Europe were divided into two hostile camps, both ill- prepared to deal with the worsening situation in the Balkans.
- Britain, France, and Russia — the Triple Entente — were in direct opposition to the German-led Triple Alliance.
- confirmed the failure of all European leaders to incorporate Bismarck’s
mighty empire permanently and peacefully into the international system.
By 1914 many believed that war was inevitable
The mood of 1914
Germany was known for its army
Politicians relied on general and military experts to help shape public policy Great powers prepared for battle
If they expected war, they thought it was going to be over quickly
Growing sense of nationalism
- drove the arms race
In Great Britain, leaders faced civil war in Northern Ireland and a vocal and increasingly radical women’s movement. In Russia, defeat in the Russo- Japanese War (1904–1905) and the revolution of 1905 had greatly weakened support for the tsarist regime. In Germany, the victory of the Marxist Social Democratic Party in the parliamentary elections of 1912 led government authorities to worry that the country was falling apart. The French likewise faced difficult labor and budget problems.
The outbreak of war
June 28th 1914: Serbian revolutionaries assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne
- Gavrilo Princip
- Led Europe into war
In the early years of the 20th centuries, war in the Balkans seemed inevitable
- reason: between 1900 and 1914 the Western powers had successfully forced the Ottoman rulers to give up their European territories. Serbs, Bulgarians, Albanians, and others now sought to establish independent nation-states, and the ethnic nationalism inspired by these changing state boundaries was destroying the Ottoman Empire and threatening Austria- Hungary.
Early 20th century
nationalism in southeastern Europe was on the rise
- Serbia wanted to form an independent state that would openly hostile to
Austria Hungary and the ottoman empire
1908
Austria annexed the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The tensions in the Balkans soon erupted into regional warfare.
- In the First Balkan War (1912), Serbia joined Greece and Bulgaria to attack the Ottoman Empire and then quarreled with Bulgaria over the spoils of victory.
- In the Second Balkan War (1913), Bulgaria attacked its former allies.
Austria intervened and forced Serbia to give up Albania.
the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand instigated a five-week period of intense diplomatic activity that culminated in world war.
- leaders of Austria-Hungary concluded that Serbia was implicated in the assassination and deserved severe punishment.
23rd July
Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an unconditional ultimatum that would violate Serbian sovereignty
28th July
War declared on Serbia to stem the rising of hostile nationalism within its borders
Emperor William II and his chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg realized that war between Austria and Russia was likely, for a resurgent Russia would not stand by and watch the Austrians crush the Serbs
- germany promsied that they would faithfully stand by its ally in case of war
29th July
Tsar Nicholas II declared war on the empire and Germany
3rd August: German armies invaded Belgium. Great Britain declared war on Germany the following day.
Waging total war - How did the first world war differ from previous wars?
Lengthy and deadly battles, national economies geared toward war effort Governments revoked civil liberties
Stalemate and slaughter on the western front
6th September
French attacked a gap in the German line at the battle of the Marne
- they gave its all and France was saved
