Criterion A test #2 Flashcards
French-financed railway building and mobilization program
The French-financed railway building and mobilization program was a system that took place around 1914 during Kaiser Wilhelm II’s rule. France would help mobilize Russia by funding the expansion and development of Russia as well as the establishment of railways, important infrastructure during the time. This was important because this gave Germany an incentive to invade France- they saw war with Russia as inevitable and decided that sooner was better because if they declared war later, this would give more time for Russia to expand. They invaded France via Belgium, causing Britain to enter the war when Germany refused to back down. Several events happened between this, such as the mobilization of France and Russia. Therefore, this is important because Germany’s invasion of Belgium brought Britain into the war, making it so that all the world powers were at war with eachother. This is often attributed as the cause of WW1
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was an Austrian Archduke who was assassinated by a member of the Black Hand, a Serb- sponsored nationalist group on June 28, 1914 in Saravejo as a celebration of Serbian nationalism. He was the Heir of the Hapsburg throne and was not particularly liked despite being one of the few leaders to see the perspective of Serbs. This was important because it angered the Austrians who believed there was external invlovement- they created an ultimatum for Serbia that they knew the Serb’s couldn’t meet, giving them an excuse to go to war. Austria guaranteed Germany’s protection and in the month that they waited to attack, Russia and France mobilized, Germany invaded Belgium to get to France, causing Britain to declare war on Germany. This assassination is seen as one of the other causes for war.
Invasion of Belgium
In 1914, Germany calculated six weeks to defeat France and thus stop the funding of Russian expansion and infrastructure. To do this, they invaded Belgium and Luxembourg in what was called the Schlieffen plan. When Germans did invade Belgium a protectorate of Great Britain, Britain gave them an ultimatum which they did not follow- this caused Britain to enter the war by declaring war on Germany, and Britain already had an advantage because of its huge and powerful naval fleet.
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin lived from 1869-1916. He was originally from Serbia and was a mystic, known as “The Mad Monk”. He believed that yielding to temptation led to salvation and repentance. He offered to bless the troops early on into the war and also claimed to have a revelation that the Russian armies needed the Tsar to be successful. This was significant because the Tsar was ill-prepared, which meant Russia was weaker and a blow in the reputation of him and Russia in WW1. Under his influence, the Russian Revolution began and for the first time, he separated the Russian monarchy and aristocracy. He weakened Russia because in addition to the war, they now had domestic issues.
The First Battle of Marne
Germany’s goal is to annihilate France in just six weeks, so that France can stop funding Russian expansion and infrastructure. In September 1914, the French successfully repelled German invasion with the use of their network of railways. The German’s strategy collapses and they get pushed back to the Aisne River, where they hold their position for around four years. This is a critical turning point for the Allies and after this battle, trench warfare becomes more common.
Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s army plan for war against France and Russia. It was created in 1903 and revised in 1905 by Alfred von Schlieffen who assembled over 6,000,000 troops. Germany knew they were in danger of a 2-front war with France and Russia so to try and stop this, they gave themselves six weeks to defeat France because Russia was larger. However, Russia assembled troops much faster than Germany anticipated and France fought back much better than expected, leading to the 2-front war that essentially started WW1 which is why it was significant. It was also significant because it weakened Germany.
Dardanelles Campaign
The Dardanelles Campaign was a 1915 campaign on the Dardanelles strait, a strategic area between the Black and Mediterannean sea that was important because of the ships containing coal and oil that passed through there. Controlling this strait would mean the Russians could export crain, the British could transport munitions, there would be a backdoor for the Serbs, neutral countries could be convinced to join the allies, and the Ottoman Empire itself could be convinced to leave the Central Powers and return to neutrality. This campaign failed, resulting in thousands of British and French casualties, and a serious blow to the Allied reputation and Churchill’s reputation (he had been a supporter of the campaign for a long time)
Italy Enters the War
At the beginning of WWI, Italy was neutral. Its treasury had been drained from war against the Ottomans, and the aristocracy supported the Austrian cause. Vienna wanted to sign a pact with Germany but instead, Italy secretly signed a pact with London in April 1915. On May 1915, Italy declared war against Austria,and immediately lost a million men fighting them in the mountains. This was significant because it was a huge morale booster for the Austrians, and was a cause of discouragement and humiliation for Italy.
Motor Accident Analogy
The motor accident analogy was created by AJP Taylor. It compares WWI to a car crash, where there are several factors, major or not, that ultimately affect the outcome - this is similar to WWI, which is why it is so hard to pinpoint one exact cause for WWI- there were many other factors that are important to consider. This is important because it encourages one to look at all components of WWI before blaming a certain country/incident.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II ruled from 1888-1918. He did not actively seek war and tried to keep generals from mobilizing Germany. His campaign of colonial expansion caused Germany to struggle with France and threaten Britain with its quickly developing naval fleet. He represented militarism and ambition, two of the largest factors attributed to the start of WW1 and saw Germany’s destiny as a world power. Despite his exile, he could still make military changes. He often affected Germany’s relations with other countries based on personal errors
Essay Question
Outline:
Intro- define nationalism and imperialism
3 ways that nationalism caused WWI
Serb nationalists killed Franz Ferdinand, Austrian nationalists retaliated with anger, causing the ultimatum against Serbia- Serbs wanted to drive Austria-Hungary from the Balkans and establish a ‘Greater Serbia’, a unified state for all Slavic people.
countries encouraged nationalism because it meant more loyalty to the country so that meant no one was against the war- they all wanted it because they all believed they could win
Germany, a relatively young nation’s nationalism was backed by its militarism. Wilhelm envied Britain’s vast empire and enormous naval power and Germany relied on nationalistic propaganda- this meant that when the countries threatened Germany it responded with a willingness to fight
3 ways that imperialism caused WWI
the British had imperialistic control over most countries and came to those countries aids- so it declared war on Germany bringing its huge naval fleet in and engaging all the European world powers
The European powers fought for imperialistic power especially in Africa which led to many disputes and raised the likelihood of war- Britain, and France teamed up to stop German expansion into Africa
Imperialism made the Ottoman Empire a stronger target in that it was weakening and shrinking so powers fought for influence and power there- one of the reasons behind Dardanelles campaign and important area for countries- if you had this area you were extremely powerful
Conclusion
