Origins of the First world War 2.1 Introduction Flashcards
Triggers - assassination, expansion, curtailment
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo, 28th June 1914 by Gavrilo Princip - ‘a trigger for a war that had been anticipated by many for some years’ - Annika Mombaurr OU
Princip was a Bosnian Serb (a citizen of the Austro Hungarian empire) , his assassination an act of Serb defiance against the Austro-Hungarian Empire that they saw as suppressing Serb aspirations
Serbia landlocked, therefore point of Balkan War 1912-13 was to invade and occupy Albania in 1913 and obtain access to the sea. Serbia would have promoted war had it not been left isolated by Russia or other powers and forced to withdraw
Austrian diplomats believe the differences between Austria and Serbia irreconcilable and ask for/obtain German support
Austria wanted revenge for the assassination - Fischer comments that ‘war fever swept over the Ballhausplatz (seat of government and where the foreign ministry was located)’
Triggers 2 Colonial Rivalry - Morocco, naval, Alsace
France attempts expansion in North Africa without consulting other great powers but is given a consensus in 1906 as a result of treaty
Germany responds by creating two Moroccan crises in 1905/6 and 1911 The gunboat Panther, though 1911 seen as a distraction to the fact that the German economy was unstable, a run on Gold - draws France and Britain nearer not further apart
British and German naval rivalry creates tensions
Annexation of Alsace and parts of Lorraine in 1871 by Prussia is a constant thorn in France’s side
Triggers 3 Russia defeat, Austrian Suspicions
Russia defeated by Japan in 1905 (meant as a distraction against internal unrest)
Austria suspicious of Slavic (Serbian) expansion via Russian backers, territorial disputes with Italy over South Tyrol
Mood of Europe ‘increasingly warlike’ - Historians Joll and Martel, creates an underlying expectation and acceptance that war will happen
Many politicians at the beginning of the century see War as a legitimate way to prosecute claim in this era if diplomacy has failed, populations knew who they were fighting (for alleged defensive reasons) and fought willingly
Number of times revised
16/5, 23/5, 5/6
