Origins of WW1 Flashcards
How many British soldiers could be mobilised at any one time in:
a) 1900
b) 1910
c) 1914
a) 0.5 million
b) 0.5 million
c) 0.4 million
What was Kaiser Wilhelm’s main aim in his foreign policy?
Weltpolitik
- to make Germany the greatest nation in the world
- wanted to give Germany a ‘place in the sun’
How many French soldiers could be mobilised at any one time in:
a) 1900
b) 1910
c) 1914
a) 0.7 million
b) 0.8 million
c) 1 million
How many Russian soldiers could be mobilised at any one time in:
a) 1900
b) 1910
c) 1914
a) 1.1 million
b) 1.3 million
c) 1.5 million
How many Austro-Hungarian soldiers could be mobilised at any one time in:
a) 1900
b) 1910
c) 1914
a) 0.25 million
b) 0.3 million
c) 0.48 million
How many German soldiers could be mobilised at any one time in:
a) 1900
b) 1910
c) 1914
a) 0.5 million
b) 0.7 million
c) 0.8 million
How many Italian soldiers could be mobilised at any one time in:
a) 1900
b) 1910
c) 1914
a) 0.25 million
b) 0.3 million
c) 0.35 million
What was the population of British overseas colonies?
390 million
What were the French reparations after the Franco-Prussian war
£200 million
How many dreadnoughts did Britain have by 1914?
29
How many dreadnoughts did Germany have by 1914?
17
In 1909, how many dreadnoughts were in
a) Britain
b) Germany
a) 8
b) 9
Why was the production of dreadnoughts a disadvantage for Britain?
It made all previous battleships obsolete.
The older battleships were no match for the speed and firepower of dreadnoughts
What were older ships refereed to in Germany and why?
Fünf minuten because it was estimated that they would only last five minutes if faced by a dreadnought
What happened to the reichsbank in 1911?
Lost 1/5 of gold reserves in a month
Germany experienced financial turmoil as their stock market crashed by 30% in one day (agadir)
How many members did the black hand have in
1) 1911
2) 1914
1) 10
2) 2500
What were Austria-Hungary’s aims in the Balkans?
They were concerned about the success of Serbia and were looking for an excuse to defeat it and prevent the break up of the Austro-Hungarian empire
Anti Panslavic
What were Serbia’s aims in the Balkans?
They believed in panslavism and the creation of a greater Serbia.
They saw the Balkan wars as the first step towards this, and Bosnia was seen by many as the first area of expansion
What was the stated aim of the black hand?
“To realise the national ideal, the unification of all Serbs. This organisation prefers terrorist action to cultural activities; it will therefore remain secret”
Give an example of an Austro-Hungarian official who helped to turn the assassination into an excuse for war
Conrad Von Hötzendorf (leader of war party and close friend of archduke franz Ferdinand.
Between the beginning of 1913 and June 1914, Conrad had proposed war against Serbia 25 times
What happened in Morocco in 1905-06?
Morocco was one of the few African areas that was not under European control
Both France and Germany wanted morocco
• Germany for weltpolitik
• Entente Cordialle - Britain would not oppose French action in Morocco
1905 - Kaiser visited Tangier, Morocco. He overplayed his part by riding in on a white horse accompanied by a military band of Moroccan troops.
He announced that Germany supported an independent Morocco and ordered an international conference (to prevent French control)
1906:
Conference at Algeçiras in Spain
•AH and Morocco supported Germany
•Britain and Russia supported France
France to recognise independence of Morocco but was given joint control with Spain of the Moroccan police
What were the consequences of the first Moroccan crisis?
- Led to Anglo-Russian agreement the following year
- Strengthened Entente
- Led to second Moroccan crisis
- Increased tension
Describe the events of the Bosnian crisis
- Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia
- Serbia furious since they wanted to unite all Slavs in greater Serbia so appealed to Russia for help
- Russia called for an international conference
- Austria-Hungary refused to attend and were fully backed by Germany
- Russia had to back down as it was no match for German forces
What were the consequences of the Bosnian crisis
- Serbia furious with Austria-Hungary after being forced to accept Bosnian annexation and wanted revenge
- Russia humiliated and unlikely to back down again
- Military improvements in Russia
- Austria-Hungary felt powerful because Germany were now fully committed to supporting Austro-Hungarian policy in the Balkans
•Italy less keen on alliance
-didn’t like Austria-Hungary in the Balkans
•Russia drew closer to Britain and France
Describe the events of the second Moroccan crisis
21st May 1911 - French relief forces reach fez and it is occupied soon after
• Kaiser sent gunboat (Panther) to Moroccan port of Agadir in order to force French to agree to compensation in the form of the French Congo in Central Africa
• Britain and France saw this as a military threat - Germany trying to build a naval base in Morocco
• Lloyd George (Chancellor of the Exchequer) made a speech in mansion house, London, where he warned that Britain would back the French, by war if necessary.
-Britain’s fleet even prepared for war
• Germany backed down to avoid risk of war
What was the term of the Triple alliance?
Defensive alliance with all 3 powers agreeing to support each other if one of them was attacked by 2 or more powers
What were the consequences of the second Moroccan crisis?
• France established a full protectorate over Morocco
(30th March 1911)
- Anglo-French naval agreement, which effectively ended the ‘Entente Cordialle’
- Increased naval rivalry between Britain and Germany
- Germany had been humiliated again
- unlikely to back down a third time
- public support for war
• Italy opposed Germany over this issue
-weakens Triple Alliance
Why did France and Russia form an alliance in 1894? (4)
- Kaiser Wilhelm made it clear that he did not favour close relations with Russia
- Both powers were beginning to feel threatened
- France wanted revenge after Franco-Prussian war
- Russia was in need of a loan to develop her economy
What was the nature of the Franco-Russian alliance of 1894?
Defensive
Both countries agreed to support each other if attacked by Germany or Austria-Hungary
Why did France and Britain sign the Entente Cordiale?
• Britain felt increasingly threatened
- especially as Germany had declined to sign an agreement in the years 1900-02 limiting naval expansion
- instead, Germany was increasing it’s navy
- France wanted revenge over loss of Alsace and Lorraine
- Both powers wanted to expand their empires
What was agreed in the Entente Cordiale?
France allowed Britain to go ahead with reforms in Egypt
Britain promised not to oppose French action in Morocco
Why was the Anglo-Russian agreement signed?
After the first Moroccan crisis, Russia and Britain felt closer since they had both supported France
Signed as a way of solving colonial disputes, primarily in Tibet and Persia
Strengthened after Bosnia