Topic 1 - Origins of the First World War Flashcards
Who was in the Triple Alliance
German, Austria Hungry, Italy
When was the Triple Alliance signed
1882
Why did Germany want to sign the triple alliance
- Germany wanted alliances to protect themselves
- After the franco-prussian war, they were scared France would seek revenge
What is the triple alliance also known as
Central Powers
What were the effects of the Triple Alliance:
- Increased suspicion
What is Splendid Isolation
- Where Britain believed they didn’t need an other countries involved in their empire
- They didn’t want to risk losing land
What was the three power standard
Britain aimed for their navy to be at least as big as the next three largest Navy’s combined
When was the three power standard made
1902
Why did Britain begin to emerge from splendid isolation
- After seeing German build up their army, Britain began to get worried, even though Britain had the strongest army
Who was involved in the Triple Entente
France
Britain
Russia
What was the France- Russian Alliance
- France loaned money from Russia
- France needed an ally to gain revenge against Germany and get back Alsace Lorraine
When was the Triple Entente formed?
1904 - 1906
What was the Entente Cordiale?
- France agreed not to oppose Britain in Egypt
- Britain agreed not to oppose France in morocco
What was the Anglo-Russian agreement?
- Russia and Britain both supported France
- It was encouraged by France
When was the Entente Cordiale agreed?
1904
When was the Anglo-Russian Agreement agreed?
1907
Define ‘Welkpolitik’
- Means World Policy
- Kaiser Wilhelm’s desire to be a major player in world affairs
What is it meant by a Place in the sun?
- Kaiser wanted to expand his empire by looking for east
- This threatened the British Empire
What made Britain feel threatened
- Wilhelm’s decision to build up Germany’s Navy
What was the Anglo-German Naval Rivalry?
Britain and Germany where in competition to have the biggest Navy
Why did Kaiser take part in the Anglo-German Naval Rivalry?
- He was jealous of their Empire and Power
When was the first dreadnought launched by Britain?
1906
Features of the first Dreadnought:
- Faster
- Longer range
- Thought it would only last 10 mins
What happened in 1909 (Naval Rivalry)
Britain noticed Germany were building up their army and felt threatened
What happened in 1911 (Naval Rivalry)
- Britain had 29 Dreadnoughts
- Germany had 17 Dreadnoughts
- Germany still did not realize they were a threat
When was the first Moroccan Crisis
1905
What happened at the first Moroccan Crisis
- Kaiser went to visit tangier in Morocco to say he supported independence, hoping this would break the alliance of Britain and France
What happened in 1906 after the first Moroccan Crisis
- Kaiser held an international conference saying he wanted to stop France ocupying morocco
- No one agreed with him
What happened in the Bosnian Crisis
- Austria Hungry anexed Bosnia
- This angered Serbia and they seekes help from Russia
- Russia called an international conference
- Russia agreed with Serbia but their army was no match for German forces
Why did the Bosnian crisis anger Serbia
Serbia wanted all Balkan countries to join together to make a stronger Nation
When was the Bosnian Crisis
1908-1909
When was the second Moroccan Crisis
1911
What is another name given to the second Moroccan Crisis
The Agadir crisis
What happened in the second Moroccan Crisis
- French occupied Fez (in morocco)
- Germany believed they were trying to occupy morocco
- Kaiser sent in a gun ship (The panther) to Agadir
- Britain were ready for war and Germany backed down
- Germany were given Land in Africa but felt humiliated
What did Germany expect to happen in the Moroccan crisis
- France to negotiate a deal
- Britain to ignore actions
- The alliance of Britain and France would break
How did the 1st Moroccan Crisis effect the alliances?
- The entente cordial was strengthened
- Britain began secret military peace talks
How did the Bosnian Crisis effect the alliances?
- Lead to tension between the triple alliance
- Italy become less keen on triple alliance
- Triple Entente was strengthened
How did the Agadir crisis affect the alliances?
- Italy opposed Germany which weakened triple alliance
Austria Hungary aims at the Balkans:
- An excuse to defeat Serbia (worried serbia was getting too powerful)
- Prevent breakup of their empire
Serbia’s aims at the Balkans:
- Wanted to create a ‘Greater Serbia’ by joining itself to Bosnia
What was the Black Hand?
- A terrorist organisation set up in 1911 in Serbia
- By 1914 had 2500 members
- Supported a greater serbia
What happened at the assassination in Sarajevo?
28th June 1914:
- Attempted assasination with grenede failed
- Gavrilo Princip assassinated Arch Duke and his wife
Why Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination by
- Only 120 police to cover 6km journey
- Driver made a wrong turn
- The parade continued after first attempt
What was the Schlieffen Plan?
Germany’s plan to fight the war on two fronts:
- Germany would sweep through Belgium and defeat France in the first few weeks of the war
- Then would move their troops to the eastern front to defeat Russia
Key events leading to the war:
- Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
- Austria blame Serbia for assassination and declare war
- Russia get army ready to help Serbia
- Germany demand Russia to hold back, and then declare war on them
- Germany move army towards France
- Germany declare war on France, moving through Belgium
- Britain declare war on Germany, when they done withdraw from Belgium
- Austria declare war on Russia
Why did Britain defend Belgium
treaty on London meant Britain had to support Belgium’s independence
