WW1 Flashcards
Murder in Sarajevo
28 June 1914
Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand & his wife
6 Bosnian Serb terrorists
First bomb exploded under the car behind them
Archduke wanted to visit them in the hospital
Driver took a wrong turn- encountered Princip
Central Powers/Triple Alliance
Germany Austria- Hungary Italy
1882
Dual Alliance against Russia
Triple Entente
Britain France Russia
1907
Triple Alliance (Germany)
Bismarck won a war against France and united all the states into the German empire
Took Alsace-Lorraine
Formed alliance as safety against a revenge attack
Germany ambitions/concerns
Kaiser wanted a place in the sun- Overseas empires
Wanted a large navy- 2nd to Britain
Building up a large army- but concerned abt Russias
Friendship between Russia and France was an attempt to surround and threaten Germany
Triple Alliance (Austria- Hungary)
Different ethnic groups- Czecks, Germans, Serbs etc
Wanted to be ruled by themselves
Austria-Hungary concerns
Serbia was becoming a powerful force in the Balkans
Russia, with their strong army supported the Serbs
Triple Entente (Britain)
‘Splendid isolation’
Focused on building overseas colonies
-Britain and France made agreements over colonies
-Russia was weak after Japans war
-Germany was becoming a major threat
Triple Entente (France)
Needed to protect themselves from Germany
Wanted Alsace-Lorraine back
Triple Entente (Russia)
Largest, but specialized in agriculture
Long history of rivalry with AH & Russians/Serbs were both Slavs
Concerned about Germany growing
Scarred after Japanese war
Triple Alliance (Italy)
Looking to ‘flex its muscles’
Wanted to set up colonies
Needed help against France (just lost a war over Tunisia)
Alliance promised support
Anglo-German naval rivalry
Felt threatened by Germany’s desire to expand its navy
Germany just wanted to protect its trading
Britain released its ‘Dreadknought’
Germany responded by building its own
Arms race on land
1.5 m by 1914 (Germany)
Kaiser loved being photographed in military uniforms
Held military rallies
Arms race was justified to prevent war
Schiefflen Plan
Germany would have to fight Russia and France
This plan would allow them to -
- Quickly fight and defeat France through invading Belgium
- Turn and defeat Russia because of their assumed slow mobilisation
War plans
Germany- Schiefflen
AH- Schiefflen
Russia- outweighs by numbers
France- Plan 17 (force German surrender)
Britain- BEF to help France
1905 Moroccan Crisis
French wanted to take control
Kaiser gave a speech supporting Moroccan independence
Alegaricas conference humiliation
Britain & France stuck together
1911 Moroccan Crisis
Germany sent ‘The Panther’ gunboat
Britain took this as a direct threat
Did not want German ships in the Mediterranean
Britain & France stuck together
France took control at conference
African colonies given to Germany as compensation
Balkan Instability
Different nationalities mixed together
Ruled by declining Ottoman Empire
Turkish government regularly fighting
Russia & Austria wanted to take control
Balkan Crisis of 1908
Austria annexed Bosnia region
Russia & Serbia protested
Germany showed their support
They backed down out of fear
Russia never wanted to be humiliated again
Austria got confidence that they’d always be supported
Balkan Crisis 1912-13
Local wars
Serbia emerged as a major power
Austria felt threatened
Used the Sarajevo murder as their way to deal with Serbia
British blockade
German ports blockading since 1914
5.9 billion to 0.8 billion loss in trading
Forced to slaughter 1/3 of the pigs bc no fodder to feed
300,000 malnutrition deaths
Blockade of nitrates (fertilisers)
USA involvement
Neutral
Supplying loans to Allies
Germans attacked American ships killing civilians
Germany hoped to ally with Mexico
Declared on April 1 1917
Dreikaiserbund
Germany, AH, Russia
Limit influence of France
Britain stayed isolated
Treaty of Berlin
Russia defeats Ottoman Empire
Germany doesn’t want them to have the Dardanelle sea route
Weakened Dreikaiserbund
Dual Alliance
Germany and AH
Protection against Russia
Bismarck’s system of alliances to prevent or limit war
Benevolent neutrality to the other if one of them was attacked by another European power
Franco-Russian Alliance
France and Russia
Protection against Triple Alliance
France wanted support against Germany; and Russia, against Austria-Hungary
Upset Bismarck; had to protect Germany against such a potential “two-front” threat
Weltpolitik
Germany expanded navy & army
Plan of building an empire
Scared Britain and France
Mainly supported by Bismarck
Entente Cordiale
1904 Trade agreement
Britain and France
Shocked Germany
France got Morroco
Britain got Egypt
Why was Italy neutral at the start of WW1
Would not get Italy the regions it desired
Italy- France secret agreement (support in Morocco for support in Libya & had to stay neutral if they were fighting with Germany)
Allowed them to negotiate with other countries and join whichever side was beneficial
Why did Italy join the Allies
Treaty of London- loans
Promised gains in the Balkans
Islands off AH’s coast
Hopes of an Italian empire
Demands in the Austrian ultimatum
Ban anti-Austrian propoganda
Investigation by Austrian officials
Fire anti-Austrian teachers
Removal of anti-Austrian soldiers in army
