Origins of WW1

Origins of WW1

The Alliance system
1. The Triple alliance
  1. 1882
  2. Germany, A-H, Italy
  3. Defensive
  4. Started as the Dual alliance, then Italy joined
2. The Triple Entente
  1. Britain, France, Russia
  2. Franco-Russian Dual Alliance-1894
  3. The Entente Cordiale-1904
  4. The Anglo-Russian Entente-1907
Kaiser Wilhelm II aims
1. Expand Germany's Empire
  1. 'A place in the sun'
2. Build up the German Navy
  1. Threaten British naval supremacy
3. Challenge the Entente Cordiale
  1. By interfering with French interests in Morocco
The Moroccan Crises
1. 1905-06
  1. Kaiser visited the Moroccan port of Tangiers where he made a speech declaring that Morocco should stay independent of France
    1. France (supported by Britain) refused to back down but agreed to an international conference to discuss the future of Morocco
      1. Conference took place in Spain in 1906- was a disaster for the Kaiser
        Only A-H supported him and B&F fully supported each other
  2. Effects on the Alliances
    1. France was given a free hand in Morocco and was grateful to Britain
    2. Kaiser's interference has backfired for him- just strengthened relations between B&F
    3. Anglo-German rivalry increased- Kaiser blamed Britain for his humiliating defeat
2. 1911
  1. The French had finally occupied Fez in Morocco
    1. The Kaiser sent a gunboat (The Panther) to the Moroccan port of Agadir in order to force the French to agree to compensation in the form of the French Congo in Africa
      1. B&F both thought Wilhelm was trying to set up a Naval base in Morocco so supported each other
        LLoyd George made a speech at Mansion House in London in which he directly warned Germany that Britain would back the French , by war if necessary
        Britain's fleet was prepared for war so Germany backed down to avoid war
  2. Effects
    1. Increased tension in Europe
    2. Strengthened the Anglo-French Entente due to British support of the French
    3. The Kaiser had suffered another humiliating defeat and was now unlikely to back down 3rd time
    4. Increased Anglo-German rivalry
      1. Kaiser had blamed Britain again for his defeat
The Bosnian Crisis
1. In 1908, A-H annexed Bosnia and Hertzegovina
  1. The Serbians were furious because they had hoped to make Bosnia part of a greater Serbian State
    1. They appealed to Russia for help
      1. Russia called for an international conference to discuss the annexation
        A-H refused to attend and was fully backed by Germany . Germany demanded that Russia accept the annexation
        Russia had to back down because they could not match Germany's army
2. Increased tension between the Great Powers
  1. Serbia was furious with A-H. It wanted revenge and the return of Bosnia
  2. Russia was humiliated but now unlikely to back down in another crisis
  3. Germany was now fully committed to supporting A-H in the Balkans, even if it led to war
  4. Russia drew even closer to B&F
3. 1908-09
The Arms Race
1. Military
  1. Every major power in Europe (Except Britain) had introduced conscription
    1. Huge armies
  2. European powers more than doubled their spending money on weapons
  3. Increased tension
  4. Made war more likely- as weapons increased, confidence also increased
2. Naval
  1. Competition between Britain and Germany- 1900-14
  2. Navy was vital to Britain to protect its Empire, prevent invasion and stay a great power
  3. Dreadnought battleship
Aims of A-H and Serbia in the Balkans
1. Austria-Hungary
  1. Felt increasingly threatened by Serbian Nationalism
  2. Worried Serbs within its Empire would want to be a part of a greater Serbia, which might lead to a break up of the Austro- Hungarian Empire
  3. A-H, fully supported by Germany, became determined to crush Serbia
2. Serbia
  1. Serbia wanted to unite all Serbs living in South-East Europe into an enlarged state of Greater Serbia and was supported by Russia
    1. Russia regarded herself as 'protector of all Slavs'
Responsibility for the outbreak of war
1. FRANCE
  1. Determined to get revenge on Germany, regaining the lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and expanding into Morocco
2. RUSSIA
  1. The Tsar fully supported Serbia and its attempts to create a Greater Serbia. Russia began mobilising on the 30th July
3. BRITAIN
  1. Took part in the Naval Race against Germany, supported France during the Moroccan crises and declared war on Germany after the invasion of Belgium
4. GERMANY
  1. Wilhelm II followed a policy of Weltpolitik, threatened Britain with the build up of its Navy,challenged French during the Moroccan crises and fully backed A-H in 1908 and 1914
5. A-H
  1. The Austro-Hungarian Government was determined to crush Serbia. It annexed Bosnia in 1908 and declared war on Serbia in July following Serbia's acceptance of 9/10 points of the ultimatum
6. SERBIA
  1. Determined to create a Greater Serbia that threatened A-H Empire. It challenged the A-H annexation of Bosnia in 1908. The black Hand Gang was set up in Serbia and assassinated Franz Ferdinand
The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo- 1914
1. 28th June
2. Archduke and his wife were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip
  1. A member of the Black Hand Gang
3. A-H was furious and blamed all Serbs
4. Fully backed by the Kaiser, on 23rd July, A-H sent an ultimatum to Serbia, which it knew the Serbs would reject
  1. Included 10 demands that meant the virtual end of Serbian independence
5. The Serbs accepted all but one
  1. A-H, determined on revenge, declared war on Serbia on 28th July 1914
Events Leading to war
1. 28th July
  1. A-H declares war on Serbia
2. 30th July
  1. Russia moves its armed forces to help Serbia. Germany warns Russia to stop mobilising. Russia ignores.
3. 1st August
  1. Germany declares war on Russia and warns France to remain neutral. Italy declares that it will remain neutral
4. 2nd August
  1. France begins to mobilise its armed forces
5. 3rd August
  1. Germany declares war on France
6. 4th August
  1. Germany invades Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan. Britain declares war on Germany
The Schlieffen Plan
1. Because of the Alliance System, Germany believed it might have to fight a war on 2 fronts
2. The head of teh German army, Von Schlieffen, devised a plan to overcome the problem
3. Effect on outbreak of war
  1. German invasion of Belgium brought Britain onto the war
  2. Would have been difficult to persuade British Public of going to war just due to relations with France
  3. Belgium neutrality had been guaranteed by the Great Powers in he 1839 Treaty of London which the kaiser described as a scrap of paper
  4. The British people were shocked by German aggression against a small nation
4. The German army was to sweep through Belgium and defeat France in the first few weeks of war
  1. This would then allow the German army to move to the Eastern front to defeat the Russians
    1. Had to be quick so the Russians could mobilise

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