History June exam

• Arms Race


  The desire for countries to increase the size and power of their military forces
• Germany's aims


  • Expand military army to be stronger than France
  • Expand navy to rival Great Britain
  • Expand the German empire
• Germany's military and imperial aims

  Can disturb the peace in Europe by threatening to steal colonies from other great powers, leading to war
• What the Kaiser will do to achieve his aims


  1. Invest more money in the military, primarily the army and navy

  2. Build larger boats with more powerful weapons to colonize the seas

  3. Recruit more people to join the army or use conscription
• Other powers' reaction to Germany's actions

  They will feel threatened and also increase their military and naval forces, leading to an arms race
• Germany's arms race


  • Military arms race with France and Russia
  • Naval arms race with Britain
• Why Germany wanted to increase the power of its navy


  To force Britain to help them gain a world empire
• Importance of the HMS Dreadnought

  It made other ships obsolete
• Why Britain had to increase the size of its navy

  They were afraid of being outmatched by Germany and wanted to protect their empire
• French and Russian reaction to Germany increasing its army

  They formed an alliance together and built up their individual armies
• How the Arms Race made war more likely

  It increased tensions between the empires, making war more likely
• Imperialism


  The desire for countries to have an empire
• Imperialism was a cause of the First World War as countries were jealous of each other's empires, creating tensions
• Examples of imperialism


  • Kaiser Wilhelm sending support to the Moroccan Sultan and Boers to threaten colonial control
  • Constant conflict and tension over expanding empires
• Nationalism


  The feeling of superiority of your country
• Nationalism was a cause of the First World War as countries wanted to prove their superiority and painted their enemy as evil
• Assassination in Sarajevo


  The short-term cause and trigger of the First World War, when Gavrilo Princip killed Franz Ferdinand
• The Great Powers of Europe in 1900


  • Great Britain and Ireland
  • French Republic
  • German Empire
  • Austro-Hungarian Empire
  • Russian Empire
  • Ottoman Empire
• Great Britain


  • Richest and most industrialised nation, most powerful navy
• France


  • Industrialised, large colonies in Africa and Asia
• Germany


  • Industrialised, growing richer, late to the race for colonies
• Austro-Hungary


  • Great scattered multi-national empire, no industrialisation, large but inefficient army
• Russia


  • Vast but inefficient empire, struggling to industrialise
• Ottoman Empire


  • Once the most powerful empire, now shrinking
• Italy


  • New nation, very underdeveloped, only just beginning to industrialise, few colonies, small but more effective army
• The Balkans


  • Group of small, unstable countries that had been part of the Turkish empire, constantly quarreling
• Militarism


  The notion that countries should increase the size and power of their military to protect and promote their interests
• Examples of militarism


  • The military arms race between France and Germany
  • The naval arms race between Britain and Germany
• The Schlieffen Plan and Plan Seventeen

  Military plans created by Germany and France to attack each other
• Alliance System


  The various alliances formed in Europe, which raised tensions and made minor conflicts more likely to escalate into larger wars as countries supported their allies
• The Alliances


  • Dual Alliance (Germany-Austria, 1879)
  • Triple Alliance (Germany-Italy-Austria, 1882)
  • Franco-Russian Alliance (1892)
  • Entente Cordiale (France-Britain, 1904)
  • Triple Entente (France-Britain-Russia, 1907)
• The Alliance System was a cause of World War 1 as it raised tensions and made minor conflicts more likely to escalate
• Alliance Number One


  • 1879
  • Germany-Austria
• Alliance Number Two


  • 1882
  • Germany-Italy-Austria
• Alliance Number Three


  • 1892
  • France-Russia
• Alliance Number Four


  • 1904
  • Britain-France
• Alliance Number Five


  • 1907
  • Britain-Russia-France
• The Triple Entente was formed in 1907
• The Triple Alliance was formed in 1882
• The Dual Alliance was formed in 1879