ww1

• - Before 1870, Germany was made up of small independent states of which Prussia was the most powerful

  - In 1870, Bismarck won a war against France and turned that states into a new all-powerful German Empire

  - Germany took from France an important industrial area of Alsace-Lorraine and to guard themselves from a revenge agains the French, formed the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungry and Italy

  - This meant that the French had lasting resentment against Germany as they had taken something that they thought was theirs

  - By 1914 Germany had over taken Britain in industry and was 2nd in the world

  The Relationship between the great powers: Alsace Lorraine
• - A-H was made up of many different ethnic groups which had opposing views

  - The Slavs in the South west wanted their own state (especially the Croats)

  - The Serbs living in the south wanted to be joined to the neighbouring state of Serbia

  - In the north the Czech people wanted to rule themselves

  - By 1914, the emperor was extremely worried about how he was going to keep these states together

  - neighbouring states also created more problems. Serbia was becoming a powerful force in the Balkans. Austria was anxious that it should not become any stronger

  - Russia supported the serbs and had a very strong army


  The Relationship between the great powers: Tension in Austria-Hungary
• - After defeating France at Waterloo in 1815, Britain wanted/tried to stay out of entanglement that may cause war

  - They tried to maintain a policy called splendid isolation, meaning that Britain avoided international alliances which may get them into a war and decided to focus on its overseas empire instead

  - Britain saw Germany as the main threat to its position as the dominant power in the world and its policy of Splendid Isolation. This threat pushed Britain closer to France, who had been Britian's previous rival for centuries

  - German's attempt to gain extra colonies around the world made it inevitable tensions would arise between them and Britain

  - Germanys desire for extra colonies made it increasingly hard for Britain to maintain its empire and policy of SI as the threat to British supremacy would cause tension between countries over trade


  The Relationship between the great powers: Anglo-German naval rivalry
• - The Kaiser felt that Germany should be a world power and have colonies to compete with that of France and Britain

  - In the 1890s the Kaiser ordered the building of a large navy, which soon became the world's most second powerful fleet, competing intensely with Britains

  - Germany growing industry meant that they had overtaken Britains economy in many areas by 1914

  - This combined w/ its powerful army meant that Germany was upsetting the balance of power between the continents

  - As an island Britain saw its naval domination as a security precaution. The British fleet was dispersed across the world, gauging British trade routes

  - Britain questioned what Germany was going to do with all the war ships concentrated at the North Sea. This meant that Britain had to keep more of its fleet in home waters, making their empire less guarded


  The Relationship between the great powers: Anglo-German Naval rivalry
• - Worried by encirclement. Friendships between Russia to the east and France to the west was seen as an attempt to surround and threaten Germany

  - They were also concerned by the huge build-up of arms, especially in Russia, and was itself building up a vast army

  - They wanted to be a world power, but needed to deal with the threat of Britain and France. They also wanted expand their empire in Africa


  Why did they want an alliance?: Germany's fears and ambitions
• - They were concerned with the prospect of a revolt from the groups within their empire wanting independence

  - They also had a declining influence in Europe and wanted to restore their power

  - Worried about the threat of Serbia and wanted to contain them

  - Concerned about the build up of arms in Russia who supported the Serbs

  Why did they want an alliance?: Austria-Hungary's fears and ambitions
• - Worried about being forced out of their policy of Splendid Isolation as other nations developed and seemed empires and industries

  - Concerned about Germany and her threat to the British Empire and navy

  - They wanted an alliance to protect themselves but were not ready to commit to the prospect of war


  Why did they want an alliance?: Britain's fears and ambitions
• - Since their loss to Germany, France were concerned about the build up of arms in German so they too began to build up their armies

  - France had developed a close and strong relationship with Russia. Since 1892 they had established a secret military alliance. Each side promised to help each other if attacked by Germany

  - They wanted to protect themselves against Germany

  - Wanted the land of Alsace-Lorraine back that Germany had taken from them in 1870


  Why did they want an alliance?: France's fears and ambitions
• - Shared worries with France about the growing power of Germany

  - Scared of the prospect of a revolution at home. They had lost a war against Japan in 1905 and there was revolution against the ruler Tsar Nicholas. He knew that Russia could not afford to loose any other conflict

  - They also had received loans from France and were trade rivals with A-H

  - There aim was to influence the Slavs in the A-H empire to encourage a potential revolt and so became friends with Serbia to combat the fear of A-H


  Why did they want an alliance?: Russia's fears and ambitions
• - Wanted to set up colonies and build an overseas empire

  - Not a strong military or industrial power so wanted protection


  Why did they want an alliance?: Italy's fears and ambitions
• - FORMED IN 1882

  - The most important factor of the triple alliance was the agreement that if any member was attacked they would support them

  The Alliances and the Alliance system: The Triple Alliance
• - Italy was not a strong industrial or military power and wanted to set up colonies and over seas empires. This is why they joined the TA

  - It used A-H and Germany to strengthen their profile and empire

  The Triple Alliance: Italy
• - Keen to support A-H; promised unconditional support of whatever action A-H they decided to take against Serbia: THE BLANK CHEQUE

  - New country, most developed industrial power in Europe

  - fear of encirclement and increased power of the Russia army

  - wanted to protect themselves against France

  - Concerned about a revenge attack from France who had began to build up its army

  The Triple Alliance: Germany
• - Made up of people from many different ethnic groups; Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs and many more, many of which wanted independence and the Slavs were gaining influence from Russia

  - Although they had established a large empire in central Europe empire, they faced problems

  - Russia supported the serbs and had a very strong army

  - Faced problems from neighbouring states: Serbia was becoming a powerful force in the Balkans. Austria was anxious that it should not become any stronger

  - Their influence in Europe was declining, perhaps a German alliance could increase their power

  - Serbia was a powerful force who wanted independence, in case of an uprising, they wanted protecting. they also wanted to neutralise Russia

  - By 1914 the Emperors main focus was keeping the fragmented Empire together

  The Triple Alliance: A-H
• - FORMED IN 1907

  - Before Britain had regarded France and Russia as their 2 main rivals, however in the early 1900s their attitudes changed

  - France and Britain had reached an agreements about colonies in Africa in 1904 and signed an agreement in 1904 called the Entente Cordiale

  - Russia was defeated in a war against Japan in 1905. This weakened Russia so Britain was less concerned about them.They signed an agreement in 1907

  - Britain was very worried about Germany

  - Saw the Kaisers need for a strong navy as a direct threat

  - The agreements signed between France Russia and Britain DID NOT commit them to supporting them if a war broke out, however, it seemed unlikely that Britain would stay out of war if it did happen

  The Alliances and the Alliance system: The Triple Entente
• - In the 19th century Britain had tried to stay out of European politics

  - However, they were forced out of their position of SI due to other nations seeking empires

  - They had a strong empire based on trade which they needed to protect

  The Triple Entente: Britain
• - Worried about growing power of Germany

  - Formed a strong a close relationship with Russia

  - In 1892, they had established a secret military alliance

  - each side promising to protect each other if attacked by Germany

  - wanted Alsace- Lorraine back that they had lost in 1870


  The Triple Entente: France
• - after revoulotion they began to build up their armaments in case of a future emergency

  - almost entirely agricultural, however French loans had helped them build some industries

  - Long history of rivalry with A-H which is a reason why they were so close with Serbia, there were also Slavs in both Russia and Serbia. they felt they could influence the Slavs living in the A-H empire

  - The largest of the 6 powers but the most backward

  - Shared France's worries about Germany

  The Triple Entente: Russia
• - Germany was feared the most, it had only come together in 1871 after its dominating state, Prussia had humiliated France in the war

  - All major powers feared the intentions of each other

  - Hostility toward each other drove them apart

  Why were the Alliances formed
• - Britain was obsessed w/ naval domination

  - Kaiser had surrounded himself with military advisors and militarism was particulary glorified in the state of Prussia

  - Kaiser was closely involved with Germanys military planning which helped to influence the build up of arms

  - Britain felt Germanys reason for expansion in the navy was a direct threat to them

  - Between 1870 and 1914, all the major powers (except GB) doubled the size of their armies

  - Kaiser staged military rallies and processions glorified the used of arms

  - For reasons of prestige and self-defence, the more on nation built up its army and navy, the more other nations felt they had to do the same

  - All countries believed in militarism (that war can solve problems)

  M.A.I.N: Militarism
• - The settlement of the Franco-Prussian war left France angry at Germany as they wanted A-L back

  - Congress of Vienna aimed to sort out problems in Europe

  - Galvio Pricip was a nationalist who wanted a greater Serbia

  - Nationalism means being a strong supporter of the rights and interests of ones country

  - Large areas of A-H and Serbia were home to differing nationalist groups, all of whom wanted freedom from the states in which they lives. Those who lived in the Ottoman or Austro-Hugarian Empires wanted freedom


  M.A.I.N: Nationalism
• - Conflict between A-H and Serbia lead to WW1 and the involvement of other nations

  - Each of the major powers feared the intentions of each other

  - It was thought that the alliances would promote peace. Each country would be protected by others in case of war, making it foolish for one country to wage war on another

  - The danger was that an argument between two countries could draw all the other nations allies with them into a fight

  - By 1914 the six most powerful nations in Europe were divide into 2 opposing groups

  M.A.I.N: Alliances
• - Germany had small areas in Africa but were keen to expand, this is where a rivalry between Britain and France developed

  - Europeans nations rules smaller countries called colonies and competed w/ each other to see who could rule the most: 'the scramble for Africa'

  - By 1900 the British Empire extended over 5 continents. Germany wanted a similar rule

  - The purpose was to build up national wealth and influence which lead to increased hostility and resentment

  - The global competion for land caused confrontation in many places. As industry grew countries needed new markets


  M.A.I.N: Imperialism
• - The Kaiser was incredibly nationalistic, believing Germany came first

  - he adopted a militaristic approach to strengthen Germany's army and navy

  - He wanted an empire following the policy of Weltpolitik

  - He had absolute power and could ignore others to make his own decisions

  - He took an aggressive view of foreign policy, hence why Germany had issues in events such as the Moroccan Crises

  - His aims and reasons for foreign policy was to ensure the acquisition of more colonies, backed by the development of a large navy

  - He may have wanted this as he felt encircled by his enemies, however historian Fischer debated that he wanted to replace Britain as the leading power in Europe and dominate Russia by building a powerful alliance of countries in Central Europe

  - His action increased tensions in Europe in the period 1900-14

  - Weltpolitik was designed to ensure that aggressive diplomacy would lead to the gaining of more colonies, backed by the development of a large navy. He was determined that Germany should play an important role on the world stage, he wanted his 'place in the sun'

  Britain and Germany's foreign policies
• - in 1900 GB had the biggest navy in the world

  - Germany envied the size of their navy and believed in order to succeed in world power they must increase the size of their navy to rival that of Britain's

  - Germany started to build up its navy in 1898 when the first Navy Law was passed, increasing the size of the German feet by 7

  - Germany argued that they were building these ships to protect its growing trade and argued that the British were overreacting calling them 'mad bulls'

  - However Britain had differing opinions. The GB navy was spread over the world protecting its Empire. Germany didn't have much of an Empire so why did they need a navy?

  - In 1906, Britain developed the Dreadnought (making Germany's navy obsolete)

  - This led to a competition between Britain and Germany,with Britain building 29 Dreadnought to Germany's 17 by 1914

  - Both Germany and Britain spent millions on their ships

  - GB pressurised the Liberal Government saying 'we want 8 and we won't wait'


  The Naval Arms Race
• - In Germany war and militarism were glorified

  - Around Europe countries were building up the size of their armies. It was argued that this was for defence in case of attack by members of the opposing alliance

  - Countries were afraid that war was bound to happen at some point, so thought it was best to be prepared

  European rearmament
• - As well as improving their navy, Germany also wanted to improve the strength and power of their army

  - Although not the biggest army in the world, it was the best trained and most powerful

  - The problem German commanders were aware about was that if war broke out they would probably have to fight against Russia and France at the same time. They created the Schlieffen Plan to counter this problem


  European rearmament: Germany
• - There army was much smaller and relied on Germany's assistance

  - They relied on the success of the Schlieffen Plan so that Germany could defeat Russia

  European rearmament: Austria-Hungary
• - The largest army but very badly equipped

  - The Russian plan was to overwhelm Germany and Austria's armies by sheer weight of numbers

  - They would take a long time to mobilise


  European rearmament: Russia
• - France had a large well-equppied army but wasn't as large as the Germans

  - main plan of attack was known as Plan 17

  - French troops would charge across the frontier and attack deep into Germany, forcing surrender


  European rearmament: France
• - Britains military planners had been closely but secretly involved In collaboration with French commanders

  - this led to the British setting up the British Expeditionary Force, consisting of 150,000 highly trained and well-equipped men

  - the BEF could go to France and fight alongside the French at short notice


  European rearmament: Britain
• - All the plans assumed that if a war came it would be quick. No one had planned for the war that was to come

  - It was assumed that non of the powers would be able to keep up a long, drawn-out war

  - the sheer cost of war would lead to economic collapse and so the war would be over in a matter of weeks or months

  - The build up arms suggested that war was in fact, inevitable

  Conclusion of European rearmament
• - the first Moroccan crisis happened in 1905, it was largely a dispute between Germany and France over who should control Morocco

  - Several other great powers and nations took an interest and sided to either Germany or France, this was known as the 'scramble for Africa'

  - Britain was the domination power in Africa 1905, closely followed by France

  - In 1904, Britain and France signed an agreement called the Entente Cordiale in which of many agreements was that Britain agreed no to fight France over control of Morocco and to support it in this action

  - as many European countries had an empire, Morocco was one of the last place not to be taken by A great power and remained independent

  - so with France wanting to expand it empire and germany wanting to start one, a crisis was likely to begin

  - the kaiser wanted 'his place in the sun' and so pursued the policy of weltpolitik

  - germany, seeing that Britain and France had recently signed the entente cordiale, decided to test how strong this agreement was between the two powers and so decided to lay a claim into Morocco's future


  The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06), pre-events
• - Germany already had colonies in central and southern Africa but wanted to increase its powers in the north

  - the French had plans to take over Morocco, the kaiser made a speech supporting moroccan independence which made the French furious. they thought Germany had no right to involve themselves in their foreign affairs

  - germany disagreed with France's claim to Morocco which was backed up by britain, russia, italy and spain. As in the course of the last 5 years France had not just signed an agreement with Britain on Morocco but with Russia, Italy and Spain

  - as germany had the strongest army in the world they argued that they should be allowed an empire, 'weltpolitik', which was the desire of the kaiser

  The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06), the Kaisers Speech (part 2)
• - In 1905, the Kaiser visited Tangier and rode down on the streets on a white horse with a military band of Moroccan troops

  - he played his part to the full and got lost of attention for his plans which were to 'support an independent Morocco open to the peaceful competition of all nations for trade'

  - he called for an international confrere to discuss the future of Morocco

  - the Kaisers idea was to prevent France from occupying Morocco, which would weaken France, still allowing germany to trade there and to test the relationship between Britain and France to see it it would hold firm. he succeeded in doing to opposite of this


  The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06), the Kaiser visits Tangier (part 3)
• - The conference was held at Algeciras Spain, in 1906

  - Germany's support from its ally, Austria-Hungary, was weak and Morocco shared little interest in their ideas

  - the kaiser was spoken to as If he had not right to speak on the matter and was humiliated by the way France and Britain stuck together to oppose him, these old rivals now seemed very close

  - their attitudes toward germany alarmed him

  The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06), the conference (part 4)
• - it was agreed that France should recognise that Morocco was still an independent country and that France and Spain were given joint control of her police force

  - after this was key as there was already a developing division between the powers of Europe

  - germany had lost against France as France now had some control over Morocco

  - the entente cordiale was strengthened, Britain started to change its policy of SI and notice European matters

  - to add to this Britain and France secretly started military talks about germany after their fears grew about her

  - this shows that even in 1905/06 plans were already being drawn up for war and sides were beginning to form

  The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06), conclusion (part 5)
• - The German Kaiser had upset Britain by sending a telegram to the president of Transvaal, who were owned by Britain, to congratulate him on repelling the British, it was called the Kruger Telegram and sent on 3rd of jan 1896

  - As such, Britain saw Germany as a rival


  The Kruger Telegram, 1896
• - The second Moroccan crisis was what sparked a series of misunderstandings, countries wanting to get revenge on one another and jumping to conclusions

  - in 1911, the ruling sultan of Morocco faced a rebellion, and decided to call on France for help

  - France sent an army to Morocco and the rebellion soon collapsed

  - France said they were prepared to compensate Germany if their trade suffered as a result of their invasion

  - however, the Kaiser's response was to send a gunboat ( the panther) to the port of Agadir in order to protect the German people's interests in Morocco

  - germany saw no problem with its response as France had sent an army to look after their interests

  - however, Britain already alarmed by Germanys growing naval power (as the naval race was still in full swing) viewed it as a war like stance

  - the British thought Germany were planning on setting up a naval base in agadir to challenge Britain's in Gibraltar

  - Britain did not want ships in the mediteranean


  The Second Moroccan Crisis, 1911, the Kaiser sends a gunboat (part 1)
• - The naval action of German sending The Panther to Agadir, led to once again, Britain siding with France in another conference

  - this overreaction Brought Europe very close to war in 1911 and all countries involved made preparations for war in 1911

  - France took control of Morocco and Germany was given land in the Congo, central Africa, as compensation


  The Second Moroccan Crisis, 1911, the conference (part 2)