Download To what extent would you consider that World War One resulted from

To what extent would you consider that World War One resulted from
a lack of statesmanship among the major European powers in the year
of 1914?
WRITTEN BY VENUS TSUI SIU FUNG
FORMER STUDENT OF LKW IN BHSC FROM 1986 TO 1988
Prior to the year of 1890, peace was maintained in
Europe vastly the effort of the great man, Bismarck, who was a brilliant
statesman. Yet, his dismissal in 1890 was a misery. Since then, no able
statesman appeared in Europe who could handle the international
situation. Anarchy, rivalry and crises were frequent. Finally, the Sarajevo
Crisis revealed the defects of lacking great statesmanship which
precipitated the outbreak of World War One. There was no doubt that
World War One was a result of a lack of statesmanship among the
major European powers especially during the crisis in 1914. Despite the
other factors, nationalism and militarism particularly played a part, too.
In fact, the Sarajevo Crisis, by itself., was not sufficient
to provoke a general war. It was only the miscalculation and inability of
the politicians of the powers to handle the Incident in a proper way
that consequently made the Great War inevitable. On 28th June 1914,
when Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria visited Sarajevo, he was
shot by a Bosnian youth called Principe. The Austrians felt that they
were given a good chance to punish Serbia. Yet, they dared not to
have immediate action. It was not until they received the
lank
cheque’ sent by Germany that they sent an ultimatum to Serbia. The
ultimatum was drafted in a way not to be accepted. Thus, Serbia
mobilized even before replying the Austrian ultimatum while to Russia,
the ultimatum was a challenge on her who regarded herself as the
protector of the European Slavs in the Balkans. Therefore, with the
Austrian bombardment of Serbian capital precipitated the intervention
of Russia. With the Russian mobilization, the Powers were compelled to
mobilize. As a result, war could scarcely be prevented.
Actually, none of the powers desired a general war.
The outbreak of World War One could partly be claimed as fortuitous
and the unwise decisions were made by the statesman among the
powers.
In the first place, it went without saying that the Serbian
Prime Minister Pasich was aware of the point. Though he attempted to
prevent it, he just sent a vague warning to the Austrian Government. He
might have intended his warning to be more specific so that the July
Crisis would be avoided. On the other hand, Berchtold, the Austrian
Foreign Minister who was an aristocrat, had made the first decision to
go to war with Serbia despite of her excuses and apologies. These
1
statesmen not only abused their task to maintain international peace,
but also let their private interest dominate their decision. It was their
irresponsibility and ignorance that finally led to World War One.
Worse still, although Germany was not involved in the
July Crisis, her decision and policy posed a threat on the international
peace. Yet, the Chancellor of Germany, Bethmann Hollweg, had no
experience either of politics or of foreign policy. When Kaiser William II
regarded Austria Hungary must punish Serbia even at the risk of war
with Russia. Bethmann approved it without any objection. There was no
final council and no weighty consideration of the issues. Of course, the
Germans were bluffing. They thought that Russia would let Serbia be
destroyed. Yet, Russian mobilization showed that they were wrong.
Again, the German line was that if there was to be war, better now
than later. It was vital that Bethmann also supported such a policy
which finally led to war. Hence, this worthy pacific man must bear
more responsibility than any other individual. He could have stopped
the war and instead, he let it happen. (quite impressive)
It was an iron truth that German policy did not aim
at provoking a European war in 1914. She wanted to localize a conflict
in the Balkans as in 1908-1909. How/ever, the blank cheque sent to
Austria encouraged her to declare war on Serbia. Thus, it was Germany
that neglected to exercise a moderate influence on the Austrian policy
and consequently led to the general war. All these clearly showed that
Europe lacked a good statesman, particularly in Germany. They did
nothing to ease the unhealthy situation among the powers but only
intensified it. It was this foolishness that led to war. (gap)
part from these, the Sarajevo Crisis also involved
Russia. The Foreign Minister of Russia, Sazonov was ignorant of military
affairs. He proposed to partial mobilization in order to exert pressure on
Austria. Nevertheless, he did not understand that a partial mobilization
would compel Austrian general mobilization which in turn would invoke
German general mobilization. Germany would not risk such a danger.
The German future relied on her speed of mobilization. While the
Russians regarded mobilization as a diplomatic threat as she could still
have time to bargain before the war would come, the Germans
regarded mobilization as war because she had no time to waste.
Everything would be determined by the speed. As Albertini
commented that,
here was a
remendous blunder’ because
practical mobilization would have led to war no less surely than
general mobilization.” Furthermore, Nicholas II, an automatic ruler of
Russia, was feeble and even thought that the success of war abroad
could suppress the internal dissatisfaction and resentment. By no
means, they all miscalculated and once war broke out, it was out of
their control.
2
It could never be denied that both the British Foreign
Minister, Sir Edward Grey as well as the French President R. Poincare
had made an attempt to settle the July Crisis peacefully. Their efforts
failed because of human folly, In fact, some historians had blamed the
French for not exerting influence on the Russians through their close
relation. However, the Austrians had already taken this into
consideration. When the world was waiting for the Austrian response to
the assassination, the President followed the proposed visit and was on
his way to Russia. This would provide a good chance for mediation. The
Austrians, therefore, remained silence until the President was on his was
back home. This kind of calculation frustrated any attempt to settle the
crisis peacefully. The Austrians were determined to punish the Serbs at
any cost. Sir Edward Grey
efforts also failed. In the words of D.
Thomson, “....... Berchtold was bent upon war, and he lit the fuse when
no one had time to extinguish it.”
Obviously, the lack of great statesmanship during the
July Crisis was also a factor, As J. Joll commented that, gain and with
men who suddenly feel themselves trapped, caught up in a fate they
are unable to control.” Practically, no one plan a general war in 1914.
It was, indeed, a tragedy of miscalculation.
As a matter of fact, the statesman in Europe were
unable to handle the international affairs, especially the July Crisis of
1914. Also, their power was taken by the aggressive strong military
General Staff who had started quick mobilization. It was crystal clear
that the interference of Moltke prevented any last-minute attempt to
keep peace. Thus, Berchtold commented that who rules in Berlin,
Moltke or Bethmann? It implied that Germany was under the rule of the
Chief of Staff rather than the statesmen. In fact, it implied that not only
in Germany but also other European powers, like Austria, the Chief of
Staff, Cornad who was particularly bellicose in the summer of 19l4. As L
Hart stated,
enceforth the statesmen nay continue to send
telegrams, but they are merely waste paper. The military machine has
completely taken charge.” Needless to say, the military men were in
charge of everything in Europe. Meanwhile, they favored military
actions and war was inevitable indeed.
However, the outbreak of World War One in 1914
could not be attributed only to the lack of any statesmanship among
major European powers which was due to a sequence of events
before 1914. These could be originated from the factor of nationalism.
Generally speaking, it referred to the showing of love and glory for one
own country. Yet, it was nationalism which led to the national
conflict among the Powers. For instance, the Greater Serbia Movement
came into conflict with Austria in the Balkan. While France wanted to
3
take revenge on Germany for the loss of prestige in the Franco-Prussian
war of 1870-71. Moreover, nationalism arose in Germany as well as
Russia. They struggled for the domination of Turkish Empire and their
differential support to Austria and Serbia shaped their confrontation in
the Balkans. They were hostile to each other mainly owing to
Pan-Germanism against Pan-Slavism. Not only did it lead to national
conflict, but also the primacy of nationalism provoked the war in
several dimensions. In the first place, nationalism initiated the Alliance
System. Because of national struggles between France and Germany, it
led Bismarck attempting to isolate France by defensive alliances.
Finally, Europe was divided into two armed camps by 1907. Because of
hostility, fear and suspicion, Europe was not allowed to have two
different camps. As a consequence, war was inevitable eventually.
Again, nationalism led to imperialism as the powers regarded that
colonies were the symbol of glory. Thus, colonial rivalry resettled such as
the Scramble for concession in Asia and the partition of Africa.
Furthermore, militarism was vastly and directly resulted from
nationalism. In order to eliminate disputes and to gain prestige and
glory, the use of arms was inevitable. The use of militarism was essential
since the military men including the Chief of Staff of the European
powers controlled almost all the affairs. Consequently, with these
factors inter-linked, the outbreak of World War One became a matter
sooner or later.
In brief, in 1914, Europe though lived in an atmosphere
of war preparedness, war was unthinkable. However, the Sarajevo
Assassination on 28 June did introduce to Europe the possibility of war.
Indeed, it was due to the inability and miscalculation of the statesman
in that period which finally led to the Great War. Yet, the lack of any
statesmanship could not solely contributed to general war. It was rather
due to the sequence of events which originated from 1871 and the
various and interlocking factors, like nationalism and militarism and so
forth. (quite concise)
MARKS : 20
COMMENT : ABLE TO SHOW IDEAS AND PROVIDE A BRIEF SURVEY.
SHOULD RELATE MORE TO THE QUESTION ASKED.
4