Download Europe in 1914

Chapter 25
The Beginning of the Twentieth-Century Crisis:
War and Revolution
Europe in 1914
1. The Three Emperors' League, created by Bismarck in 1873 to counter any threat from France, consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and
Russia. The failure of Germany to support Russia at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 resulted in Russian withdrawal from the league. Fearful of
an anti-German alliance featuring France, Russia, and Austria, Bismarck made a defensive alliance with Austria in 1879. Each would support
the other in the event of an attack by Russia. In 1882 the alliance was enlarged with the addition of Italy which had conflicting ambitions with
France over North Africa. This Triple Alliance provided protection against France. Although the alliance had only a five year term, it was
regularly renewed.
2. The Three Emperors' League was reconstituted in 1881 when Russia returned but collapsed in 1886 over the Austrian-Russian rivalry in the
Balkans. In 1887 Germany and Russia pledged in the Reinsurance Treaty to remain neutral if the other became involved in a war with a third
power.
3. In 1890 Emperor William II (1888-1918) dismissed Bismarck and personally took over direction of foreign policy. His decision to drop the
Reinsurance Treaty led Russia to conclude a military alliance with France in 1894.
4. France signed the Entente Cordiale with Britain in 1904 out of fear that Britain and Germany had resolved their differences. This agreement
had no military provisions and was intended to resolve the colonial differences of the two states. Britain and France were successful in achieving
this.
5. Britain was somewhat encouraged by the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and the outbreak of the Russian
Revolution of 1905 since both left Russia weakened. Nevertheless, there was concern that Russia could drift back toward Germany. Thus, in
1907 Britain concluded an agreement with Russia similar to the one signed with France. Again the differences, especially those in Asia, were
resolved.
6. Having settled their sources of friction, Britain, France, and Russia were tied together in an informal yet powerful association, the Triple
Entente.
Questions:
1. Why was it important for Bismarck to bring together Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary into an alliance?
2. Why did Britain resolve its differences with France and Russia?
3. Why did France need a European ally?
Europe in 1914
 The Road to World War I
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Nationalism and Internal Dissent
 Diplomacy based on brinkmanship
 Socialist labor movements create fear
Militarism
 Conscription
 Influence of military leaders
The Outbreak of War: Summer of 1914
 Serbia
 Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Sophia,
June 28, 1914
 German “blank check” to Austria
 Russian mobilization
 Schlieffen Plan
World War I, 1914-1918
1. Facing a two front war in which Austria was to hold off Russia, it was necessary that the 1905 Schlieffen Plan adopted by Germany be
successful. Since the plan called for troop movement through neutral Belgium to attack Paris, it was essential that German troops be permitted to
cross. When Belgium refused, Germany invaded thereby invoking an 1839 treaty with Britain that guaranteed Belgian neutrality. Stiff resistance,
however, slowed the German attack. French and British forces staged an orderly retreat to about twenty miles outside of Paris at the Marne River
where they struck on September 6, 1914, at a gap in the German lines. After four days the Germans fell back.
2. Stalemate followed the battle of the Marne as each side began to dig trenches to protect itself. By November there was an unbroken line of
parallel trenches from the English Channel to Switzerland. The unconventional trench warfare caught the generals on both sides unprepared since
they were trained for wars of movement and maneuver. Without imagination, their only plan was to throw masses of men against enemy lines to
force a breakthrough. The tactic resulted in slaughter. In 1916, the Germans initiated a campaign to capture the French fortress of Verdun 125
miles east of Paris. After ten months, the losses totaled 700,000 men for both sides. To take pressure off Verdun, in July the British launched an
attack along the Somme River. Fighting through October, the battle of the Somme cost British and French forces 600,000 soldiers to gain 125
square miles. The German losses were 500,000.
3. When hostilities began, Russia pushed into eastern Germany and Austria but was stopped at Tannenberg in August 1914 where an entire
Russian army was captured. At Masurian Lakes two weeks later Russia suffered another defeat and heavy losses. A third failed offensive against
the Austrians in June 1916 featured a German counter-offensive resulting in Russian losses of one million men. Lenin's desire to pull Russia out of
the war led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed March 3, 1918. By its terms Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states were placed under the control of
Austria and Germany. The Ukraine became independent. To Germany's ally Turkey was ceded part of the Transcaucasia. The losses amounted
to 26 percent of Russia's total population, 27 percent of its arable land, 26 percent of the railway system, 33 percent of its manufacturing industries,
73 percent of the iron industry, and 75 percent of Russia's coal fields. (G. Vernadsky in Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, A History of Russia, third ed., p.
529)
4. Germany began a spring offensive in March 1918 and pushed within thirty-five miles of Paris but were stopped in July in the second battle on the
Marne. An Allied counter-offensive now pressed on into Germany. On November 9, 1918, Emperor William II abdicated.
Question:
1. How important was the Russian failure to defeat the Germans?
World War I, 1914-1918
 The Great War
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Illusions and Stalemate, 1914-1915
Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
 First Battle of the Marne, September 6-10, 1914
Russian failures
 Battle of Tannenberg, August 30, 1914
 Battle of Masurian Lakes, September 15, 1914
 Driven out of Galicia and Serbia
The Great Slaughter, 1916-1917
 Trench warfare
 Two lines from English Channel to Switzerland
 “Live and let live”
 Battle of Verdun, 1916, 700,000 killed in 10 months
The Eastern Front, 1914-1918
1. The eastern front of the war did not degenerate into the slaughter of the trench warfare in the west. When hostilities began the Russian army
pushed into eastern Germany and Austria but was stopped at the battle of Tannenberg on August 30, 1914, where an entire Russian army was
captured. Two weeks later on September 15 at the Masurian Lakes the Russians suffered another defeat and heavy losses. Although the Russian
threat was diminished, they remained a factor. In June 1916 under General Alexi Brusilov, the Russians initiated an offensive timed to coincide with
the Somme offensive in the west. Initial successes against the Austrians were countered by a German counter-offensive resulting in Russian losses
of one million men and an army demoralized.
2. At the beginning of the war, Austria-Hungary failed against the Russians in Galicia and was expelled from Serbia. In the campaign of 1915,
aided by German forces, the Russian advances were checked by the Austrians and the Russians were forced to retreat at a cost of 2.5 million
casualties and prisoners.
3. With the war stalemated in the west, Britain tried to open a new front in the Dardanelles at Gallipoli in 1915. It failed.
4. Although a member of the Triple Alliance since 1882, Italy declared its neutrality in 1914 arguing that Austria had initiated a war of aggression. In
May 1915, however, Italy joined the Allies in return for promises of the Austrian territories of the Trentino, the South Tyrol, Trieste, and some of the
Dalmatian Islands.
5. Bulgaria had declared neutrality at the outset of war but when the Turks joined the Central Powers in October 1914 it began weighing offers from
both sides. Bulgaria opted to side with the Central Powers in order to join the Ottomans in war against Serbia. With Serbia's defeat in 1915, all the
Balkans but Greece were occupied by the Central Powers.
6. The determination of Lenin to pull Russia out of the war led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed March 3, 1918. By its terms Poland, Finland, and
the Baltic states were separated from Russia and put under the control of Austria and Germany. The Ukraine, which constituted the south of
European Russia, was to become an independent state. To Germany's ally Turkey was ceded part of the Transcaucasia. The treaty losses
amounted to 26 percent of Russia's total population, 27 percent of its arable land, 26 percent of the railway system, 33 percent of its manufacturing
industries, 73 percent of the iron industry, and 75 percent of Russia's coal fields. (George Vernadsky in Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, A History of
Russia, third edition, p. 529)
Questions:
1. How important was the Russian failure to defeat the Germans?
2. Why would Lenin be willing to surrender so much in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
The Eastern Front, 1914-1918
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Widening the War
 Battle of Gallipoli, April 1915
 Italy enters the war, May 1915, against Austria-Hungary
 Bulgaria enters the war, September 1915, on the side of
the Central Powers
 Middle East
 Lawrence of Arabia (1888-1935
 Sinking of the Lusitania, May 7, 1915
 Return to unrestricted submarine warfare January 1917
 United States enters the war, April 6, 1917
 Bolshevik Revolution, 1917
 The Home Front: The Impact of Total War
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Total War: Political Centralization and Economic Regimentation
 Politics
 Economics
 Public order and public opinion
 Strikes
 Internal opposition
 Liberals
 Socialists
 Use of Force
 Defense of the Realm Act
Loss of civil liberties
 Propaganda
 Social Impact of Total War
 Labor benefits
 New roles for women
 Male resistance in industry
 War as a social leveler
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The Russian Revolution and Civil War
1. Russia's withdrawal from the war in March 1918 caused the Allies considerable concern. Fearing supplies and ammunition would fall into German
hands, troops were sent to Archangel, Petrograd, Odessa, Simferopol, and Novorossiyski.
2. In the civil war, the Bolsheviks had the advantage of controlling interior lines, the White Russians were disunited. In the Don valley there was a
small force organized by Generals Kornilov and Denikin. It almost reached Moscow but in the end be forced back to the shores of the Baltic. Along
the middle Volga the Socialist Revolutionary Party had set up a government at Samara and formed the People's Army. The army had advanced as
far as Kazan but stalled and had to withdraw in September 1919. A month later, General Yudenich struck at Petrograd from Estonia but failed to
capture it. More successful were the Ukrainians who forced the Bolsheviks out and created the Ukrainian People's Republic. In the Baltic states,
nationalists aided by the German army were able to secure independence.
3. In Siberia, governments were proclaimed by Cossack chiefs, politicians, and former generals. Eventually a provisional government was set up
under Admiral A.V. Kolchak who was recognized by the Allies as commander of the White Armies and ruler of Russia. He was supposed to take his
army to the Volga and link up with armies advancing from Archangel but the plan never materialized and the Kolchak force was repulsed by the
Red Army.
4. One of the best fighting units in the war was the Czech Legion, a force of 45,000 men from the Austro-Hungarian armies who had either deserted
or been captured. They had been organized to fight on the side of Russia and the Allies but after the peace of Brest-Litovsk they decided to leave
Russia by way of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and return to Europe to fight. When Bolsheviks tried to disarm them, they allied with the Social
Revolutionaries on the Volga. Eventually the army made its way across Siberia and captured Vladivostok in the east for the Allies. From here they
embarked for western Europe.
5. The last White stronghold was the Crimea under the leadership of Baron Wrangel. Freed of all the other fronts, the Red army turned their attention
here and by the middle of November swept the area of the White army. The White movement was at an end.
6. In 1920 the Bolsheviks pressed war against Poland which had sought to regain Ukrainian and White Russian territory lost in the Partition of 1772
(see Acetate 57, Map 18.2). By the Treaty of Riga in 1921 victorious Poland received Galicia and part of White Russia, both of which were primarily
made up of non-Poles.
Question:
1. Why were the White Russians unsuccessful militarily?
Russian Civil War, 1918-1921
 War and Revolution
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The Russian Revolution
 Revolution of 1905
 Tsar Nicholas II
 Tsarina Alexandra
 Actions in Petrograd, March 8, 1917
 Women
 Provisional Government
 Alexander Kerensky (1881-1970)
 Soviets
 Social Democrats, V.I. Lenin (1870-1824)
 Bolsheviks
 Army Order No. 1
 The Boleshevik Revolution
 Bolesheviks control Petrograd and Moscow soviets
 Collapse of Provisional Government, November 6-7,
1917
 Alexander Kollontai (1872-1952)
 Civil war, 1918-1921
 Bolshevik army
 Leon Trotsky
 White army
 Red Terror by the Cheka
 Allied invasion
 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 3, 1918
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The Last Year of the War
 Last German offensive, March 21-July 18, 1918
 Allied counterattack, Second Battle of the Marne, July 18,
1918
 William II abdicates, November 9, 1918
 Armistice, November 11, 1918
Revolutionary Upheavals in Germany and Austria-Hungary
 Social Democrats
 Independent Social Democratic Party
 German Communist Party
 “Second revolution”, January 1919
 Ethnic minorities in Austria-Hungary
Europe in 1919
1. France, seeking lasting security, wanted to create a buffer state between itself and
Wilson and David LLoyd George who believed it would be a violation of the principle of
in return for a defensive alliance with Britain and the United States. Nevertheless,
specified in point eight of the Fourteen Points. Also, German land west of the Rhine
barrier between France and Germany.
Germany in the Rhineland. This was opposed by Woodrow
national self-determination. The French gave up the demand
France did gain the return of Alsace and Lorraine as was
River (the Rhineland) was to be demilitarized to serve as a
2. Northern Schleswig was surrendered to Denmark.
3. To compensate for German destruction of France's coal resources during the war, the coal mines of the rich Saar Basin were ceded to France to
be exploited for fifteen years (after which the German government could buy them back). The region was placed under the administration of the
League of Nations until 1935 at which time a plebiscite was to be held to determine whether the area was to remain under the League, be returned to
Germany, or be awarded to France.
4. Most of the German territories of Posen and West Prussia were surrendered to independent Poland. This would give the Poles access to Danzig
(modern Gdansk) on the Baltic Sea by a corridor which would cut through Germany, separating East Prussia from the rest of the German states.
Danzig was placed under the administration of the League.
5. The Treaty of St. Germain (1919), which settled the war with Austria, forced several concessions. Austria had to recognize the independence of
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland. All of the states were ceded parts of Austria. To Italy, Austria had to surrender Trieste, the
south Tyrol, and the Istrian Peninsula.
6. The Treaty of Neuilly (1919) settled the war with Bulgaria and it had to cede lands to Romania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. The Treaty of Trianon
Palace (1920) required Hungary as a former belligerent to surrender Slovakia to Czechoslovakia, Transylvania to Romania, and Croatia-Slovenia
to Yugoslavia. The Treaty of Sevres (1920) required among other things for Turkey to give up European territory to Greece. This was abrogated in
1922 when Turkish nationalists under Mustapha Kemal (Ataturk) seized the lands.
7. By 1922 the Bolsheviks had ended the civil war in Russia and had stabilized their frontier boundaries by making cessions of Russian territory to
Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Romania. Significantly, the peace settlement made Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania independent.
Questions:
1. How was the settlement of 1919 unsatisfactory?
2. What could be the possible implications of ethnic Germans being placed under newly created governments, thus becoming minorities?
Europe in 1919
 The Peace Settlement
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Palace of Versailles, January 1919, 27 Allied nations
Woodrow Wilson, Fourteen Points
Georges Clemenceau of France concerned with his nation’s
security
Lloyd George determined to punish Germany
Five separate treaties, the most important being the Treaty of
Versailles with Germany
Territorial changes in Europe
Dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire
 Mandates
United States Senate rejects the Versailles Peace Treaty