Download Causes of World War I Part 2

Causes of World War I
Part 2
Cause #2 – Militarism:
Italy
The army was a symbol of Italy’s unity and
status as a Great Power
 Italy engaged in a military and naval arms race,
primarily against Austria-Hungary and France
 They were to have a superiority of 2:1.6
dreadnoughts over Austria
 Throughout the 1890s, Italian generals had
planned for war with France, but also with
Austria-Hungary. Annual maneuvers began to
be held in the Alps
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Cause #2 – Militarism:
Russia
Knew that if they had war,
they would have to face war
against Germany and AustriaHungary
 Believed they were the
overseer of the Slavs in the
Balkans
 Approved huge army and
naval increases in 1913
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Cause #2 – Militarism:
Russia
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Plan 19 – The plan for a war against Germany
and Austria-Hungary. If Germany attacked
France, Russia would send 9 army corps against
Germany and 16 army corps to attack AustriaHungary. It was based on the assumption that
Germany would be too busy in the west to
intervene effectively on the eastern front
Cause #2 – Militarism:
France
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Wanted to regain Alsace-Lorraine and have colonies in
Africa
Extended compulsory military service from 2-3 years
Increased naval expenditures
Plan XVII – Developed by Ferdinand Foch following
the Franco-Prussian War and continued by Joseph
Joffre. Hoped that once a German invasion through
Alsace occurred, an all-out attack on the diverted
German forces (because they would be engaged in the
East by Russia) would achieve a quick win
Cause #3 – Nationalism
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Why nationalism?
 Competition
between countries for colonies
 Competition to be the greatest power
 Competition to have the biggest army and navy
 War unifies your country
 Social darwinism – your race is the best and your
country deserves preeminent status
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Germany
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Kaiser Wilhelm II
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Was emperor
Was intelligent, but highly
emotional and unpredictable
Had a need to show himself
equal of his British relatives
Believed in social darwinism
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Germany

Election of 1912
 More
Social Democrats, Progressives, and Center
parties were elected to the Reichstag. They wanted
reforms that would limit the power of the king and
deter war
 Conservatives, militarists, and Wilhelm became
concerned and wanted to defeat democratic
socialism
 They started to want war to keep in power and
started to fear that Germany wouldn’t be a great
power
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Germany
Their Austrian ally was in getting weaker because
of disputes among the nationalities in their empire
 Russia had recovered from their defeat against
Japan and was getting stronger
 Russia’s protégés in the Balkans were increasing
in strength after their victory in the first Balkan
war
 After the elections of 1912, more Social
Democrats were in the Reichstag than ever before

Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Germany
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All of this contributed to the thinking that
war was needed now if Germany was to
maintain their status as a great power
The Kaiser and his staff contributed to a
warlike mood in the country because they
saw war as the only way to unify the country
and maintain the status of the elite
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Austria-Hungary
Constitutional Settlement of 1867
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Linked Austria with Hungary
Dualism was seen as a device for excluding the Slav
majority from their rightful and equal place in the
empire
By dividing the empire, the Magyars (Hungarians)
and Germans (Austrians) constituted the majority,
each in their own half. The majority of the 21
million Slavs in the empire as a whole was thus
turned into minorities
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Austria
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All these nationalities
would cause problems
because they wanted their
autonomy
The thinking was if
Austria allowed them to
have it, they would no
longer be a great power
Ethnic Distribution In Austria:
-Germany 24%
-Hungarian 20%
-Czech 13%
-Polish 10%
-Ruthenian 8%
-Romanian 6%
-Croat 5%
-Slovak 4%
-Serb 4%
-Slovene 3%
-Italian 3%
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
France
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In France in 1912, a tough nationalist, named
Raymond Poincare, became premier and president
the following year. He saw two choices:
 Give in the German demands and abandon
France’s status as a great power (as in the
Morocco crisis)
 Strengthen her own forces and draw closer to
Russia (even at the risk of being sucked into a war
that was purely in the interest of Russia – i.e.Balkans)
He never wanted to be at the mercy of Germany
Cause #3 – Nationalism:
Serbia
Serbian ambitions to make Serbia “the Piedmont
of the southern Slavs” would cause unrest from
Serbs and Croats living inside Austria-Hungary
 Serbia had grown nationalistic due to their wins in
the Balkans Wars
 Serbia also felt nationalistic due to their support
from Russia, who felt as if they were the overseers
of the Slavs since they had ethnic ties with them
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Cause #4 – Imperialism
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Why imperialism?
 Countries
believed that to remain a great nation, or
become one, you must colonize
 Colonial expansion might produce greater power
from increased wealth and population
 You would obtain more natural resources &
markets
Cause #4 – Imperialism
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Why imperialism?
 Could
make a fortune on gold, diamonds, coffee,
rubber, etc. or could invest in railway or telegraph
systems
 Those powers that possessed no colonies, like Italy
and Germany, began to feel that they should have
some, on the grounds of prestige and to provide a
rallying point for national feelings at home
 The Middle East became a source of tension for
the new oil-driven dreadnoughts
Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Italy
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Believed that they must assert their influence to be a
modern Great Power
Sent a force to the Turkish province of Tripoli in
North Africa
During the war with Italy, the Turks closed the Straits
of Constantinople, causing Russia’s trade to suffer
This caused the acquisition of the Straits to be the
main aim of Russian foreign policy
Cause #4 –
Imperialism:
Austria
Austria and Serbia
both competed over
Bosnia
 Russia competed for
the Balkans because
they had ethnic ties to
the region
 Italy competed for the
Balkans due to their
proximity and Italians
living there
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Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Germany
In 1903, German railroad promoters were
backed by the German government and Kaiser,
who ever since his visit to Constantinople in
1898, posed as the friend and protector of
Turkey
 The Russians were opposed to the idea. They
believed that the Baghdad railway might damage
existing French railway interests in Syria because
of rival Turkish orders between Germany and
France
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Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Germany
The fear of Germany threatening India or
gaining some control over the Middle East led
to Britain’s alliance with Russia
 The Turks made a secret treaty with Germany
the day after the Germany declared war on
Russia for a guarantee of their territorial
integrity
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Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Russia
Regarded their expansion and control of
territories on the periphery of their empire as
natural and necessary
 They believed that the interest of frontier
security and trade relations required that the
more civilized state acquire a certain power over
its neighbors
 Wanted the Straits of Constantinople and to
protect the Slavic peoples in the Balkans
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Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Britain
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Britain’s ability to maintain its place as the strongest
imperial power was very important; it’s preservation
was a matter of life or death
They believed that military arms were not only for the
benefit of Britain, but to maintain the Empire and to
protect trade
World trade and an open economy was key to Britain’s
prosperity
They stressed the British right to rule and the
superiority of the British race over all others
Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Britain
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Britain’s crown jewel was India, so that prompted the
entente with Russia; if they lost India, they would lose
their preeminence in the world
The Middle East market was threatened by Germany
and Italy
With imperial interests in India and the Persian Gulf,
Britain hoped that an alliance with Russia would check
Germany’s ambitions in the Middle East and India
Cause #4 – Imperialism:
France
Although France was really declining, French
governments followed expansionist aims overseas
and refused to be intimidated
 They added to the empire in North Africa (Tunis
was added to Algeria) and in eastern Asia in IndoChina
 In 1905, Germany loomed as the biggest obstacle to
French colonial ambitions and Britain became the
friend
 France wanted to acquire Alsace-Lorraine and
establish control over Morocco w/o Germany
interference
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Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Morocco Crisis Part I
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Germany and France both had rights in Morocco
The Kaiser made a dramatic visit to Tangier in 1905
and promised to support the Sultan of Morocco
against the French
The objective was to frighten Britain and France out
of their recent alliance
However, the Germans gained nothing and rather
the British and French began talking about military
cooperation
Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Morocco Crisis Part II
The Kaiser was annoyed
because this was not his
intention, so he withdrew and
was compensated by France
with African territory
relinquished to Germany
 This setback only reinforced
Germany’s desired to become
stronger
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Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Morocco Crisis Part II
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In 1911, a German
gunboat was sent to
Agadir in Morocco to
frighten the French
(Gunboat Diplomacy)
The British would
stand by France if
Germany attacked her
Cause #4 – Imperialism:
Consequences
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French fears of Germany were strengthened
Led to an anti-French feeling in Germany
Since Britain drew closer to France, Germany drew
closer to Austria
Britain drew up military plans to land a British army
of 150,000 men in France if Germany invaded France
French army appropriations were increased; service in
the French army was lengthened from 2-3 years to
meet the difference between France’s and Germany’s
army