Download World War I was, at the time, the most destructive war in all of human

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Causes of WW1 – The Great War
World War I was, at the time, the most destructive war in all of human history – involving
millions of soldiers from dozens of countries around the world. It was called The Great War
because of its enormous scope.
It introduced the world to the concepts of total war, daylight savings, and universal suffrage.
How then did it begin?
Causes of World War I
This is Europe today. As you can see, in 1914 it looked quite different.
1. Back then, which countries dominated Europe?
- Germany
- Austria/Hungary Empire which includes (Russia)
- Russia
- France
- Great Britain – because of her navy and colonial empire was also a major
power
Until the 1860s, Germany had been a little more than a loose collection of states.
2. Between 1864 -1871 the largest of these states was? What areas did it bring under
its control?
Prussia, brought the rest of Germany and France under its control
3. The Chancellor of the newly formed German nation, __Otto Von Bismarck_, knew
that France would seek revenge for the loss of Alsace-Lorraine.
If France could ally itself with a powerful neighbor, such as Austria or Russia, Germany’s very
existence might come under threat.
4. To stop this from happening, what did Bismarck do? In the end, it left what
country isolated and powerless?
Allied with all the mainland powers in Europe, intentionally leaving out France, at the same
time he worked to have good relations with Great Britain – France was isolated and therefore
powerless.
The Alliance System – The Fall of Bismarckian Diplomacy
5. __Wilhelm II__________ became Kaiser in 1888 and in 1890 he forced
_________________________to resign.
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6. Days later, he let Germany’s treaty with ____Russia_____lapse. Russia and France
were now alone in Europe against an alliance of __Germany, Austria and Italy____.
7. They were understandably nervous, so in 1894, they signed the _Duel Entente______
in which they promised to fight side by side if either was attacked by Germany.
They also agreed to mobilize their forces if any of the triple alliance forces mobilized theirs.
France’s isolation had ended and five of Europe’s great powers were now split into two rival
camps.
8. What were the two rival camps called and what countries were in it?
Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria/Hungry and Italy
Dual Entente: Russia and France
A dispute between any two of these powers had the potential to draw in the other three.
9. For forty years, Britain had tried to keep out of European affairs in a policy called
Splendid Isolation__. They did not engage in any of the European alliances
When France and Russia, Britain’s two major colonial rivals, signed the Dual Entente, Britain
decided to patch up some of her differences with their traditional enemy – France.
10. In 1904, the ____Entente Cordiale____was signed. In it, France agreed to British
control of Egypt, while Britain agreed to French control over Morocco. It was not a
military alliance; however, the Germans who had wanted to sign their own alliance
with Britain behaved as if it were an anti-German agreement and tried to break it
up.
In 1905, the German Kaiser paid a visit to Morocco and declared that Morocco should be
independent of France. Germany hoped that in the ensuing crisis, Britain would refuse to back
France and the Entente would collapse.
At a conference to solve the crisis, Germany threatened war. Britain and France called
Germany’s bluff and the Entente was hardened.
The conference also exposed a weakness in the triple alliance when Italy deserted Germany and
backed France. From now on, the German’s would argue that Austria was their only true ally.
Imperialism
When Wilhelm II came to power in 1888, Britain, Russia, and France all had large colonial
empires. He wanted Germany to be a world power with a large empire as well – to have a place
in the sun. With a large empire, Germany would have access to raw materials, and new markets,
as well as added respect, and prestige.
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11. Why was Germany’s bid for colonial greatness doomed from the start?
Germany was too late in the race to colonize Africa and Asia:
All that was left in Africa was a few worthless pieces of land
A few islands in the Pacific
Some parts of China
This quest for Empire brought Germany into conflict with the other major powers.
In 1911, French troops were sent to Morocco to help the Sultan’s government and at the same
time, strengthen France’s position. They occupied the capital, Fez, and the German government
thought that France would take over the entire country.
Germany responded by sending a gunboat – The Panther, to Morocco with demands that in
exchange for allowing France a free hand in Morocco, Germany should be given the whole of
the French Congo in South Africa as compensation.
The British government was alarmed. They saw the incident as a threat to the Entente and were
angry at their exclusion from the negotiations. Britain’s fleet even prepared for war! Germany
backed down accepting two strips of territory in the French Congo far less than they originally
demanded. For Germany, this was a humiliating diplomatic defeat and it increased the
perception within Germany that she was being encircled by unfriendly powers.
The Secretary of the German Navy used the crisis to pass a law to enlarge the German navy.
Britain followed suit and strengthened her military ties with France. The Anglo-French Entente
had almost become a military alliance.
Militarism
Towards the end of the 19th century, a warped kind of Darwinism was applied to nations and
empires. A commonly held view at the time was that in the future, strong nations would flourish
while weak nations would be crushed.
12. Thus, because of this belief, what became a necessity for these stronger countries in
order to maintain superiority?
A strong army was considered necessary – war was considered by all the major powers as a
viable (worthwhile) policy option in order to gain or maintain superiority
Britain needed a large navy to protect her colonies and trade routes.
13. What was the name of the policy she adopted in 1893? What did the policy state?
The Two Power Standard : The British Navy has to be as strong (equal to) as any two
powers in the world put together
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14. Why did Germany want a large navy? What did she do to comply?
Germany wanted to have a large empire, then it needed a large navy – through a series of laws,
the Secretary of the German Navy began to turn the Germany Navy from a coastal protection
force into a battle fleet.
In 1906, the British Navy launched the HMS Dreadnought – a new type of battleship that could
outgun any battleship afloat. Germany began to build its own fleet of Dreadnoughts so Britain
sped up her ship building program. The naval race had begun.
This naval buildup was part of a general arms race.
15. What happened in the countries between the years of 1870-1914 to support the arms
race?
Conscription – the draft – the European powers increased by a massive 300% a massive draft
adopted by all the continental powers from 1871. By 1914 more than 12 million men could
be called into action in the event of war.
The Schlieffen Plan
Readying an army for war is a big operation. Troops have to be organized into fighting units and
be provided with weapons, clothing, and rations. Then they have to be transported to the front
line as quickly as possible.
16. What is this process called? Why was it important to be able to do it quickly?
Mobilization – to have an army – that can go to war faster than other armies.
17. Germany had the best __railway network____in Europe and they planned to use it to
move large numbers of troops quickly in the event of war.
Germany thought that war with France would be inevitable. France wanted revenge for the loss
of Alsace-Lorraine. The Franco-Russian entente meant that in the event of war, Russia would
probably support France.
18. The German Chief of Staff, Nicolaus von Schlieffen, did not think that Germany
was strong enough to fight both France and Russia at the same time. Describe this
plan.
Estimating that it would take 6 weeks for Russia to mobilize, move troops to the boarders,
Schlieffen developed a plan:
* Germany would crush France on western front first in battle
* Germany would then move to the eastern front of Russia in battle
* To defeat France quickly Schlieffen planned:
* to avoid the heavily fortified French/German boarders – instead
* Germany would invade France through Belgium (where there were no
defenses) - Then circle around Paris and capture all that land
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19. Describe the flaws of the Schlieffen Plan.
The Plan however had several major flaws.
- First of all it called for the invasion of two neighboring countries
Belgium and Luxemburg as well as France. Once the order to
mobilize was issued war would inevitably follow.
- Secondly, the plan could not be changed. The railways were too
inflexible. In order to move two million men to the front quickly,
thousands of trains had to be synchronized. To change the plan meant
revising the trains’ time tables which would take at least 6 months.
- Thirdly, by invading Belgium, Germany risked bringing Britain
into the war. Britian had earlier signed a treaty guaranteeing
Belgium’s independence.
- Finally, there was no plan for a war with Russia only. In the event
of a war between Germany and Russia, Germany had to invade France.
Nationalism
Within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there were Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Serbs, Croats,
Slovenes, and Italians.
20. Why did Austria view Serbia as a threat?
Less than 50% of her 50 million people were Austrian or Hungarian
 The Slavs were the most restless
 They wanted to join up with Serbia to form a united Slavic Kingdom
 Austria viewed Serbia as a threat
21. Located at the junction of Europe and Asia, the Balkans were known as
the ___Powder keg of Europe____.
22.Why was it called this? “Why known as the powder keg of Europe”
Three Empires:
* Turkey, Russia and Austria/Hungary – all had interests in the region
* Combined with insurgent nationalism of the Slavs (they wanted to be their
own country)
* Any one incident (a minor one) could lead to war
23.Why did Turkey want the Balkans?
Turkey once ruled over the Balkans – as empire weakened, Serbs, Greeks and
Bulgars (Bulgarians) established their own nations.
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24.Why was Russia interested in the Balkans?
Russia was also interested in the Balkans – she wanted a seaport on the
Mediterranean Sea
She sided with the Slavs on the basis on their common orthodox religion and was allied with
Serbia.
In 1908, Austria annexed the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina further fueling Slav
nationalism in the process.
In 1912, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Montenegro formed an alliance called The Balkan League.
The league used its combined strength to attack Turkey and in seven weeks, drove her almost
completely out of Europe. Austria watched on as Serbia almost doubled in size. Relationships
between Austria Hungary and Serbia deteriorated rapidly after the Balkan Wars.
25. Why did the Austrian generals call for a quick war to crush Serbia?
Kings of Serbia and Montenegro - considered uniting to form Yugoslavia
 Serbian press called for a united Slavic nation
 Thus, Liberating the Slavs living under Austrian rule
The July Crisis
In June 1914, the Austrians decided to reassert their authority in the Balkans by conducting army
maneuvers in Bosnia, an area that was showing too great a fondness for Serbia.
26. To add impact to this display of force, the inspector general to these forces and heir
to the Austrian throne, ____Archduke Franz Ferdinand____would attend.
27. He and his wife were assassinated in ___Sarajevo___, Bosnia’s capital, by acalled the
__Black Hand____. ___Serbia’s Chief of Army Intelligence____ was its leader.
28. The Austrians now had a reason to go to war with Serbia. First of all however, they
needed to be sure that __Germany__would come to their aid if __Russia__backed
Serbia. Germany did not want to lose her only ally; so on the 5th of July, the Kaiser
and the German Chancellor gave Austria a __blank check___. They agreed to
support Austria if Russia intervened.
On the 24th of July, almost one month after the assassination, Austria delivered to Serbia an
extremely harsh ultimatum. The Serbs had 48 hours to reply.
29. Did the Serbs accept all of the demands? Explain.
The Serbs accepted all of the demands except one, which called for an Austrian
led inquiry into Serbian participation in the assassination.
This was not good enough for Austria.
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The British Prime Minister called for a conference between the great powers to settle the dispute,
but Germany refused to take part.
On the 28th of July, Austria declared war on Serbia. The next day, shells bombarded the capital.
Russia now moved to support her ally, Serbia. On the 30th of July, the Czar ordered Russia’s
army to mobilize along her entire border.
The German government was alarmed. The Schlieffen Plan, based on the theory that it would
take Russia 6 weeks to mobilize meant that Germany had to counter with immediate
mobilization. Time was of the essence if Germany hoped to avoid a war on two fronts. So on
the 31st of July, Germany issued an ultimatum to Russia giving them 12 hours to demobilize.
Germany also issued an ultimatum to France – giving them 18 hours to declare their neutrality in
the event of a war between Germany and Russia.
On the 1st of August when the ultimatum to Russia expired, Germany declared war and began to
mobilize. The wheels of the Schlieffen plan were set in motion.
France rejected Germany’s ultimatum, and commenced mobilization. The next day, Germany
invaded Luxemburg and fired off an ultimatum to Belgium demanding the right to send troops
through the country to attack France. Any breech of Belgium’s neutrality was likely to draw
Britain into the war. Britain was a signatory of the 1839 treaty of London which guaranteed
Belgium independence. Also Britain was unlikely to let Germany dominate continental Europe.
On the 3rd of August, Belgium rejected Germany’s ultimatum and Germany invaded. The next
day, Britain sent her own ultimatum to Germany. If Germany did not call off her invasion of
Belgium, within 5 hours, she would sever all diplomatic relations. When the ultimatum expired
at midnight, Britain declared war on Germany.
30. __The First World War__had begun.