What Caused WWI, and Who was to Blame?

A: Alliance System

- The alliances in Europe were not binding at all, and therefore none of them led to World War

- France never aided Russia in the war against Japan, nor did it protest Austria's annexation of Bosnia alongside Russia.

- Austria disregarded Germany's attempts to prevent French colonization of Morocco, and Germany stopped Austria from attacking Serbia during the Second Balkan War.

- Italy, although in the Triple Alliance, got along well with Britain and France, and actually entered the war against Germany in 1915.

- No power declared war because of its alliances.

B: Colonial Rivalry

- German disappointment with their imperial gains hardly helped cause the war

- There had been disputes, but they were all solved peacefully

- Although, colonial rivalry did lead to naval rivalry, which caused some dangerous friction

C: Naval Race

- The German government, influenced by an American writer who believed that naval power was the key to building a strong empire, began to expand its navy so it could challenge Britain's navy, the most powerful in the world.

- Britain was not worried because it had such a massive lead, but in 1906 launched the "Dreadnought," which revolutionized battleships and made all other battleships obsolete.

- Germany began making battleships of similar design

- The naval race meant to Britain that Germany had intentions of making war with it

- Winston Churchill was always confident that Britain "could not be overtaken as far as capital ships were concerned"

D: Economic Rivalry

- Some argue that Germany's desire to grow economically caused it to want war with Britain, who still had about half of the world's merchant ships.

- Others argue that Germany was already on its way to economic success, and war was the last thing it needed.

E: Russia Supported Serbia

- Russian support boosted Serbian confidence, and led it to be more reckless against Austria than it may have been otherwise.

- Russia feared its trade route through the Dardanelles, the outlet from the Black Sea, might end up under German and Austrian control if they gained control in the Balkans.

- Also, Russia wanted to protect its fellow slavs in Serbia to protect its slavic influence in other countries.

- Also, Austria should have realized how difficult it would have been for Russia to remain neutral in the situation.

F: Germany Backing Austria at Crucial

- Although Germany stopped Austria from declaring war on Serbia in 1913, it urged Austria to do so in 1914, and gave the "blank check," which offered its help with no conditions attached. Why did Germany change it's mind like this?

- After the war, every country laid all the blame on Germany alone, but over the years people began to admit other countries deserved to take some of the blame.

- In 1961, a German historian stated that Germany should indeed take most of the blame for the war, because it gave Austria the "blank check," deliberately planning for and provoking war with Russia, France, and Great Britain in order to become the dominant power in the war, and also to deal with domestic tensions.

- In 1912, the German Socialist Party (SPD) took over a third of the seats in the Reichstag (lower house of parliament), and began to fight the Chancellor and Kaiser in attempt to gain more power. A war would be a good way to distract people from political issues and buy the government the opportunity to suppress the SPD.

- Germany also felt encircled and threatened by Britain's naval superiority and Russia's massive military expansion, and wanted to incite a war sooner than later, to make it easier to defeat their enemies before they grew even more powerful

- Some believed that the "blank check" was a very bad miscalculation, and that Germany didn't want war at all, but it's intentions were to scare Russia into remaining neutral.

G: Mobilization Plans

- According to some German historians, the Shlieffen Plan, devised in 1905-6 by Count von Shlieffen, was very risky and inflexible and showed that Germany was led by unscrupulous militarists

- When Russia first began to mobilize, Germany ordered the immediate mobilization and prepared to carry out the Shlieffen plan as quickly as possible. Almost at the last moment the Kaiser attempted to negotiate peace with Austria, and suggested a partial mobilization against Russia only, hoping that Britain would remain neutral if Germany didn't attack France. Regardless, General von Moltke insisted on the full Shlieffen plan, which in the end was carried out, even though Germany had no particular dispute with France at the time.

- American military expert and historian, Terence Zuber, however, denies this theory. He says that the Shlieffen plan was only one of five alternatives being considered in the years after 1900. He also says that Shlieffen never actually included the six week invasion and destruction of France, but Germany tried to blame their defeat on their so-called "Shlieffen Plan," which was truthfully not at all what they made it out to be.

H: A "Tragedy of Miscalculation"

- Australian Historian L.C.F. Turner suggested a theory that Germany never deliberately provoked war, but it was all brought about by a "tragedy of miscalculation." Most of the leaders in Europe seemed to be incompetent and frequently made bad decisions.

- Austrians thought that Russia would not back Serbia

- Germany made the huge mistake of giving Austria the "blank check"

- Germany and Russia miscalculated by assuming that mobilization would not necessarily mean war

- Generals miscalculated by sticking to their plans believing it would bring quick victory

Churchill Criticizes the German Fleet

1. Explain in your own words what Churchill sees as the difference between the significance of the German and the British fleets.

To Churchill, Britain's navy is purely for defense. It is necessary for them to have a powerful navy in order to protect themselves and Britain's existence. Britain has no aims of aggression or offensiveness with their super-powerful navy. Germany's navy "is to them more in the nature of a luxury." Germany built up its navy so it could contend with Britain's. Its aims are indeed offensive and unnecessary. It is not for defense, but for the sake of being as powerful as Germany can be.

2. Look carefully at the language Churchill uses in describing the German fleet. What impression of the German fleet does his choice of language give?
Churchill's language in describing the German army gives the impression that Germany is aggressive and selfish. At one point, he states that Britain's navy is what makes it a Great Power, and is its only source of superiority. Germany, on the other hand, was respected as a Great Power before it had any ships. It didn't need a navy to be a superior Great Power, it just wanted more and more power so it built up its navy as well.

3. What does Churchill mean by "the ratio which our naval strength will have to bear to other great naval Powers"?
When Churchill says "the ratio which our naval strength will have to bear to other great naval powers," he is talking about its famous immense naval superiority. Germany, with superior power plus a formidable navy, will largely decrease the margin by which Britain has superiority due to its navy alone. The navy was Britain's power, and by coming close to equal power, Germany was reducing Britain's power and superiority, and threatening its safety.

4. How exactly is Churchill threatening Germany in this speech?
Churchill threatens Germany in this speech by saying that Britain will build up its navy even larger and more powerful, so that not only will it's margin of superiority still be there, but it will be an even greater superiority than before. It will be an even greater power, and Germany will face the consequence of being left in the dust in a naval arms race.

5. This speech was studied very carefully by the German government (as Churchill knew it would be). Which parts of it might give the German government grounds to complain to the British government? What do you think was the effect Churchill intended this speech to have in Germany?

The German government could complain about this speech for numerous reasons. First of all, Britain criticizes Germany for expanding his army, and accuses them of being selfish in a quest for excessive power. Britain also accuses them of upsetting the balance of the Great Powers, and forcing Britain to expand its nave further, as well, in order to remain at its position of naval superiority, and it says that it intends to do so, launching a naval arms race between the nations. Churchill's intentions were probably to frighten Germany, and make them stop the expansion of their navy for fear that Britain's navy will become even more powerful than it already is. Also, it was also probably intended to hurt Germany's reputation and get the other nations angry at Germany for excessively expanding its power. Churchill states that Britain's navy is entirely defensive, but the speech in which he states it is highly offensive against Germany.

Bismarck & Europe 1871- 1878

1. What were Otto von Bismarck's aims in foreign policy following Germany's victory over France in 1871?

In 1871, France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War by Germany, which made Germany the greatest power in Europe, and satisfied Otto Von Bismark with a Prussian-dominated Germany. Although it was feared that Germany, in it's rising power, would continue to grow stronger and expand further, that was not Bismark's intention. He had achieved his goal, and his intention was to maintain peace in Europe to protect Germany's security. In order to maintain peace, something had to be done about the multiple conflicts between European countries. The largest issues were France, and its bitterness and thirst for revenge. Although France alone posed no serious threat to Germany, if it were to form an alliance with Russia or Austria-Hungary, then Germany could be facing a multi-front war. Also, the declining Ottoman Empire was losing control over its territory in the Balkan region, and there were disputes between nations on what to do with the land that the Ottoman Empire may lose. In order to maintain peace, Bismark's plan was to isolate France and reduce the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balkans, but not so much that they would not need to depend on Germany, and might possibly conspire against it. First, Bismark had to assure leaders of the other nations that he had truly become a man of peace.

In order to begin maintaining peace in Europe, Bismark consistently assured everyone that he had peaceful intentions, and his words were reinforced by the meetings between the German Kaiser, the Austria-Hungarian Emperor, and the Tsar of Russia, which became the Three Emperors' League. It expressed the three leaders' desires to maintain peace between each other, and avoid conflict over the Balkan region. However, Bismark ruined his plans for peace when he accused France of preparing for war against Germany, and threatened them, to which they responded with a threat saying they would have support from Great Britain and Russia in the event of German threats. Bismark made a foolish, clumsy mistake that went against all he had been trying so hard to convince the people of.

2. Why did events between the years 1875-78 in the Balkans lead to a crisis between the Great Powers?

In the year 1875, a rising in Bosnia and Herzegovnia against Turkish rule upset the balance and peace between Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia. In 1876 the revolt had spread to Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and part of the Ottoman Empire. This re-opened the Eastern Question, and Bismark had to mediate between Russia and Austria-Hungary without appearing to take the side of either, or else the other might seek France's support against Germany. Russia wanted to protect its fellow slavs in Serbia in order to protect the slavic influence in other nations, and Austria-Hungary was interested in land in the Balkans. Both Austria-Hungary and Russia sought to gain something out of the crisis, and neither seemed to be willing to settle or back down. By 1877, thousands of Russian volunteers were assisting Serbia, and Russia's patience was exhausted. Austria-Hungary only agreed to remain neutral in the war as long as its interests in the Balkans were met, and Britain refused to allow Russian gain at the expense of Turkey. The Turks finally defeated Serbia, and Russia felt obliged to get involved for the sake of their fellow slavs, so they declared war on Turkey in April. 1877

Russia met skillful resistance from the Turks, but ultimately won the war, and in their victory they extracted severe terms from Turkey, and made some big territory gains. This, of course, upset Great Britain, who sent troops to back Turkey and pin Russia down. Also, Austria-Hungary was upset with Russia's actions, because they had tried so hard to work out an agreement involving the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans, but Russia went and defeated Turkey in war, and used that as much to their advantage as possible. Austria-Hungarian anger, and British military forced Russia to agree to a revision of the peace terms in 1878.