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
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