Transcript MAIN causes

World War I
Standard 10.5
M.A.I.N. Causes
M.A.I.N. Causes “M”
• Militarism
▫ The policy of glorifying military power.
▫ Keeping an army prepared for war
 Connection: Industrialization helped countries
produce weapons. Industrialized countries had an
advantage during a large world war.
• Primary source page 408:
▫ “The entire population…are preparing to massacre
one another…though no one wants to attack.”
Soldiers Mobilized
14
12
Millions
10
8
6
4
2
0
France
Germany
Russia
Britain
Militarism & Arms Race
Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers
[Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br., Rus.]
in millions of £s.
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1914
94
130
154
268
289
398
1910-1914 Increase in
Defense Expenditures
France
10%
Britain
13%
Russia
39%
Germany
73%
M.A.I.N. Causes – “A”
• Alliance System
▫ The enemy of my enemy is … my
“friend” (?).
▫ Commitments to help defend if one
is attacked.
▫ An Attack on one is an attack on all.
 Regardless of personal beliefs.
1. The Alliance System
Triple Entente:
Great Britian
Triple Alliance:
Germany
France
Austria Hungary
Russia
Italy
Two Armed Camps!
Allied Powers:
Central Powers:
Turkey
The Major Players: 1914-17
Central Powers:
Allied Powers:
Nicholas II
[Rus]
Wilhelm II [Ger]
George V [Br]
Victor Emmanuel
II [It]
Enver Pasha
[Turkey]
Pres. Poincare [Fr]
Franz Josef [A-H]
Europe in 1914 - Alliances
M.A.I.N. Causes – “I”
• Imperialism= COMPETITION for resources and
colonies.
M.A.I.N. Causes – “N”
• Nationalism
Feelings of pride
became feelings of
superiority.
Imperialist
competition made
the feeling very
aggressive.
Nations became
suspicious and
distrustful of each
other.
Casus Belli
Casus belli is a Latin language expression
meaning the justification for acts of war.
Casus means "incident", "rupture" or indeed
"case", while belli means "of war".
1. 1871
2. Militarism
3. The Alliance System
1871
(Just after the Unifications of
Italy and Germany)
•
•
•
•
The world was a much better place in 1871
Capitalism had created abundant affluence
La belle époque (the golden age)
International law ensured everyone had rights
and they were respected by others
• But there was a serious gap between reality
and theory –the Great Powers dominated
- Britain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy,
France
• They were spokesmen for the Concert of
Europe
• Peace and stability was based on the balance of
power
• An attack against one was an attack against all
• Liberal ideals were being replaced by more
conservative thoughts
• Western Europe was considered solidified
national units
• The unification of Germany had involved 3
wars and humiliated France
• France lost the Franco-Prussian war and also
Alsace and Lorraine
• Alsace had been part of the HRE but had been
French for over 200 years
• Lorraine was wholly French in population
• The Germans hoped the French would accept
the loss – wrong!
• A modern Europe required a German state,
but which lands would that involve?
• Nowhere did political frontiers match lines of
nationality
• Gladstone supported every countries’ claim to
independence
• Yet eastern Europe was a quilt of countries
wanting independence
• Rumania had been created in 1871 and had been
ruled by the Turks, Germans, and Austrians
• Poland was a bigger issue because it lay in the
borders of 3 other countries – Prussia, Austria,
and Russia
• Bismarck had supported Russia repression of the
Poles in exchange for Russian neutrality in the
Franco-Prussian War 1870
• There where 4 great empires in eastern Europe:
Germany, Russia, Austria, Turkey (Ottoman)
• There were also 4 independent
countries:
Serbia, Montenegro, Rumania, Greece
• They all shared 2 traits:
a) hatred of the Turks
b) the ability to be friends with Great
Powers
Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914
The
“Powder Keg”
of Europe
Austria
• Austria had an empire but it wasn’t a nation –
it was entirely comprised of minorities
• 1860 Austria was defeated by the French
• 1866 Austria was defeated by the Germans
• By 1867 Austria was neither a German nor
Italian power but it had millions of both
• In 1867 Austria-Hungary was created – 2
countries – 1 ruler, hence the Dual Monarchy
• Hungary was ruled by the Magyars, very proGerman and anti-Slav and anti-Russian
• Nobody could afford a war
• There would be no winner
• The growth of pacifism -war was a thing
of the past - we were civilized.
• Europe had seen almost 100 years of
peace
(1871 minor war)
• It would be the localized Third Balkan
War that would become World War I
• Business prevented any island from being
isolated
• Foreign investment was so large
• Better communication, cheap newspapers
• Better educated people
• Even victory would be expensive
Ivan Bloch - The Future of War
Norman Angell The Great Illusion (1910)
won the Nobel Prize for PEACE.
• The problem was that there was no means
for negotiating peace
European countries controlled the
world
Germany - won the Franco-Prussian
war, gained Alsace and Lorraine,
wanted to isolate France, economic
stability, led by the Iron Chancellor
Bismarck, little interest in colonialism,
unified.
France - lost Alsace and Lorraine, weak
military, imperialistic in Asia and
Africa.
Great Britain - “splendid isolation”,
colonial conflicts with France and
Russia
Austria - wanted to limit Slavic
nationalism on southern border and
hostile nationalism within the borders
Russia - very imperialistic throughout the
century – but overland: in the Balkans;
disputes with Austria over Slavs;
Ottomans; Japanese ,CRIMEAN WAR.
Italy - interest in North Africa led to
disputes with France.
The Balkans - a politically unstable region
comprised of many ethnic groups. Mostly
Christian.
United States - not involved in global affairs
Militarism:
The Arms Race
• By 1908 the German army was getting the
most money
• By 1914:
a) Germany had the second largest navy behind Britain
b) Had pushed Britain closer to France and
Russia
c) Had wasted considerable money because
the fleet was bottled up for most of the war
d) If those resources had gone to the army
Germany would have won the war
• William II was a proponent of the arms race
• 1890 German army was 20,000
1913 German army was 800,000
• William was envious of the British
• A navy would:
a) protect trade routes
b) express greatness
c) protect colonies
• Naval strength: Britain; France; America;
Italy; Germany
• 1896 Alfred Tirpitz appointed Minister of
Marine
(Fisher was his British counterpart)
• March 1898 - Naval Construction Act
called for:
11 battleships
5 heavy cruisers
17 small cruisers by 1905
• Tirpitz claimed a navy would make
Germany great - (Bismarck had said it
would drive Britain to France)
• Dec 1899 Hihenlohe called for a “Risk
Fleet” - so no power could pose a risk
• June 1900 a new naval bill:
a) called 38 battleships in 20 years
b) regardless of cost
c) Reichstag to have no control over spending
• 1905 Britain started the H.M.S. Dreadnought
• 1906 German starts her own Dreadnought,
with demands for 6 before 1918, but their
model was susceptible to explosions
• Britain was forced into the Naval Panic of 1909
• But Germany couldn’t afford the largest navy
and largest army
•Alliances
The Dual Alliance
The Three Emperor’s League
Alliances
Alliance Theory: The enemy of
my enemy is….. my “Friend”
The Russo-Turkish War 1877-8
• Bulgaria revolted against Ottoman Empire
(Turks) “sick man of Europe”
• Turks slaughter thousands of Slavs
• Serbia and Montenegro declared war on
Ottomans
• Russia declares herself protector of the
Slavs
• Treaty of San Stefano
Treaty of San Stefano
• Increased Russian power in the Balkans and
threatened the Austrians
• At the Congress of Berlin (1878)
Bismarck(Honest Broker) created:
1 Independence for: Serbia, Montenegro, and
Romania
2 Austria received the right to administer Bosnia
and Herzegovina
3 Russia gained control of Bulgaria
(windows to the west) and some regions of
Turkey
The Driekaiserbund
• 1879 Germany and Austria signed the Dual
Alliance - which remained in place for almost
40 years
• The Three Emperors’ League created by
Bismarck to keep Austria and Russia at peace
• Germany - Kaiser William
• Austria - Emperor Francis Joseph
• Russia - Tsar Alexander
• 1881 Driekaiserbund was revived:
a) Acknowledged Russia had interest
in Bulgaria
b) Austria had interest in BosniaHerzegovenia
c) promised neutrality if anyone was
attacked by a fourth power
• 1881 France makes Tunisia a protectorate
• Italy seeks allies
• 1882 Triple Alliance - Germany, Austria, Italy
a) both would help Italy if Italy attacked by
France
b) Italy would help Germany if France
attacked
c) the treaty did not apply to Britain
• Germany has treaties with Austria, Italy,
Russia, and on good terms with Great Britain
• 1883 Austria and Rumania (later Germany
added)
• 1887 Driekaiserbund not renewed because
of problems between Austria and Russia
• 1887 Germany -Russia sign Reinsurance
Treaty
a) extremely secretive
b) in the event of war both would stay
neutral except: if Austria is attacked by
Russia or France is attacked by Germany
c) Germany promised to promote Russian
goals in the Balkans
Reinsurance Treaty (1887)
• Russia dissolved Three Emperors’ Treaty
because of tensions in the Balkans
• Signs new treaty with Germany - both stay
neutral unless: Germany attacks France or
Russia attacks Austria
• 1890 Bismarck is dismissed
• France signs a military alliance with Russia –
aimed at Britain in the Med.
• 1896 Kaiser William sent a telegram to
Transvaal President Kruger offering support
• Germany also starts to increase naval power
• The Fashoda Crisis forced France to
reevaluate their foreign policy
• 1902 Britain signs the Anglo-Japanese
Alliance
• 1904 Anglo-French Entente
Britain recognizes French claims to Morocco
France recognizes British claims to Egypt
• 1900 German prestige had deteriorated
drastically
• “Weltmacht” (world power) Germany wanted
to be an equal of Britain and France