1900-1914
 1871 Germany won Alsace-Lorraine from France in the
Franc0-Prussian War
 Two early alliances: Germany, Austria, Russia originally, but
it will soon fall apart (Three Emperors League)
 Germany, Austria, Italy | The Triple Alliance
 On your map color the Triple Alliance members RED
 Turkey had ruled this area for centuries, but couldn’t
hold on to all the areas where ethnic minorities were
getting anxious to be independent
 Serbia was the biggest threat—in 1903 the new leader
became aggressively and public anti-Austria-Hungary.
 An anti-Austrian terrorist group named the Black Hand
was active in Serbia and the government did nothing to
stop it.
 Ethnic identities were not physical—they all looked the same.
They were based on language, culture, and religion—Roman
Catholics, Orthodox Catholics, and Muslims
 Shade in the
Balkans on your
map
 1. What piece of land did Germany win in the Franco-
Prussian war?
 A. Belgium
 B. Alsace-Lorraine
 C. Serbia
 D. Bosnia
 2. Which countries made up the Triple Alliance?
 A. Germany, Austria, France
 B. Russia, Germany, Italy
 C. Germany, Austria, Italy
 D. Great Britain, Austria, Germany
 3. What country came to be called The Sick Man of
Europe?
 A. Turkey/Ottoman Empire
 B. Germany
 C. Austria
 D. France
 Since Austria and Russia were busy fighting over the
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Balkans, Germany had to pick a friend—decided on Austria
(closer in language and culture)
Russia decided to ally with France in 1894—if war started,
Germany would have enemies on both sides, called a Two
Front War
Germany tried to bring Britain into an alliance so France
and Russia would leave Germany alone
Method? Threats. Build the German navy and scare Britain
who ruled the seas
Germany would like “A Place in the Sun”—an empire like
Britain’s
 Answer the following questions:
 Why did Germany want Great Britain as an ally? Why
was Britain so popular at this time?
 With the map colored the way it is, and with tensions in
the Balkans, what should Austria do to prevent war? Is
that even possible? What could ease tensions with
Russia?
 1905: France, Britain, and Russia are allied; Germany,
Austria, and Italy are allied
 Germany makes the Schlieffen Plan— “to move like
lightening”
 1. Defeat the French by sending an army through
Belgium
 2. Unleash the whole German army on Russia
 3. Hopefully avoid fighting on two fronts at once
 Instead of join Germany, Britain joins an alliance with
France called the Entente Cordiale
 This means France is now allied with both Russia and
Britain
 On your map: Label Britain, France, Russia, Austria,
Italy, and Germany. Color the first three BLUE, and the
Triple Alliance Red.
 Agreements included: Britain gets to control Egypt (Suez
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Canal access) – previously France had controlled it
France gets to control Morocco, tries in 1905
Germany interfered in this exchange and went to Morocco
in 1905 promising to defend them against the French
Germany banked on the fact that Russia had just lost to
Japan in the Russo-Japanese war and would leave them
alone
But Britain was strong and held the Algeciras Conference
1906, decided to ignore Germany’s concerns and humiliate
them
The Entente Cordiale was strengthened
 4. Who are the members of the Entente Cordiale?
 A. Britain and France
 B. Britain, France, Russia
 C. Germany and Britain
 D. Britain and Russia
 5. Which of the following is NOT part of Germany’s
Schlieffen Plan?
 A. Attack France through Belgium
 B. Attack Italy
 C. Avoid a two front war
 D. Attack Russia after France is defeated
 6. Which of the following is NOT one of the
agreements of the Entente Cordiale?
 A. Britain gets Egypt
 B. France gets Morocco
 C. Russia gets Serbia
 D. Britain will defend France
 1906, Britain launched the Dreadnought, a new
battleship trying to best Germany’s newest
 1907, Britain allies with Russia, officially creating the
Triple Entente, an alliance that rivals the Triple
Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy
 The Kaiser of Germany went to Britain to smooth
things over but in an interview in the Daily Telegraph
he embarrassed himself and made tensions worse by
calling the British “Mad as March Hares”
 Germany relied heavily on Austria for support
 In 1908 Austria seized control of Bosnia, a country in
the Balkans (see your map)
 Because of how this angered Russia, there was a very
close call at the start of war in 1908
 Kaiser of Germany gave Austria a blank cheque,
promising full support no matter what
 Russia, still weak from the Russo-Japanese war, backed
down
 How did the alliance system increase tensions in Europe
at this point? Give evidence in your answer.
 1911 Germany and France again clash over Morocco;
Germany sent the gunboat Panther; Britain again
sided with France and Germany backed down
 1912 Russia and Austria again clash over the Balkans
 Austria was determined to crush Serbia, which had
become very nationalistic, hated Austria
 There was a large Slavic group in Austria that threatened
to revolt, and were ethnically similar to Serbian Slavs
 Preventing a strong Serbia was crucial to Austrian
security
 Germany said Austria had their full backing if they
wanted to attack Serbia
 June 28, 1914, a Serbian terrorist group called Black
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Hand assassinated the Austrian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand in Bosnia.
Austria had taken Bosnia in 1908 and angered Serbs
living there, so this was revenge
July 23, 1914, Austria gave Serbia an ultimatum—
requiring Serbia to squash anti-Austrian activities,
punish guilty people, basically submit to Austria
They pretended to accept all but one measure, so
ultimately rejected the ultimatum
July 28th, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia
 July 29: Austria bombs Serbia
 Germany was an ally of Austria, and Russia was an ally of
Serbia… war was imminent.
 July 30: Russia started mobilizing her army.
 Germany and Russia exchange the Willy-Nicky
Telegrams… doesn’t work
 July 31: Germany asks nicely for Russia to demobilize;
Russia said only Austria is threatened. Germany asks
France not to get involved. (France ignores the
message.) Germany and France ask Britain whose side
she’s on… she ignores them all.
 August 1st: Germany declares war on Russia
 August 3rd: Germany declares war on France; Britain
promises to protect Belgium, a neutral nation—
remember the Schlieffen plan said Germany would
first attack France through Belgium
 Germany marches into Belgium
 August 4th: Britain declares war on Germany
 World War I has begun.