World
War I
What actually caused the First
World War?
• World War I was caused by many
factors but ultimately, leaders’
aggression towards other countries
fueled by growing nationalism brought
the conflict to a head. Economic and
imperial competition and fear of war
pushed countries into military alliances
and an arms race; these factors caused
the outbreak of the First World War.
Causes of World War I
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Nationalism
Imperialism
Collapse of Bismarckian Alliances
Arms Race
Crises in Africa
Bosnian Crisis of 1908
Morocco II
Assassination of Sarajevo
Nationalism
– The belief that one country
is superior to others.
• Congress of Vienna 1815:
the problem of nationalism
was ignored in favor of
preserving peace. It was
called to reorganize
Europe after the fall of
Napoleonic France.
– Unfortunately, during this
meeting they did not take
into account the various
ethnic groups they were
attempting to force into
countries with the hope of a
peaceful existence…it was
doomed to failure!
Nationalism
• Franco-Prussian War 1870-71:
Dispute between France and
Germany, Alsace-Lorraine was
originally part of the Holy Roman
Empire, but gradually slipped to
French control. The Treaty of
Frankfurt returned AlsaceLorraine to German rule. Both
countries were desperate for
Alsace-Lorraine because it was a
major industrial center.
• Alliances: Austria-Hungary was
pro-German; Serbia and Russia
were Pan Slavism.
Imperialism
The Industrial
Revolutions of the
19th C. in Germany,
Britain, and France
caused these world
leaders to compete
for new markets to
sell their goods.
Africa became the
market of choice;
France and Britain
were able to
resolve their
difference over
the region, but
Germany continued
to clash with both
of them.
This foreshadows
the Great War!
The Ottoman
Empire appealed to
Austria-Hungary,
the Balkans, and
Russia.
Otto von Bismarck
• German Chancellor
• Concentrated on balancing
alliances
– Three Emperor’s League 1872
– Triple Alliance 1882
– Reinsurance Treaty 1887
• Collapse of Bismarckian
Diplomacy
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Franco-Russian Entente 1891
Kruger Telegram 1896
Entente Cordiale in 1904
Russia’s Entente with Britain 1907
Triple Entente
Three Emperor’s League 1872
• Isolated France
• Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia
aligned forces of conservative Europe.
Triple Alliance 1882
• AustriaHungary,
Germany and
Italy would
defend one
another if any of
the other great
powers attacked
any of the
three.
– Exploited Italy’s
deep resentment
towards the
French
occupation of
Tunisia.
Reinsurance Treaty 1887
Attempt by Bismarck to remain friendly with Russia
after the failure of the Three Emperor’s League; he
felt it was imperative to maintain French isolation
and protect German interests.
1. Germany and Russia both agreed to observe neutrality
should the other be involved in a war with the third.
Neutrality would not apply should Germany attack
France or Russia attack Austria-Hungary
2. In the most secret completion protocol Germany
declared herself neutral in the even of a Russian
intervention in the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
Collapse of Bismarckian Alliances
Kaiser William II was
crowned Emperor of
Germany in the Hall of
Mirrors at Versailles;
his first order of
business was firing
Bismarck.
Franco-Russian Entente
1891
Kruger Telegram 1896
Entente Cordial 1904
Russia’s Entente with
Britain 1907
Triple Entente
Franco-Russian Entente 1894
• William II did not like people of Slavic
descent (Russians are Slavic) so he
chose to not update the legislation to
maintain peace with Russia. In turn,
France assumed that Russia would
become upset due to the ethnic insult;
the French were correct and aligned
themselves with Russia.
• FRANCE WAS NO LONGER ISOLATED
Kruger Telegram 1896
• William II sent a telegram to
congratulate the Boers on
their defeat over the British
in 1896. He gave them
instructions to the German
soldiers to “behave like Huns
during the Boxer Rebellion.”
• This along with the large
Navy Germany was building
put Great Britain in an
alarmed state, and added to
British distrust of Germany.
Entente Cordiale 1904
As a result, Britain
and France put
their differences
aside and aided
each other because
of mutual distrust
of Germany.
Russia’s
Entente with
Britain 1907
Russia formed an
entente with
Britain after they
had reached an
understanding
with Britain’s ally
Japan.
Triple Entente
William II further
alienated Russia by
supporting Austrian
ambitions in the Balkans.
It was an informal
coalition between Great
Britain, France, and
Russia. It countered
the Triple Alliance.
International
tension was greatly
increased by the
division of Europe
into two armed
camps.
Arms Race
• Two separate
armed camps in
Europe led to the
bolstering of
militaries on both
sides.
• The most well
known plan
created was
Bismarck &
Schlieffen’s “Von
Schlieffen Plan”
• The Von Schlieffen plan
focused extreme
military organization to
create the most
efficient mobilization in
Europe.
– Universal conscription,
large reserves, and
detailed planning
– Technological advances
and organizational
advances led to general
staffs with precise plans
for mobilization attacks
could rarely be reversed
once begun.
Alfred Graf Von
Schlieffen
Von Schlieffen Plan
Germany
could
mobilize in
two weeks;
which would
allow them
to attack
France long
before
either
Russia or
France could
mobilize.
This allowed
them to
defeat
France and
then turn
and face
Russia.
Prevented Germany from
fighting a two front war.
German soldiers
practiced mobilization
regularly in elaborate
drills; their efficiency
has not been matched
since!
Later the plan was
changed by Von Moltke,
and these changes
included avoided
invading Holland, and
going through Belgium
instead.
In order for the plans to work, there were
certain assumptions made by the German
military; if these assumptions were
incorrect, failure was immanent.
•Russia would take at least 6 weeks to
mobilize.
•France would be easily defeated in 6
weeks.
•Belgium would not resist any German
attack.
•Britain would remain neutral.
Armies and navies were both greatly
expanded; standing armies of France and
Germany doubled in size between 1870-1914.
Britain decided that
they would have to
maintain a navy two
and a half times
larger than the
second largest navy in
the world.
The British launched
the Dreadnought,
invented by Admiral
Sir John Fisher, in
1906. Germany
quickly responded by
instituting a similar
plan.
Although efforts were made at the Hague
Conferences of 1899 & 1907, international
rivalry caused the arms race to continue to
feed on itself. These conferences advocated
world wide disarmament.
Crises in Africa
• Due to the high tensions of Europe, there
were several crises in Morocco and the
Balkans which nearly ended in war.
• In 1905, Germany announced their support
of Moroccan independence. Morocco was a
colony that Great Britain owned and had
given to France as a gift in 1904.
– Britain came to France’s defense and the near
war was avoided by an international conference
in Algeciras in 1906.
Bosnian Crisis of 1908
When Austria-Hungary annexed the
former Turkish province of Bosnia in
1908, war nearly broke out.
Bosnia
AustriaHungary
German
Support
<<<war<<<
Serbia
>>>war>>>
Russian
Support
>>>>>>
Russia
backed
down
Morocco II
A second Moroccan crisis occurred in 1911 when
Germany sent a warship to Agadir in protest of
French supremacy in Morocco, claiming the French
had violated the agreement at Algeciras.
– Britain again rose to France’s defense and gave
Germany stern warnings; the Germans agree to allow
France to rule Morocco without interfering in
exchange for part of the French Congo.
•The Balkan Wars of 1912-13: the Balkan state
drove the Turks back to Constantinople and fought
among themselves over territory.
– When Austria-Hungary forced Serbia to relinquish
some of its gains, and this pushed tensions to the
boiling point.
Assassination at Sarajevo
• On June 28, 1914,
Archduke Francis
Ferdinand, heir to the
Austria-Hungarian
throne, was
assassinated in
Sarajevo, Bosnia.
– The assassin was a
member of a Serbian
Nationalist organization
known as the “Black
Hand”
Immediately, Germany
threw their support
behind Austria-Hungary
and encouraged them to
declare war on Serbia.
Convinced that the
Serbian government had
conspired against them,
Austria-Hungary issued
Serbia an unacceptable
ultimatum, to which
Serbia consented almost
entirely.
It was too late, Austria-Hungary still wasn’t
satisfied; they declared war on Serbia on
July 28, 1914.
July 29, 1914 Russia announced a partial
mobilization in support of Serbia.
August 1, 1914 Germany declares war on Russia
and France in defense of Austria-Hungary.
When Germany went to attack France, they
crossed through neutral Belgium; in turn, Britain
declared war on Germany.