Militarism:
This is what the Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II, said in 1898.
When the German Emperor Wilhelm II, known as the Kaiser in Britain, made the above statement, everyone knew what he meant to do next and began to
increase the size of their armed forces. This lead to an arms race in which each country tried to build a much bigger and better military machine than their
enemy.
Prince Berhard von Bulow, the German Chancellor, made a speech to the Reichstag (the German Parliament) on December 11, 1899: “…we realize that
without power, without a strong army and a strong navy, there can be no welfare for us. The means of fighting the battle for existence in this world
without strong armaments on land and water, for a nation soon to count sixty millions, living in the centre of Europe and at the same time stretching out is
economic feelers in all directions, have not yet been found. In the coming century the German Nation will either be the hammer or the anvil.
Emile Zola, a French writer, wrote in 1891: “Would not the end of the war be the end of humanity? War is life itself. Nothing exists in nature, is born,
grows or multiplies except by combat. We must eat and be eaten so that the world may live. It is only warlike nations which have prosperted; a nation
dies as soon as it disarms. War is the school of discipline, sacrifice and courage.”
Between 1870 and 1914, military spending by the main European powers increased by 300 percent! After 1871 all the major nations except Britain brought
in conscription, which meant that all men over the age of 18 were forced to serve a minimum period in one of their country’s armed services.
A French citizen in 1912 wrote: “How many times in the last two years have we heard people repeat “Better war than this perpetual waiting! In this wish
there is no bitterness, but a secret hope.”
European Military Spending and the Size of their Armies, 1913 - 14.
Country
Soldiers
Money Spent in Millions
Italy
Russia
Austria
Germany
France
Britain
750,000
1,250,000
750,000
8,250,000
1,500,000
750,000
10,000,000
15,500,000
22,500,000
60,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
1870-1914
Reynold’s Newspaper, London, March 9, 1913
Caption for Political Cartoon: “Germany has suddenly announced her determination to increase her already monstrous armaments by special and
additional expenditure of fifty million pounds.”
Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher wrote in August 1914: “I spent the evening of August 3, 1914 walking round the streets, especially in the
neighborhood of Trafalgar Square, noticing cheering crows, and making myself sensitive to the emotions of passersby. During this and the following days I
discovered to my amazement that average men and women were delighted at the prospect of war.”
Nationalism:
Newspaper run in 1912 by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrevic, head of the Serbian military intelligence and founder of the secret society, “Union or Death” also
known as the Black Hand by its opponents.
“The war between Serbia and Austria…is inevitable. If Serbia wants to live in honor, she can only do this by war. This war is determined by our obligation
to our traditions and the world of culture. This war derives from the duty of our race which will not permit itself to be assimilated. This war must bring
about the eternal freedom of Serbia, of the South Slavs, of the Balkan peoples. Our whole race must stand together to halt the onslaught of these aliens
from the north.”
A 1908 Political cartoon from the French Parisian Petit Journal shows Franz Josef grabbing Bosnia -Herzegovina and an independent Bulgaria being torn
away from Turkey. Turkey looks on dismayed.
Alliances:
British Propaganda Postcard:
Imperialism:
German Propaganda Poster 1917: “Freedom of the Seas” and “England is the Bloodsucker of the World”
European Countries Empires in 1914:
Country
Population of Country
Russia
139 million
Austria
50 million
Germany
63 million
France
39.6 million
Great Britain
40.8 million
Population of Colonies
none
none
15 million
63 million
390 million
Area in km2 of Colonies
none
none
2.5 million
11 million
27 million
Paul Leroy Beauliey, a French political economist who lived from 1843-1916 wrote that for France colonization had become: “a matter of life and death:
either France will become a great African power or in a century or two she will be no more than a secondary European power…”