Imperialism
Another factor that contributed to the increase in rivalry in Europe was imperialism. Great Britain,
Germany and France needed natural resources due to running low in their countries and also foreign
markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution. In the 1500s, it was
North and South America, but after countries there began to declare their independence, Europe needed
to find a new place to extend their empire. The new areas were Africa and Southeast Asia (China,
Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.) By 1900 the British Empire was the largest and extended over five
continents. The popular phrase at the time was that “The sun never sat on the British Empire.” (The
empire was so large that at some point British lands were in daytime. France had control of large areas of
Africa. With the rise of industrialism countries needed new markets. The amount of lands 'owned' by
Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who had entered the scramble to acquire colonies
late and only had small areas of Africa. Note the contrast in the map on the other side.
Gaining colonies became a game, almost like the game “Risk,” only the effects were real. Countries began
to be defensive over their colonies but at the same time, they would get greedy and try to take others.
Each country battled to see who had the most, the strongest, and the most power colonies in the world.
They battled for this for reputation, and to have that feeling that their country is the best. Another
reason countries looked to imperialize was to spread their influence, culture, and religion to other areas
of the world. All of this combined into a rivalry game between the top powers in the world. These top
powers would then begin a war, that would include everyone in the world, because of that influence that
they so desired.
Nationalism
The rise of nationalism.
Europe avoided major wars in the 100 years before World War 1 began. In the 1800's, a force swept
across the continent that helped bring about the Great War. The force was nationalism - the belief
that loyalty to a person's nation and its political and economic goals come before and are superior to
any one else. It basically means that you think that your cultured people are superior to all of the
others. The United States were the first ones to really show what nationalism is in 1776. (We called
it, at the time and still do now, patriotism). During the 1800's nationalism took hold among people
who shared a common language, history, or culture. Such people began to view themselves as
members of a national group or nation. Nationalism led to the creation of two new powers - Italy and
Germany - through the uniting of many small states. War had a major role in achieving nation
unification in Italy and Germany. France began to believe in itself as being French and as a power as
well. Britain entertained the idea that they were Europe’s super power. Nationalism lead to national
anthems, pride in the Olympics, and numerous fights and arguments. Prior to this, people usually did
not consider themselves German or Italian, instead they were living in the kingdoms of those
countries. After the idea of nationalism swept through, people began to think of themselves as being
that certain culture or country.
Western Europe saw more nationalism than Eastern Europe. This is because the countries were
basically made up of that culture. Anglos lived primarily in England, Franks lived in France, and
Germanics lived in Germany. The Eastern Europe countries like Ottoman Empire and AustriaHungary were made up of Serbs, Slavs, Kurds, Bosnians, Croats, Bohemians, Romanians, Greeks,
etc. They still settled on living amongst other cultured people. This would however lead to future
wars when nationalism begins to feed into their brains.
Militarism
Militarism during this era can be defined as a build-up of military strength (or also known as
an arms race) among European countries before World War 1 broke out. Nationalism
encouraged public support for military build-ups and for a country's use of force to achieve its
goals. By the late 1800's, Germany had the best-trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany
began developing a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British navy. In 1906, the
British navy launched the Dreadnought, the first modern battleship. The Dreadnought had
greater firepower that any other ship of its time. Germany rushed to construct on just like it.
Advances in technology helped aid in making military forces stronger. Machine guns and other
new arms fired more accurately and more rapidly than earlier weapons. By the end of the
1800's, technology enabled countries to fight longer and bear greater losses that ever before.
The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and
there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas. The British
had introduced the 'Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon
followed suit introducing their own battleships.
Germany was a template for being a super power in the making. Germany had by far the most
abundant natural resources in Europe. Combine this with a strong industrial base and a new
wave of thinking that being German was positive created an industrial giant. Germans wanted
to work hard to make Germany a super power, and with that as motivation it worked.
Germany rivaled Britain and the United States (which were the two industrial powers at the
time). Obviously speaking, being industrialized improves economy, which puts money into
pockets, which then leads to purchasing. Germany saw what it could become, a Europe super
power, and it did. They began building up its military to arguably the largest in Europe, which
began to scare its neighbors.
Germany Unifies and Becomes a World Power
Believe it or not but Germany has not been a country very long. Instead it used to be a collection of little kingdoms
under a loose government called the Holy Roman Empire (They were not Roman, it is just a name that came from
ancient days). They all had cultural similarities and even called themselves German (despite no country). Thanks to the
idea of nationalism, a gentleman by the name of Otto Von Bismarck began convincing these kingdoms that it was good
to be German and that unifying would prove that the German people are supreme. Eventually the kingdoms did unify
and Germany was born.
Germany was a template for being a super power in the making. Germany had by far the most abundant natural
resources in Europe. Combine this with a strong industrial base and a new wave of thinking that being German was
positive created an industrial giant. Germans wanted to work hard to make Germany a super power, and with that as
motivation, it worked. Germany rivaled Britain and the United States (which were the two industrial powers at the
time). Obviously speaking, being industrialized improves economy, which puts money into pockets, which then leads to
purchasing. Germany saw what it could become, a Europe super power, and it did. They began building up its military
to arguable the largest in Europe, which began to scare its neighbors.
The impulsive new German emperor, Kaiser William II, abandoned cautious foreign policy. When William refused to
renew Germany's treaty with Russia, the French approached Russian tsar Alexander III. By 1894 France and Russia had
concluded a treaty of alliance, in which each country pledged to come to the assistance of the other in case of war with
Germany. The Franco-Russian alliance alarmed Germany to face the idea of having to fight a war on two fronts, which
would prevent Germany from concentrating its entire military might against a single foe.
William also began to assert Germany's strengths abroad. He loudly complained that Germany had fallen behind in the
global competition for colonial territories and insisted that Germany make up for lost time. As the 20th century began,
Germany aggressively acquired overseas territories. German industrial firms and financial institutions also began to
compete fiercely with their long-entrenched British counterparts in distant lands.
William also decided that Germany must become a great naval power. The British were at first feeling disrespected, then
irritated, and finally alarmed as Germany embarked on major battleship-building programs. The country, which under
William had been content with its role as the most powerful nation on the European continent, now aspired to become
a global power.
Concerned about William’s new global ambitions and naval policy prompted Britain to resolve its hundreds of years of
disputes with France and Russia in the common interest of restraining Germany. France and Russia went into an alliance
early to protect themselves from the ever-threatening Germany. The map will show the logic in this idea as France and
Russia surround Germany. France and Russia were quick to forgive old problems with Britain when Britain went calling
to join an alliance with them. At this point in the world Germany and Britain were by far the supreme European powers
and the Triple Entente Alliance was formed (Britain France and Russia)
In the decade before World War I, Britain, France, and Russia began to compete with Germany and Austria-Hungary in a
costly arms race. British-German naval rivalry was accompanied by a competitive military buildup between France and
Russia on the one hand and Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other. All of the powers except Britain had adopted
the policy of conscription (drafting men to serve in the armed forces). These conscription policies left the European
continent bristling with large, well-trained, fully armed, land forces. Britain alone was content with a small volunteer
army because of its overwhelming naval superiority, which it deemed sufficient to shield the British Isles from invasion.
From 1904 to 1914 Germany's military, industrial, and commercial power grew steadily, while the country’s political
leaders increasingly pursued an aggressive foreign policy. During the decade, Germany made two outright threats of war
against France and one against Russia, and the German naval program was openly directed against Britain. By 1911 only
Austria-Hungary continued to give diplomatic support to German policy.
It was also openly known in Europe that if war should come, Germany could not depend on Italy, the third member of
the Triple Alliance. Italy was bound only to fight a defensive war, and in any event it was more of a rival than an ally of
Austria-Hungary.
Alliances
An alliance is an agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an
alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies. Countries between the years 1879 and 1914 had signed a
number of alliances. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war
if one of their allies declared war first. (The table on the back reads clockwise from the top left picture)
A system of military alliances gave European powers a sense of security before World War 1. They formed these
alliances with each other for protection and guarantee that other members of the alliance would come to the country's
aid if attacked. Although alliances provided protection, the system also created certain dangers. If war came, the alliance
system meant that a number of nations would fight, not only the two involved in a dispute. For example if Russia and
France are in an alliance, and Germany declares war on Russia, France will then declare war on Germany. Alliances
could force a country to go to war against a nation it had no quarrel with. In addition, the terms of many alliances were
kept secret. The secrecy also increased the chances that a county might guess wrong about the consequences of its
actions. The Triple Alliance was made up of 3 countries, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. They all agreed to go to
war if attacked by Russia. Russia and France then looked to form an alliance. In 1894, France and Russia agreed to call up
troops if any nation in the Triple Alliance mobilized. Russia and France also agreed to help each other if either were
attacked be Germany.
Concerned about William’s new global ambitions and naval policy prompted Britain to resolve its hundreds of years of
disputes with France and Russia in the common interest of restraining Germany. France and Russia went into an alliance
early to protect themselves from the ever-threatening Germany. The map will show the logic in this idea as France and
Russia surround Germany. France and Russia were quick to forgive old problems with Britain when Britain went calling
to join an alliance with them. At this point in the world Germany and Britain were by far the supreme European powers
and the Triple Entente Alliance was formed (Britain France and Russia)
1879
The Dual Alliance
Germany and AustriaHungary made an alliance
to protect themselves from
Russia
1881
Russo-Serbian Alliance
Russia made an alliance with Serbia to stop
Austria-Hungary gaining control of Serbia
1914
Triple Entente (no
separate peace)
This was made between
Russia, France and Britain
to counter the increasing
threat from Germany.
Germany and AustriaHungary made an alliance
with Italy to stop Italy from
taking sides with Russia
1894
Franco-Russian Alliance
Russia formed an alliance
with France to protect
herself against Germany
and Austria-Hungary
Britain, Russia and France
agreed not to sign for
peace separately.
1907
Triple Entente
1882
The Triple Alliance
1907
Anglo-Russian Entente
This was an agreement between Britain and
Russia
1904
Entente Cordiale
This was an agreement,
but not a formal alliance,
between France and
Britain.
This is how the Alliances tangled. Try and follow along.
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July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
July 29: Russia's treaties with Serbia (1881 Russo-Serbian Alliance) commit it to mobilize against AustriaHungary in Serbia's defense.
August 1; Germany declares war against Russia under the terms of the Dual Alliance (1879) with AustriaHungary.
August 1: Germany, expecting that France will come in on the side of Russia mobilizes against France.
August 1: France mobilizes against Germany under the terms of the Franco-Russian Alliance 1894.
August 3: Germany declares war on France.
August 4: Germany invades Belgium. (The Schlieffen Plan(attached handout) for a war with Russia and France
commits Germany to attacking France first, then turning against Russia when France is defeated. The roads of
Belgium are needed for the German army to outflank the French.)
August 4: Britain declares war on Germany under the terms of the the Triple Entente 1907 and theTreaty of
London, 1839 which guarantees the neutrality of Belgium,.
With Britain's entry, the remainder of the British Imperial colonies and dominions are drawn in offering financial
and military assistance. These were Australia, Canada, India, Newfoundland, New Zealand and the Union of
South Africa. To put it in simple terms, if you want Britain, you get the whole family.
August 23: Japan, honoring the Anglo-Japanese Alliance(not in the chart but also , declares war on Germany.
Tension/Crisis
The Bosnian Crisis - In 1908, Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia. This angered Serbians who felt the province
should be theirs. Serbia threatened Austria-Hungary with war, Russia, allied to Serbia, mobilized its forces.
Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary mobilized its forces and prepared to threaten Russia. War was avoided
when Russia backed down. In 1911 and 1912 there was war in the Balkans when the Balkan states drove
Turkey out of the area. The states then fought each other over which area should belong to which state.
Austria-Hungary intervened and forced Serbia to give up land. Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary
was high.
Assassination in Sarajevo
Europe had reached its breaking point when on June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the
Austria-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Serbian nationalist belonging to an
organization known as the Black Hand (Narodna Obrana). Immediately following the assassination Germany
pledged its full support of Austria-Hungary, pressuring them to declare war on Serbia, while France
strengthened its backing of Russia. Convinced that the Serbian government had conspired against them,
Austria-Hungary issued Serbia an unacceptable ultimatum that forced Serbia to stop all anti-Austria-Hungary
protests. Serbia responded by saying it would do its best to stop legitimate threats, but because of freedoms
given to the people, Serbia would not be able to stop all.
Black Hand - A secret, patriotic society, the Narodna Odbrana or 'Defense of the People' was founded
in Serbia in approximately 1908. Its intent was to strengthen a spirit of nationalism (having belief and support
to one’s country over everyone else). As well, volunteer cells prepared to take 'special and independent
military action' were part of its organizational structure. Gavrilo Princip apparently held membership in this
society.