11th September, 2012
Isabelle Dwyer
Causes of WW1
Intro
Chronology
1882: Triple A of G, AH and Italy formed
1894: France and Russia sign alliance
1897: Admiral Tirpitz’s naval law, G intends to
increase size of fleet
1902: Britain and Japan sign alliance
1904: B and F sign ‘Entente Cordiale’
1904-5: Russo-Japanese war, won by Japan
1905-6: Moroccan Crisis
1907: B and R sign agreement, Triple Entente formed
1908: Bosnia Crisis – AH annexes Bosnia
1911: Agadir Crisis
1912: First Balkan War
1913: Second Balkan War
1914: 28 Jun – Archduke assassinated in Sarajevo
23 Jul – AH issues ultimatum to Serbia
28 Jul – AH declares war on Serbia
29 Jul – Russia orders general mobilisation
31 Jul – G demanded R to cease mobilisation
1 Aug – Germany declares war on Russia
3 Aug – Germany declares war on France
4 Aug – B enters war as Be neutrality compromised
6 Aug – AH declares war on Russia
Nationalism
German Weltpolitik: Born out of the Bismarkian
system, G should have a say in all main issues, the
desire to make G great – she was a new European state
R saw herself as the natural protector of the Balkan
states and the various races that lived there (Slavs,
Croats) from major powers that would exploit them
(i.e. AH).
Balkan wars: 1st war was about the Balkans states
trying to free themselves from the influence of the
Ottoman Empire, which was fading. 2nd war was a
dispute over the spoils and resulted in Serbia doubling
her territory. This increased AH’s desire to assert
hegemony over Serbia, although at the expense of sour
relations with Russia who had already been humiliated
by AH’s annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908.
ATQ
Alliances
Acted as a deterrent to nations thinking of attacking a
country.
Triple Alliance: Strong military alliance between AH
and G, but I uncertain.
Triple Entente: Far looser than TA, no formal
agreement that they would support each other in a war.
According to Basil Liddel Hart, it was the buildup of
long term causes such as the nationalism and
imperialism in Europe that created the potential for
war, but it was really the alliance system that
transformed a local dispute into a European War.
This view that the alliances were responsible for
escalating the conflict was disputed by AJP Taylor
who claimed that the alliances (particularly the Triple
Entente) were weak (his quote) and weren’t the main
reason why war broke out.
Imperialism
Weltpolitik is an example of jingoism (extreme
patriotism in the form of an aggressive foreign policy).
G wanted to increase her no. of colonies (only had 10
compared to B’s 56) and expand her influence. The
other nations (B) didn’t like G trying to challenge the
balance of power.
Fischer used WP as an example of G stirring up
trouble and provoking other nations in a way that
could cause war – G action in summer of ’14 was
compatible with WP.
Moroccan Crisis: G tried to expand her influence and
challenge the French as they wanted to establish
protectorate over Morocco. It resulted in G’s
humiliation and strengthened B and F relations.
Agadir Crisis: G sent a gunboat to Fez, which B saw as
a challenge of her naval power in the area. B, F told G
to back off and other countries condemned her, which
increased G fears of encirclement.
Marxist Hobsbawm blamed imperialism for war as
countries desired new colonies and markets for trade.
Isabelle Dwyer
Militarism
Steel Production ‘13 (mil tons): B-7.7, G-17.6
Armies (mil): B-0.7, F-3.7, G-4.2
Navies (no of ships): B-358, F-207, G-281
G land: Schlieffen plan to avoid a war on two fronts by
invading F through Be. It required fast mobilisation
and that Russia took 12 weeks to mobilise their troops.
F land: Plan 17 was to mobilise all their troops through
Alsace-Lorraine and then run to take Berlin. It also
required swift action.
B land: BEF had 125,000 soldiers, but no real plan.
G sea: Admiral Tirpitz’s Risk Theory was idea that G
navy could control the North Sea by having enough
ships to scare the B navy into inaction.
B sea: Two Power Standard - for every ship G and F
built, B would build 2, so their navy would be twice
the combined strength of F and G.
Naval Race: Btw G and B to build up dreadnoughts, in
the end although B had more ships (27-19), G
achieved her aim of forcing B navy into inaction.
Historiography
Sydney Fay: Complex assortment of factors that
caused the outbreak of WW1, no one country was to
blame above the others - ‘collective responsibility’.
Niall Ferguson: Placed most of the blame on Britain,
he claimed that the B political and military leaders
planned to interfere with European conflict.
Franz Fischer: Return to idea that G held majority of
responsibility because she went out of her way to push
for a war (shown through Weltpolitik) in order to make
G a dominant power in Europe and also to deal with
the domestic tensions created by rise of left.
John Stoessinger: He blamed the personal failings of
those managing the July Crisis.
Conc
11th September, 2012
July Days
It was not the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand (28 Jun) that resulted in WW1 but the
month that followed and the political/military
decisions made during the July Days.
AH used Serbia’s refusal of ultimatum and B used G
invasion of neutral Belgium as an excuse for war.
When AH declared war on Serbia (28 Jul), Russia
mobilised the next day, determined not to let Serbia
down again.
German mobilisation started the war in motion as the
Schlieffen plan was carried out.
When the Kaiser and Tsar gave the orders for
mobilisation, authority transferred to the military
generals. They wanted a war because there hadn’t been
a major European war for 50 years.
Tragedy of Miscalculation
LCF Turner’s view was a continuation of
Stoessinger’s. Three main mistakes made:
R tsar and G Kaiser’s failure to realise that the order
for mobilisation was a declaration of war.
G mistake in sending AH ‘blank cheque’ and giving
AH unconditional support believing that it would
frighten Russia into inaction.
AH not believing that Russia would go to war to
defend Serbia, as she did before during the 1908
Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis.
B’s mistake in not being more assertive towards G and
making it absolutely clear that she would go to war if
Belgian neutrality was compromised.
ATQ
Basil Liddel Hart claimed that “50yrs were spent making Europe explosive, but it took only 5
days to detonate it”
Stoessinger claimed “If different personalities had been in positions of authority in July 1914,
there may never have been a war”
AJP Taylor wrote “As late as 1911… the Triple Entente was in the process of disintegration”
Gilbert wrote “As focus intensified upon armies, authority shifted towards war ministers”
Williamson “The blank cheque gave Vienna the assurances needed to opt for decisive action
against Serbia”
AJP Taylor “The conflict arose from feelings of weakness rather than strength”
Lenin wrote that “Imperialism is the highest form of capitalism”