The Alliance System and the Causes of the First World War

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  1. In 1879, Germany and Austria signed a formal alliance, by which each was required to defend the other against an attack from Russia or from any other power with the aid of Russia. In 1882 Italy joined this alliance, because Italians wanted Germany’s support in case France would ally with the pope to recover Rome. This alliance between Germany, Austria and Italy was called the Triple Alliance, which was renewed in 1907 and 1912.
  2. After the fall of Bismarck, the German government did not renew the Reinsurance Treaty. As a consequence of this, Russia made a military alliance with France. According to this alliance, France and Russia would defend each other against an attack from Germany. In 1904, France and Britain reached an agreement over their colonial problems. This was called the Entente Cordiale. So this meant that France had made alliances with Russia and Britain but Russia and Britain had not yet solved their problems. However, in 1907 Russia and Britain settled their colonial matters. Once this was completed Russia, Britain and France formed the Triple Entente.
  3. In June 1914, the heir to the throne of the Habsburg monarchy-Archduke Franz Ferdinand- made an official visit at the Bosnian town of Sarajevo. During this visit Ferdinand was shot to death with his wife by a member of the Serbian terrorist organisation called the ‘Black Hand’. This assassination is known as the Sarajevo crisis.    

 

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Sources E and G indicate that Germany and Austria-Hungary had a strong alliance. The greatest threat to Austria-Hungary came from Serbia. The Serbs wanted to establish a Slav national state with the backing of Russia. Serbia was becoming powerful in the Balkans. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria was planning to use the assassination as an excuse to take action against Serbia. However, without the backing of Germany, the Austrian government was not prepared to risk a war with Russia, who were certain to join the war after Belgrade was attacked.

Sources E and G display that the Berlin government was ready to support Austria. Source G however is a more reliable source since it is a primary source from an Austrian ambassador. It convinces us that the Kaiser, who was in charge of Germany, was ready to aid Austria and was ready to face any difficulty in doing so. It also indicates the strength of the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary, since the Kaiser promises support even if Russia enters the fight against Germany. This is an evident indicating that Germany was ready to pay any price to support her “old faithful ally”.

Taken into account the Triple Alliance signed between Austria, Italy and Germany in 1882, Germany looked certain to take sides with Austria against the Serbs and Russians. Also many German nationalists believed that if a war happened it was sooner the better. Another factor, which pushed Germany towards helping Austria, was the threat to the Triple Alliance. If Austria took no action her imperial status would be threatened, and Germany would not want to see a weaker ally in Europe when she felt encircled. If the Austria-Hungary Empire collapsed, Germany “would be left isolated in Europe”(Wilmot, Great Powers, Page 311). The ‘blank cheque’ presented to Austria by Germany proved to be true, since Germany did support her ally in the First World War.

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        Source J displays Germany in an effort to prevent a war, however source K displays the Germans as the aggressors. These two sources also emphasise the difference of opinions between the people of Germany and the Berlin government.

        Source J displays Germany as ‘a man fighting for his life’, whereas source K shows Germany as a man who is impatient to engage in a fight. Source J is a telegram sent to the German Chancellor probably to be sent to the British Prime Minister, since Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany to respect ...

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