World War I was caused in part by the two opposing alliances developed after the Franco-Prussian War. In order to diplomatically cut off France, Bismarck formed the Three Emperor's League in 1872, an alliance between Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. When the French occupied Tunisia, Bismarck took advantage of Italian anger towards France and created the Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria- Hungary in 1882. In exchange for Italy's agreement to stay neutral if war broke out between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary would protect Italy from France. Russia and Austria-Hungary grew suspicious of each other over conflicts in the Balkans in 1887, but Bismarck repaired the damage to his alliances with a Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, allowing both to stay neutral if the other was at war.
However, after Kaiser William II sacked Bismarck in 1890, the dislike of Slavs kept Bismarck's successors from renewing the agreement with Russia. France took advantage of this opportunity to get an ally, and the Franco- Russian Entente was formed in 1891, which became a formal alliance in 1894. Particularly the large navy William II was building contributed to British distrust of Germany.
As a result, Britain and France overlooked imperialistic conflict between them and formed the Entente Cordiale in 1904. Russia formed an Entente with Britain in 1907 after they had reached an understanding with Britain's ally Japan and William II had further ignored Russia by supporting Austrian ambitions in the Balkans. The Triple Entente, an informal partnership between Great Britain, France and Russia, now countered the Triple Alliance. International tension greatly increased by the division of Europe into two armed areas.
The growing feeling that war may break out led to an arms race, another cause of World War I. Acknowledging that Germany had the best military, the powers of Europe copied the with large reserves and detailed planning. Technological and organizational developments led to the formation of groups with precise plans for mobilization and attack that often could not be reversed once they were begun. The German von Schlieffen Plan to attack France before Russia in the event of war with Russia was one such complicated plan that drew more countries into war than necessary. The details of this plan can be seen here:
Armies and navies were greatly expanded. The standing armies of France and Germany doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. Naval expansion was also extremely competitive, particularly between Germany and Great Britain. By 1889, the British had established the principle that in order to maintain naval superiority in the event of war they would have to have a navy two and a half times as large as the second-largest navy. This made the British launch the Dreadnought, invented by Admiral Sir John Fisher, in 1906. As Britain made many more battleships, Germany increased their naval production speed, including Dreadnought production. Although efforts for worldwide disarmament were made at the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907, rivalry caused the arms race to continue.
The tension in Europe grew into several crises in Morocco and the Balkans that nearly ended in war. In 1905, Germany announced its support of independence for Morocco, the African colony that Britain had given France in 1904. The British defended the French, and war was avoided by an international conference in Algeciras in 1906.
Another conflict was provoked by the Austria-Hungarian capture of the former Turkish province of Bosnia in 1908. The Greater Serbian movement had wanted to capture Bosnia, so Serbia threatened war on Austria-Hungary. Russia had pledged their support to Serbia, so they began to mobilize, which caused Germany, allied with Austria-Hungary, to threaten war on Russia. The beginning of World War I was delayed when Russia backed down.
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. Immediately following the assassination Germany pledged its full support to Austria-Hungary, pressuring them to declare war on Serbia, while France strengthened its backing of Russia. Convinced that the Serbian government had made plans against them, Austria-Hungary issued Serbia an unfair ultimatum, to which Serbia agreed almost entirely.
Unsatisfied, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. On July 29, Russia ordered a partial mobilization only against Austria-Hungary in support of Serbia, which escalated into a full mobilization. The Germans threatened war on July 31 if the Russians did not demobilize. Upon being asked by Germany what it would do in the event of a war between Russia and Germany, France replies that it would act in its own interests and mobilized. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later, on France. The German invasion of Belgium to attack France, which violated Belgium's official neutrality, prompted Britain to declare war on Germany. World War I had begun.
Bibliography
Various Internet websites, mainly www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk.
The Outbreak of World War I: Causes and Responsibilities by Holger H. Herwig
Assassination in Sarajevo: The Trigger for World War I by Stewart Ross
Tim Newman
Wilmslow High School
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