There had been several crisis’s during the period of 1905-1913. First was the Moroccan crisis that involved France and Germany in 1905 and in 1911. No wars took place only tensions and fears regarding Germany’s aggressive expansionist policies. Britain supported France being involved in Morocco, but Germany still managed to get some French territory in Congo. Second, the 1908 Balkans crisis happened because of the collapse of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, in other words a vacuum of power has been created. Austria-Hungary acquired the provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia was an aggressor trying to increase it’s territories and sought Russian assistance. Germany became involved when asked for help by Austria- Hungary and so Russia decreased it’s support for Serbia. Finally two wars developed in the Balkans. The first Balkan war in 1912 was between Turkey and the Balkan countries (Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece) with Turkey being driven back out of the Balkans. The second Balkan war in 1913 occurred between Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece. Serbian victory strengthened the Serbs position and their confidence, so this gave Austria-Hungary concern regarding its influence in the Balkans. The main significance of the Balkan wars was the position of Britain and France placing limits on Russia and Germany and also securing Austria-Hungary. Also the two Balkan wars resulted in renewed conflict between Bulgaria and the other Balkan states especially Serbia and caused major disputes because of the interference of the Great Powers in Balkan politics. The Balkan crisis revealed the extreme tensions and suspicions between the great powers and fuelled the “arms race” which in effect prepared nations for World War I.
The “arms race” which involved Britain, Italy, France, Russia, Austria- Hungary and Germany began in 1896 when Germany started to significantly expand its navy. Britain saw German “arms race” as a threat and also started to expand it’s army. The intensity to expand its army was only stimulated by each following major crisis which developed during the period 1905-1913. Britain hardened its position towards Germany. Due to the large increase in expenditure on navies and armies together with transport and equipment Britain and the European nations were in fact preparing for a war, that they expected to happen at some stage.
The assassination of Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary occurred on the 28 June, 1914. This crisis was seen as the key event that meant the beginning of World War I. Austria-Hungary using the assassination, moved against Serbia, to resolve it’s Balkan problems. Germany agreed to support Austria-Hungary and presented them with the infamous “Blank Cheque” resulting in unconditional support. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to the Serbian prime minister, which contained impossible demands, provoking war with Serbia. However Serbia agreed to most of the demands. Germany advised Austria-Hungary to negotiate, but instead they declared war on Serbia on the 28th July 1914 (also known as the July crisis). Russia immediately mobilized its troops, with Germany making the same actions. By August 1914 all major European powers except Italy, had become involved in that conflict.
The alliance system failed to prevent war, perhaps only because Europe did not think it would spread outside the Austria-Hungary and Serbian borders. The purpose of Russian mobilization might have been to end the ongoing crisis by showing its “numbers” and scarring Austria- Hungary into peace talks. However the speed with which the mobilization of European armies occurred would not have left any time for the negotiations. Historians today still cannot agree upon the causes of world war one. Though it is suggested that the events leading up to the July crisis such as the arms race, alliances, and the Balkan wars had some affect, but it is not considered to be the major reason. I consider that there was no single major cause for World War I, but there were several major events associated with its beginning. For example the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian heir, Franz Ferdinand was an extremely important event because it triggered off a series of events that caused the July crisis. Blame can also be shared by Russia, Germany and France over their mobilization plans. And finally Germany was further to blame for its totally pointless support for Austria-Hungary, who was the aggressor in the Serbian war. It seems that Germany expected war to stay within the Balkans.
Military alliances resulting in Germany surrounded by it’s enemies, diplomatic mistakes, the “arms race”, and immediate causes combined to cause World War I. A significant factor is, Germany wasn’t responsible, everyone was responsible for the beginning of WWI. It is clear that the Treaty of Versailles, claiming complete German responsibility for causing World War I was unfair, as it was a shared responsibility by all the European powers for the causation of World War I.
