Chancellor Bulow said “without a strong army and navy, there can be no welfare for us”. Bismarck provided Germany with a strong position in Europe by allying with Austria-Hungary in 1879, which encouraged military expansion. In the early 1900’s, Germany’s military expanded to greatly and demonstrates their aggressive nature. The German army and navy could be seen as a means of defence, but whatever the function of the system, it was intimidating to say the least. The subsequent arms race was as a direct result of German expansion and created European tension. Their army increased to be just 100,000 less than that of the Russian army, and their navy expanded ten-fold, which in turn made the British navy increase (it was British policy to have a navy larger than the second and third largest navies in Europe put together). French expenditure on defence doubled and Russia, Austria-Hungary and Italy all increased their armaments. Without the arms race, which Germany sparked, there would simply not have been the equipment for a war to take place.
The final example of German foreign policy was that created by General Schlieffen. All of the other factors leading to the outbreak of war so far have been in creating the conditions for war whereas the Schlieffen plan shows German’s want of war. The plans had been in place for years until they were used in 1914, and show German aggression. Thus it is clear that they did, to some extent, plan for a war. The new nation of Germany was not in the wrong to adopt such policies of colonialisation, military expansion and plans for attack: a new nation has understandable fears on securing safety. However the question is not were they right to pursue such policies, but did this policies lead to the outbreak of war, and the answer to that is a resounding “yes”. They disrupted the precarious power balance that had been operating in Europe for hundreds of years, increased tension between European states, encouraged military expansion and subsequently disrupted the peace.
The trigger event of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife on 28th June 1914 can be cited as a major reason for the outbreak of war. It could easily be said that the young Bosnian assassin, Gavrilo Princip, was to blame for the next four years of devastation. Had he not assassinated Ferdinand which provided the initial spark for conflict, there would have not have been an “excuse” for Austria-Hungarian aggression backed by Germany. However, Germany can be blamed largely, perhaps even solely for the reaction to this event despite having no involvement in the tragic murders. As Austria-Hungary’s foreign Minister Czernin said, “Germany demanded that the ultimatum to Serbia should be…..sharp”.
Austria-Hungary were only able to respond in such an arrogant and outrageous way with the knowledge of Germany’s total support. Kaiser Wilhelm II wrote a “blank cheque” to Franz Josef, ruler of Austria-Hungary saying that he would “faithfully stand by…….his ancient friendship”. Also, Germany wanted Austria to act quickly because she feared hesitation would be interpreted as weakness and thus lessen Austria’s importance as a German ally. It is true that the assassination is an significant factor in World War One’s outbreak but what is more significant is the reaction to it. Germany gave Austria the aggressive confidence to turn an, albeit tragic, but largely minor event into something more. It was the alliance system that dragged more countries in than anyone could expect.
The importance of the alliance system cannot be underestimated. Some historians argue that this was the single most important factor in the lead up to war, and it is certainly true that without these military pacts, a world war would not have occurred so hastily. The configuration of nations stemmed back for decades previous, and was both unofficial and official, but both of the “teams for war” were picked by Germany. It was Germany’s early attempt to deprive France of allies that led to Europe being divided into two warring factions. Germany first decided to adopt this system, and their selection of allies meant that France and Russia, seemingly, had no other option than to ally together. It can therefore be said with some conviction that although France and Russia (and later Britain) were not forced together, the process of Germany allying with Austria-Hungary, and depriving France of allies, made a clear division within Europe. It was the alliance system from the late 1800’s that escalated a two-country-dispute into a world war, and the driving force behind the alliance system was, once again, Germany.
However, the role of nations other than Germany cannot be forgotten. Austria-Hungary was at times as aggressive and ambitious as Germany themselves. Their problems with nationalism, and want of influence over the Balkans led to them taking risks such as the 1908 invasion, and allying with a strong Germany to protect their own interests. Similarly, Russia was misleading when dealing with the 1908 Bosnian crisis and then the 1914 incidents. Their unforeseen mobilisation on July 29th 1914 was not predicted by Austria-Hungary or Germany, as the Russians had seemed almost nonchalant to the 1908 crisis. Also, Britain’s ambiguity in where their loyalties lay meant severe misunderstandings on the part of German leaders. Perhaps Britain should have been clearer so as to avoid such problems.
Nevertheless, no single nation, state or individual had a more devastating influence than the new nation of Germany. Their desire for glory, power and wealth, their aggressive and at times paranoid policies and their want of an empire intimidated and influenced the nations around them. Were it not for the Prussian war victories that united Germany, then there would not have been the desire which plagued them and Europe, and ultimately started war. However, it would be unfair not to recognise the other factors. Nationalism significantly altered the political structure of Europe; the unstable Balkans were both unknown and feared; and probably all the leaders of all the major powers have some blame for the war. There is little doubt, however as to where the greatest share of responsibility falls. Germany willed on Austria-Hungary; misinterpreted Britain’s loyalty; projected an aggressive image with their strong modern army that scared many; and some say even deliberately faced the risk of conflict with France and Russia.
Germany was by no means the only reason for the outbreak of war in 1914 but are, without a doubt, the biggest single reason.
By Tom Paul 12.8
