- Compare and contrast the nature of the German request for passage through Belgium as depicted in Source C and Source D
In both source C and D, Germany states that it wants to pass through Belgium in order to attack France, because Germany claims that France plans to pass through Belgium to attack Germany. In both sources German writes to the Belgium government on 2 August 1914 which is before Germany marches though Belgium to attack France. Also in both sources, Germany states that if granted permission through Belgium they will pay for any damages made. In contrast, Source C shows both perspective of Germany and Belgium whereas in Source D, the perspective of Belgium is only shown. Also in Contrast to Source D which does not make any direct threats to Belgium, Source C states that Germany will see Belgium as part of the enemy if Belgium opposes Germany’s plans. Another contrast between Source C and D is the cruelty of the request for passage through Belgium. In Source D, the dialogue from the German diplomat, Von Jagow, is more sympathetic towards Germany in the demand of request for passage through Belgium, whereas in Source C, harsh words in the written letter show no sympathy towards Germany.
- With reference to their origins and purpose, asses the value and limitations of Source B and D to historians studying the outbreak of WWI.
The origin of Source B is summary page about the Schlieffen Plan hosted on a website called Spartacus Educational. The website is established by John Simkin and was created in 1997; however the date of the publication of the Schlieffen Plan article is not stated. The purpose of the website is to educate students on the topic of the Schlieffen Plan, and the events and status of the armies of the countries involved. The value of this website is that it provides an overview of the whole event, including before, during, and after the execution of the Schlieffen Plan and it is all written by an expert in this field. The limitation of this source is that the date of the publication of this article is not stated, bringing the accuracy of the information into doubt. It is a brief overview of the event and it does not have any 1st hand accounts from the event which further doubts the accuracy of the information.
The origin of Source D is the official report of a conversation between the Belgian diplomat, Davignon, and German diplomat, Von Jagow, in 1914, reproduced on the website www.firstworldwar.com from the original source; Source Records of the Great War, Vol. II, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923. The purpose was to discuss Germany’s request of passage through Belgium, and the reply by the Belgian minister. Also it was to show the reaction of Germany after the denial of free passage through Belgium. The values of this source is that it is a direct conversation between the two men who were both in high government positions of their countries, Belgium and Germany, at the time of the event. Another value is that it shows the direct views of the people involved in the war at the time it occurred. The source’s limitation is that is only provides the opinions of two individuals, and so the information presented may not reflect the opinion of the majority of people in Belgium and Germany at the time.
- Using the sources and your own knowledge, assess the extent to which the outbreak of WWI was inevitable.
The outbreak of World War I (WWI) was not inevitable but certain factors such as nationalism/imperialism, militarism and alliances increased the probability of a great war to a great extent.
One factor that made WWI more likely was Germany’s sense of nationalism. Germany had been building up even before the brink of war. Germany had been building up years before as Germany wanted to display its power to the world by controlling colonies in Africa. Germany’s imperialism even went as far as to try to challenge the French claimed territories in Africa to prove its superiority increasing the tension between the two countries thus making war more probable. In Source A, Crown Prince Wilhelm states that war is the only way for Germany’s nationalism/imperialism to be showcased. Prince also believes that Germany had been building up with their sense of nationalism before the war at even occurred and the only way to achieve great status and Power, Germany must subdue other nations which a war could provide.
Another factor that increased the probability of a war was militarism. Even in the time before the war started, many countries in Europe were building up their armies and military power. For instance, in 1913, France increased the number of men to serve in their army. It is evident that they may have been thinking that a war was to occur. Also, the cartoon in Source D portrays the effect that militarism had on other countries. At first, Germany was requesting Belgium passage to reach France, though in the cartoon of Source E, it can be seen however that both the German man and the Belgian boy are carrying objects that could be used as physical weapons against each other. This demonstrates how militarism caused obstruction between countries which in turn led to the possible threats of countries to employ their arsenal of weapons against another country, increasing the chance that a physical war would be fought.
In addition to imperialism and militarism, alliances were also a factor contributing to the outbreak of WWI. In many cases, whenever a country formed an alliance with another country, it was highly likely that if one country went to war, its allied countries would join it. Alliances such as the Triple Entente which consisted of Great Britain, France and Russia and the Triple Alliance of 1882 which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy were present in the peacetime before the war that caused tension between countries. This is demonstrated through Source C, in which the Belgian minister tells the German diplomat that Belgium has little fear of German invasion, because France promised Belgium it would respect Belgium’s neutrality. The Belgian minister also said that Great Britain would come to Belgium’s aid if its neutrality was confronted. This demonstrates how alliances cause a greater outbreak to WWI, as the three nations Belgium, France, and the Great Britain did indeed fight together against Germany at the outbreak of WWI.
In conclusion, although the outbreak of WWI was not inevitable, the factors of imperialism/nationalism, militarism, and alliances did contribute to increasing the probability of the way to the extent of causing a dangerously large outbreak to the First World War.
