Account for the Causes of the First World War in 1914.
Account for the Causes of the First World War in 1914
The Great War of 1914 has been a highly debated topic amongst historians for many years. In its aftermath many questions arose as to what the causes were and who was to blame, these questions continue to be debated. This essay will assess the issues and events in the years leading up to 1914. These include the Balance of Power in Europe, Imperial Rivalries, expansionist foreign policies, the Alliance System, the Balkan Crisis as well as the so-called ‘trigger’ cause of the July 1914 crisis and attempt to reach a conclusion as to how and if these factors caused the war. It will also analyse newer schools of thought such as that of Fritz Fischer and his supporters in order to reach a final conclusion with regards to what caused World War One.
Up until 1870, power in Europe had been generally balanced between Britain, France, Austria-Hungary and Russia. However in 1871 the balance was altered after Germany became unified. France, who had been regarded as one of the greatest European powers, was humiliatingly defeated in the Franco-Prussian war in which Germany occupied Paris and took French Eastern territories. Furthermore the Treaty of Frankfurt deprived France of Alsace-Lorraine. It appeared as though Germany could seriously impact upon the fragile balance of power. At the turn of the century Germany was thriving with wealth, demand in industry and had an expanding railway system and a world policy, known as Weltpolitik, of heavy expansionist foreign policy had been adopted. Immanuel Geiss argues that Weltpolitik is in fact a dominant cause of world war one in itself. However Germany was not the only power looking to expand. The late 19th Century saw an age of European dominance. Africa had been partitioned and Asia was ruled by Europeans. Since 1878 European powers had effectively helped themselves to large portions of the Ottoman Empire and it was on the verge of collapse, Britain had taken Egypt and Cyprus, France had Morocco and Tunisia whilst Italy had taken Libya. This had led to much tension throughout the world. Each power wanted more territories than the other and this led to disputes and conflicts. Also some historians argue that countries were acclimatising to war through their empires as they were getting involved in small colonial wars. The Industrial Revolution had brought a continual and increasing search for new markets in which to sell produce. Germany had failed to gather as many colonies as Britain, France and the rest of Europe due to the fact Germany had only come into existence in 1871. New colonies were in short supply which led to disputes over African and Asian territories. Germany was particularly keen to expand to improve her position on the world stage. She wanted her industrial and military strength as the greatest power in Europe, to be reflected in her position in the world. German historian, Fritz Fischer argues that ‘Germany had consciously striven to establish itself as a world power in the era before the War’ and that this policy ‘inevitably led first to competition and then to conflict’. It appeared that in order to remain a great power, or to become one, required the possession of an Empire. This scramble for territory inevitably led to tensions and imperial rivalries and can be seen as a cause of World War One. Lenin even argued that ‘war was a direct consequence of imperial rivalry’. Imperialism led to a heightened atmosphere of jingoism and a glorification of the armed forces. Not only were European powers scrambling for territory, they were also building up their armed forces. There was a particularly heightened sense of rivalry between Britain and Germany. This Anglo-German rivalry as it is known has been investigated as a cause of world war one. An example of strong rivalry between the two powers is evident in the Anglo-German naval race and the‘arms race’. Britain relied on her long-standing ‘blue water’ strategy of naval defence. The Royal Navy was arguably the biggest and strongest navy in the world, she was unrivalled and this was a title Britain was proud of and keen to keep a hold of. Germany aimed to build a Navy to rival that of Britain, Tirpitz warned the Kaiser ‘For Germany the most dangerous naval power at the present time is England. It is also the enemy against which we most urgently require a certain measure of naval force as a political power factor’. This triggered the beginning of the Naval Race, both powers raced to outdo each other with the amount of naval arms they had. Britain introduced the all-big-gun dreadnought class of battleships and revolutionised the entire race. In the end the victors were Britain but Germany had posed a serious threat. Other powers spent large sums on battleships as each sought to match their local neighbour. It was seen as a very serious and possible threat from Germany of War. It triggered a sudden rapid build up of armed forces across Europe, the ‘arms race’. Armies and weapons do not cause war but a sudden build up from all sides caused suspicion and threat. By the time tensions hit crisis point in July 1914, the states of Europe had amassed standing armies of unprecedented size through conscription with the exception of Britain. Some Historians have suggested that this made a war inevitable. This is because militarism led to a war like enthusiasm amongst the public, almost as if it was the next step in occurrences. Everywhere was gearing up for a war. As Michael Howard argues, “Each announcement of increased armaments expenditure by a European power pre 1914 was viewed as a threat by its perceived rival and created an atmosphere of mutual fear and suspicion which played a major part in creating the mood for war in 1914”. However one should be careful not to over exaggerate the effect of the Arms Race on the course of World War One. As Niall Ferguson argues, “The role of the arms race in encouraging World War One has been greatly exaggerated. The country with the largest growth in military expenditure before 1914 was Britain, the power which least wanted war."
