Account for the formation of the two opposing armed camps in Europe during the period of 1871-1914. How did the Alliance System contribute to the outbreak of the First World War?

Answer: The “Alliance System” refers to the formation of military alliances or conclusion達成 of ententes諒解 among the European powers during the period of 1871-1914. The Alliance System was first devised設計 by Bismarck; it was one of the underlying causes遠因 leading to the outbreak of the First World War.

The Alliance System during the period of 1871-1890 was called the Bismarckian System. In the Franco-Prussian War, France was utterly defeated慘敗. By the Treaty of Frankfurt 1871 France was to cede Alsace-Lorraine, and pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs to Germany. To prevent the French attempt of revenge報復 and the possibility of a two-front war, as well as to consolidate鞏固 the infant初生的 German Empire, in 1873 Bismarck, the German Chancellor首相, created the Dreikaiserbund三帝同盟. The emperors of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia vowed誓言 to guarantee the status quo現狀 of Europe of 1871, resist revolutions and maintain peace in the Balkans. Yet it was only a verbal口頭 statement聲明. The Austro-Russian rivalry鬥爭 in the Balkans was unsolved. At the Congress of Berlin 1878, Bismarck placed Bosnia-Herzegovina under Austrian administration, but trisected “Big Bulgaria” to deprive剝奪 Russia of an outlet出路 to the sea. As a result, Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the Dual Alliance兩國 (德奧) 同盟 in 1879 against Russia. Nonetheless, the danger of a two-front war still lingered徘徊. Bismarck feared that Russia might lean靠向 to France against Germany. In 1881 Bismarck convinced Czar Alexander III to conclude the Second Dreikaiserbund.

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In 1881 France struggled with Italy over Tunis突尼斯. Italy lost. In 1882 she joined the Austro-German Dual Alliance. So it changed to the Triple Alliance三國同盟. Germany and Italy would support each other if attacked by France. So far, Bismarck succeeded in creating a large league of powers, crossing from the Baltic波羅的海 in the north to the Adriatic阿得里亞海 in the south. The Bulgarian Crisis of 1885-87 suddenly worsened the Austro-Russian relations. Fearing that Russia might ally with France, in 1887 Bismarck concluded the Reinsurance再保 Treaty with Russia. Without telling Austria-Hungary, he promised German neutrality to Russia if she was attacked ...

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Bismarck’s fall from power in 1890 marked the beginning of the Post-Bismarckian Era. Kaiser William II no longer valued重視 Russia’s friendship. He refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty. Instead, he adopted an aggressive foreign policy of “Weltpolitik世界政治”. He was not afraid of a Franco-Russian two-front war against Germany, but aimed at “a place in the sun” by challenging the British naval and commercial supremacy. In 1894 France managed to break isolation. With huge loans to Russia, France concluded the Dual Alliance with Czar Nicholas II. Having settled their colonial disputes over Egypt and Morocco, furthermore, in 1904 France concluded the Entente Cordiale摯誠協定 with Britain.

William II’s Berlin-Baghdad Railway Scheme was also a threat to both the British and Russian positions in the Middle East. Defeated by Japan in 1905, moreover, Russia was no longer a threat to Britain in the Far East. Thus, under French mediation, in 1907 there was the Anglo-Russian Entente. Their differences over Afghanistan阿富汗, the Persia and Tibet西藏 were solved. In the same year, the Franco-Russian Alliance, the Entente Cordiale and the Anglo-Russian Entente英俄諒解 were combined to form the Triple Entente三國協約. It was a counterweight制衡 to the Triple Alliance. Hence, by 1907 Europe was divided into two opposing armed camps.

As the Alliance System was based on secret diplomacy, mutual suspicion and fear were created among the powers. In 1905, for example, William II provoked the First Moroccan Crisis in order to see whether or not the Entente Cordiale really existed. Secondly, the Alliance System promoted armament races, too. Anglo-French military cooperation increased after the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911. Finally, the Alliance System was likely to change a local war to a general war with its chain-effect連鎖反應. After the Sarajevo Assassination塞拉耶弗事件 of June 1914, Germany supported Austria-Hungary unconditionally against both Serbia and Russia. She also declared war on France since France was Russia’s ally.

Yet not all the powers entered the First World War because of the Alliance System. Britain declared war on Germany because William II insisted on invading France via繞經 Belgium. Not only the Belgian neutrality but the British national security was threatened. Italy did not help Germany in 1914 because she had already reached secret agreements with France in 1900-02.

To sum up, the Alliance System complicated the international relations of Europe and added fire to the outbreak of the First World War.