To what extent was Germany responsible for causing the First World War?

Elizabeth Baker

Holger H. Herwig, in his quest to answer this question has concluded;

"...The greatest measure of responsibility, however, remains with Germany. Planners, both civilian and military, were all too eager to resolve their perceived diplomatic encirclement by use of force -- "now or never," as Kaiser Wilhelm II put it."

The outbreak of World War One was reliant on a number of factors. These include the alliance system, the sense of nationalism sweeping Europe at the time. The imperial and colonial rivalry resulted in the naval and arms race. When Germany's role in these causes is examined it is possible to come to the conclusion that Germany, whilst not entirely to blame for the outbreak of World War One, certainly deserves a fair share of responsibility. Its share of responsibility lies in its involvement in the alliance system, its role in the arms race and the nationalistic policies of its government.

Before the question can be answered, it is important to look at the situation in Europe at the time before the First World War started. Europe was divided by two alliances: the Triple Alliance, of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy and the Triple Entente, consisting of Great Britain, France and Russia. The Triple Entente countries had been established for a long time and Britain and France had many overseas colonies and huge empires. They were quite happy with the situation in Europe and would not have much reason to start a war, although France was keen to regain the industrial Alsace-Lorraine area, lost to Germany in a recent war. However, this does not automatically mean that Germany was solely to blame. None of the countries in the Triple Alliance was completely happy with the status quo. Germany and Italy were newly formed and wanted their own empires and Austria-Hungary was divided, with inhabitants of many ethnic groups, and wanted to be more stable. The Alliance System was supposed to make sure that a war did not happen, because the risks involved would be too great. Instead, it made sure that, when two countries became involved in a dispute, the whole of Europe was drawn into a war. Backing this view is Ramsey RD;

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"Among the causes of the war were rising nationalist sentiment (manifested both in the chauvinism of the great European powers and in the unrest among the subject peoples of the multinational European empires), colonial and economic rivalries, the formation of hostile alliance systems, and arms races, all of which contributed to the growing sense of international tension during the pre-war years." (Ramsey RD. The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopaedia - Release 6 - (World War 1))

Britain had been the major naval power in the world ever since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It needed a powerful navy to control ...

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Britain had been the major naval power in the world ever since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It needed a powerful navy to control its many colonies, and did not want to become unnecessarily involved in costly wars. In 1898, the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, increased the tension between Britain and Germany by announcing his intention to build a navy. Britain did not see why Germany needed such a large navy concentrated in the North Sea (Britain’s ships were spread all over the world), despite the German navy being smaller than Britain’s. The Kaiser dismissed British fears, but Britain did not listen and responded by increasing the size of its navy and by launching a new ship, the dreadnought. An unnecessary ‘naval race’ ensued, costing both countries a lot of money. At the same time, the European powers were also building up their armies. Not much planning was involved – the countries were just replying to others’ actions. ). Although all the powers were involved in the arms race, the statistics suggest that Germany was the most aggressive, increasing its spending on armaments by 350% between 1872 and 1912. Germany made massive economic and military preparations for war. This willingness to fight a war has been seen by many as an indication of the amount of responsibility Germany owes for the outbreak of the war.

Another argument that backs up claims that Germany should bear the most responsibility is based on its behaviour during the Moroccan crises and the July crisis. During the Moroccan crisis German was clearly testing the strength of the Entente Cordiale. Its provocative behaviour increased the feeling of mutual antipathy between Germany and France. Its behaviour during the July crisis also indicates an eagerness to go to war. It gave Austria-Hungary unconditional support. An act, which showed the other nations that Germany, was ready for war and prepared to take on anyone. As Gordon Martel says, "the July crisis was, in essence an Austro-Hungarian one; the transformation of that crisis into a war was the responsibility of Germany". (Matel, 1984:72-76).

However, it could be argued that the tension was no more than in previous years. Germany and Britain were on friendly terms, their agreement on the Baghdad railway outweighing their naval rivalry. Industrialists in Germany did not want a war, which might spoil the country’s economic prospects. They thought that Germany would become the leading power in Europe from economic strength alone. French and British people were more concerned about Russia than they were about Germany, and a future alliance between Britain, France and Germany against Russia did not seem out of the question. Austria-Hungary was the country with the most problems just before the war. It was unquestionably a huge country and a major European power, but it was very unstable. Many groups including nationalistic Serbs, who wanted the part of Austria-Hungary in which they lived to be part of Serbia, inhabited the country. In 1908, Austria took over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia and Serbia would have liked to intervene, but Germany’s support for Austria discouraged them. Austria-Hungary had tried similar things before, but this was the first time she received assured support from Germany. Russia did not wish to be caught out again, and prepared her army. Later, in 1912 and 1913, there was a series of local wars in the Balkans. Serbia, newly independent and bordering Austria-Hungary, emerged as the most powerful country and was supported by Russia. Austria-Hungary was worried and was looking for an excuse to remove the threat of Serbia.

It could be argued that poor planning by all countries was a major factor in the advent of such a large-scale and long-lasting war. To support this, some Historians tend to be less inclined to any one side, in favour of a position where every one is to be blamed almost equally; "The unthinkable happened because in each of the Great States, leaders did certain things that inflamed the crisis, or failed to do things that might have eased it. All shared in some degree the responsibility for the general failure." (Marshall, S. L. A., World War One, 1985, page 25.)

Some of the countries involved in the war relied on plans if a war should ever arise, but these were not always well thought out and up to date. The plan on which Germany relied was devised in 1892 by Field-Marshal von Schlieffen, Chief of the German General Staff from 1892 to 1906, and dead for some time. This was the only plan that Germany had. Germany was worried about encirclement by France and Russia, and the Schlieffen Plan instructed that German troops would attack and defeat France quickly, then turn their attention to Russia, as Russia would be slow to mobilise its vast army. Like all plans made for this war, the German plan relied on attack rather than on defence. Attack was getting more difficult as weapons became more advanced, but the generals from all countries failed to realise this. They believed a war would be quick, lasting for about 90 days. How could a war last for much longer – the cost would be too great? Perhaps they should have paid more attention to past wars, such as the American Civil War fifty years earlier.

It has been suggested that when, in 1914, the Kiel canal was widened, this was done to allow German dreadnoughts to pass through. But, if Germany had been planning a war, it seems strange that both the Kaiser and Moltke, Chief of the German General Staff, were on holiday immediately before the war.

Britain and France also had plans. France had a rather unlikely plan, called Plan 17, in which they would charge across into Germany, force the Germans to surrender and rush back home again. Britain relied on the new British Expeditionary Force, consisting of 150 000 highly trained, well-equipped, professional soldiers, who could be send off to help France at short notice. Austria-Hungary and Russia did not even have plans. Austria-Hungary relied on the success of the Schlieffen Plan and Russia did not think she would need much of a plan with her vast army.

When war did finally break out, Germany was a mere spectator. When the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited Sarajevo with his wife Sophie, he was murdered by a Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Austria-Hungary seized her opportunity and issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which would effectively have made Serbia a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Serbia asked for time to consider and Austria-Hungary declared war immediately. Germany was drawn into the war because of her alliance with Austria-Hungary and, in a matter of days, troops from all over Europe were happily setting off to war.

Germany was very aggressive in the build-up to the war and disrespectful of the longer-established countries of the Triple Alliance. However, I do not think that she could be solely responsible with four other major powers involved. Supporting this comment is Jeremy Black, investigating “Why Wars happen”; “ In a situation of constant uncertainty and international ‘anarchy’, there is a multitude of causes for war, but war does not break out. Therefore it is necessary to focus on what have been termed ‘triggers’ or ‘precipitants’ The Allies were suspicious of Germany’s actions before the war, when they possibly should not have been, and this increased the tension. Austria-Hungary’s hostility with Russia and Serbia played a major part in causing a war to occur, although Germany agreed to support Austria-Hungary before Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. I think that, with the Alliance System dominating Europe, a war was inevitable, to sort out the situation. However, there cannot be a war without somebody to start it and Germany certainly played a big part in this. Though the immediate cause of the war was the murder of the ruler of Austria-Hungary, it was the long term causes, as elaborated upon throughout the course of this essay, that were the real reasons for the start of the First World War. These causes were the nationalist sentiment, colonial and economic rivalries, the formation of hostile alliance systems and the arms races. These long-term causes were the fuel, whereas the immediate causes provided only the spark that lit the huge fire.

(Herwig, H. H., The Outbreak of World War I, 1991 )

(Marshall, S. L. A., World War One, 1985, page 25.)

(Ramsey RD. The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopaedia - Release 6 - (World War 1))

(Jeremy B., Why Wars happen)

(Matel, 1984:72-76).