The Causes of WW1. First World War caused by MANIA: Militarism - Alliances - Nationalism - Imperialism - Awful governments

by isekwashere (student)

Kareem Salama

Causes of WW1

First World War caused by :

Militarism - Alliances - Nationalism - Imperialism - Awful governments

July crisis best explained by the four steps of :

Austria declares war (28 July) - Russia mobilizes (31 July) -Schlieffen Plan (1,3 August) - England declares war (4 August).

1) Militarism -how important was this as a cause of the war? How did it make war more likely? Did it make the outbreak of war inevitable?

After 1871, the war atmosphere engendered by the secret alliances led to an armaments race among the powers. The race was particularly serious between 1900 and 1914, as the international situation became much worse than before. There was a significant rise in the army and naval estimates of the European powers in these years.

All the Continental European powers had adopted the conscription system since 1870. France had conscription since the Revolutionary Wars, Austria-Hungary since 1868, Germany since 1870, Italy since 1873 and Russia since 1874. Only Britain did not have conscription. After 1890, the deteriorating diplomatic relations among the powers accelerated their military expansion program.
From 1913 to July 1914, Germany increased her standing forces by 170,000 men. France lengthened her period of military service from two to three years. Russia lengthened her term of service from three to three and a half years. Britain did not introduce conscription but had prepared her armed forces for both European expedition and for home defense. In general, all the powers increased their stocks of arms, produced more modern weapons of war and built more strategic railways.

Britain and Germany were the chief rivals at sea. Under Admiral Tirpitz, State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office from 1897, a long-term shipbuilding program began. The German Navy Law of 1898 increased the German battleships from nine cruisers to twelve. In 1900 Germany passed a Navy Law, which doubled the German battle fleet.

In the meantime, Britain produced her first Dreadnought (literally, the word means fear nothing). Dreadnoughts were large, fast and heavily armed battleships with 12inch guns. They set a new standard in naval armaments and rendered all previous battleships obsolete. The naval race became intense. Between 1909 and 1911 Germany built nine Dreadnoughts while Britain completed 18 Dreadnoughts. In 1913, Germany widened the Kiel Canal to allow the easy passage of her Dreadnoughts from the Baltic to the North Sea while Britain built new naval bases for the Dreadnoughts in northern Scotland.

For centuries the powers of Europe had clashed over their competing interests around the globe. During the nineteenth century, they usually reverted to diplomacy to sort through their differences, but in the early twentieth century, the network of alliances emboldened both sides and diplomatic responses soon gave way to militaristic ones. To adjust to aggressive new order of international relations each of the powers began rapidly building up their arsenals, for it had become clear that the brawniest power would get its way.

Increased military and naval rivalry led not only to the belief that war was coming (The German ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Increased military and naval rivalry led not only to the belief that war was coming (The German ruling group felt that only through a war could Germany become a world power. Military preparations strengthened this belief.) And increase in military control of the civilian government (particularly in Germany and Russia) also increased cooperation among the military staff of the countries of the same camp. For example, all the three Entente powers held secret military talks. The British and the French naval authorities agreed that the French navy should be concentrated in the Mediterranean and the British in the North Sea. Germany and Austria also had military agreements. When the First World War was fought, it was to be fought by all powers because they had made the military plan cooperatively.

As a result of the armaments race, all the European powers were prepared for a war by 1914.

2) Alliances - how important was this as a cause of the war? How did it make war more likely? Did it make the outbreak of war inevitable?

Background:

Triple alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy
the countries had promised to aid each other militarily in the event war.

Triple entente: UK, France and Russia
Settled colonial disputes
Recognized Germany as the common enemy
No military agreements!

Alliances - how important was this as a cause of the war?

On the one hand, YES

-The alliance systems in Europe escalated the Balkan affair (instability and disputes between A-H and Serbia) to a European war. Firstly, Germany gave the blank cheque to A-H, which gave A-H the confidence to invade Serbia. This would never had happen if they were not allied.

Secondly, Germany mobilizes as a result of its military pact with Serbia. Then Germany goes to war because it has to honor its alliance with A-H. Then France and UK go to war because they have to honor the triple entente.
-Created tension between the 5 great powers in Europe and spread feeling of fatalism in European political world
-Alliances promoted arms races

On the other hand, NO

-The alliances were "loose" military pacts, it was far from certain that for example Germany would back Austria-Hungary when war broke out between Serbia and A-H or that the countries of the triple entente would stick together.

There were even internal stresses in the triple entente that had arisen from colonial disputes in Persia between UK and Russia. As late as in 1911 AJP Taylor considered the triple entente to be virtually "in the process of disintegration".

-Anther important point that disproves the argument that alliances were not a cause of the WW1 is the fact that there were no military obligations in the triple entente; F, R and UK did not have to support one another.

-Yet another point to consider is the fact that the alliances were created in defensive purposes, this should have led to greater restraint.

3) Nationalism - how important was this as a cause of the war? How did it make war more likely? Did it make the outbreak of war inevitable?

Background

Austria-Hungary fearing Russian expansion, the Empire saw its future in the economic penetration of the Balkans. Important railways were constructed and the rise of Slav nationalism became an increasing concern to a state with such as large Slav population.

In 1903, King Alexander of Serbia was assassinated and the accession to the throne was pro-Russian Peter I.

The new government made it very clear that they favored a policy of "South Slavism" and the customs union concluded in 1904 between Serbia and Bulgaria encouraged the view that Serbia was "the Piedmont of the South Slavs".

By 1908 the Balkans had been free of major political crises for a little more than a decade, despite the emergence of the expansionist government in Serbia. However, in July that year the revolution by the "Young Turk" movement overthrew the corrupt rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid and offered the prospect to other powers to easy gain in the Balkans while Turkey was occupied with domestic problems.

In September 1908, A-H annexed the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and after this success, both Germany and A-H felt strong enough to demand from Russia and Serbia formal acknowledgements of Habsburg authority.

In March 1909 both gave their acknowledgements but Russia suffered huge humiliation and the result in Serbia was the growth of nationalist terrorist organizations.

Historian Imanuel Geiss argues "the Bosnian crisis was a kind of dress rehearsal for the First World War".

The Balkan Crisis 1912-1913

The Agadir crisis brought European politics ro a pitch of tension and the implications spread eastwards down the Meditterranean. Italy's attempt in 1911 to improve its own standing in North Africa led to an unprovoked attack upon the Turkish possession of Tripoli. This stretching of Turkish resources led to even more temptation in the Balkan states to free themselves from the influence of Turkey, for good. From this emerged, in the early months of 1912, the Balkan League of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro.

The first Balkan war between the Balkan league and Turkey began in October 1912 and by the end of that month, Turkey had suffered huge defeats and been driven out of their European possessions apart from a few cities.

Tension arose from the division of spoils- A-H attemped to secure its control by insisting upon the establishment of an independent Albanian state and the exlusion of Serbia frmo the Adriatic coastline.

More immediate tensions arose amongst the victors- Bulgaria's attempts to clear Macedonia of Serbian and Greek forces in June 1913 led to the Second Balkan war.

Effects:

There is certainly evidence of heightened tension at political levels in France and Germany and of increased military preperations.

France sought closer military ties with Russia and showed less interest in restraining her, and although agreements only committed France to support Russia if attacked by Germany, Russia could also expect France's aid in the event of a clash with Germany triggered by the confrontation of A-H.

In Germany, the government was more reluctant to become involved in the Balkan crisis but showed clear signs of political unease and military preperations in case of a future crisis.

By October 1913, at the time of Vienna's ultimatum to Serbia over Albania's independence, the kaiser was urging his ally to take a firm stand and that they had unswerving German support.

France-Russian and Austro-german committments were tighter than ever, the confidence of Serbia was at its peak and the prestige of A-H and Russia was so low that they would be unable to tolerate any further blow.

German nationalism- "A Place in the Sun":

German desire to increase colonial influence evetually resulted in the two Moroccan crises in 1905 and 1911 which increased tensions and military preparations of the major European states.

The Kaiser, in the course of a Mediterranean cruise took land at Tangier in Morocco and through public speeches and behaviour implied that the recognized the Sultan of Morocco as an independent monarch and called into question Anglo-French agreements over the colonial status of these terriroties.

One view is that the kaiser was skeen to demonstrate that no international question could be solved without reference to Germany or possibly by forcing France to give ground on the issue, weaken Anglo-French relations.

Outcome however was humiliating for Germany as it had to accept confirmation of French predominance in the sultanate after the Algeciras conference in january-March 1906.

In the first crisis, no military preparations were made by any power but the defeat was seen to confirm German fears of "policy of encirclement" and according to historian Imanuel Geiss, Germany turned its back upon international conferences as a means of settling international disputes.

The Agadir crisis in 1911 however had even force effects:

It was unlikely to have lead to a general war due to Russia lack of interest in the affair but it contributed to the likelihood of a future breakdown in international relations.

It worsened relations between Britain and Germany and weakened support for reduction in naval building programmes.

Germany's attempt to spread its influence also destroyed the administration of Joseph Caillaux whose main aim had been to achieve some measure of reconciliation with Germany.