THE ROAD TO THE GREAT WAR
Dec 16, 2015
THE ROAD TO THE GREAT WAR
M.A.I.N.Causes of the War
MILITARISM
Glorification of the military1.Arms race and the
development of large armies and navies
2.Romantic view of War3.Harder to use diplomacy
French Calvary going to front, Paris, August 2, 1914
British Troops mobilizing
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1914
94 130 154 268 289 398
Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers
[Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br., Rus.] in millions of £s.
1910-14 Increase in Defense Spending
France 10%
Britain 13%
Russia 39%
Germany 73%
ALLIANCE SYSTEM Agreement between two (2)
or more powers or nations to come to the defense of one another1. Balance of Power2. Triple Alliance: AH, Germany
and Italy3. Triple Entente: GB, France and
Russia
1879The Dual Alliance
Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance to protect
themselves from Russia
1881Austro-Serbian Alliance
Austria-Hungary made an alliance with Serbia to stop Russia gaining
control of Serbia
1882The Triple Alliance
Germany and Austria- Hungary made an
alliance with Italy to stop Italy from taking sides
with Russia
1914Triple Entente (no separate peace)
Britain, Russia and France agreed not to sign for
peace separately.
1894Franco-Russian Alliance
Russia formed an alliance with France to protect herself against Germany and Austria-
Hungary
1907Triple Entente
This was made between Russia, France and Britain to counter the increasing
threat from Germany.
1907Anglo-Russian Entente
This was an agreement between Britain and
Russia
1904Entente Cordiale
This was an agreement, but not a formal alliance,
between France and Britain.
Triple Entente:
Triple Entente:
Triple Alliance:Triple Alliance:
Two Armed Camps!
Two Armed Camps!
Allied Powers:Allied Powers: Central Powers:Central Powers:
The Major Players: 1914-17
The Major Players: 1914-17
Nicholas II [Rus]
Nicholas II [Rus]
George V [Br]George V [Br]
Pres. Poincare [Fr]
Pres. Poincare [Fr]
Allied Powers:Allied Powers:
Franz Josef [A-H]Franz Josef [A-H]
Wilhelm II [Ger]Wilhelm II [Ger]
Victor Emmanuel II [It]
Victor Emmanuel II [It]
Central Powers:Central Powers:
Enver Pasha[Turkey]
Enver Pasha[Turkey]
Central Europe in 1914
IMPERIALISM Domination by one
political, economical, or cultural life of another country or region1. Competition for overseas
colonies2. Need for raw materials for
Industry and the build up of the military
European countries divided up Africa and Asia to strengthen the political and economic power of the mother country, which caused competition
NATIONALISM A strong feeling of pride
and devotion to one’s country1. Power- wanting to be the
biggest and the best2. The Balkans “powder keg of
Europe”3. Alsace and Lorraine (Had changed
between the French and Germans 4 times by the end of WWII)
German 1871
French 1871
Nationalism was both a uniting force and a divisive one.
It resulted in Germany and Italy uniting into strong nations, and also caused the eventual disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary.
BOSNIAN CRISIS In 1908, Austria-Hungary took
over the former Turkish province of Bosnia.
This angered Serbians who felt the province should be theirs.
Serbia threatened AH with war, Russia, allied to Serbia, mobilized its forces.
Germany, allied to AH mobilized its forces and prepared to threaten Russia.
War was avoided when Russia backed down.
There was, however, war in the Balkans between 1911 -12 when the Balkan states drove Turkey out of the area.
The states fought each other over which area should belong to whom.
A-H then intervened and forced Serbia to give up some of its acquisitions.
Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary was high.
The Great Powers under the terror of explosion in Balkans at 1912-3
The Spark What: The assassination of the heir
to the Austrian-Hungarian throne, The Arch-duke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist terrorist group
Where: Sarajevo, Bosnia (Territory of AH)
When: June 28, 1914
The Assassin The Assassin
GavriloPrincipGavriloPrincip
Sarajevo court room. Front row seated from the left: Trifun Grabež, Nedjelko Čabrinović, Gavrilo Princip, Danilo Ilić, Veljko Čubrilović.
this caused Austria to crack down on the Serbs with German backing (even though Ferdinand was not greatly beloved by the Emperor, Franz Josef, or his government).
Germany thought a war would solve its own internal problems of civil unrest and so she encouraged Austria’s militancy.
Austria issued an ultimatum, moved in, and shelled Belgrade – the capital of Serbia.
WHO’S TO BLAME?
Falling Dominoes Unsatisfied, Austria-Hungary declared
war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. On July 29th, Russia (an ally of Serbia)
ordered a partial mobilization only against Austria-Hungary in support of Serbia, which escalated into a general mobilization.
The Germans threatened war on July 31st if the Russians did not demobilize.
Upon being asked by Germany what it would do in the event of a Russo-German War, France responded that it would act in its own interests and mobilized.
On August 1st , Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later, on France.
The German invasion of Belgium, August 4th, to attack France, which violated Belgium's official neutrality, prompted Britain to declare war on Germany.
The Great War had arrived.
TIMELINE TO WAR July 31: Both France and Germany were asked by Britain to
declare their support for the ongoing neutrality of Belgium. France agreed this. Germany did not respond.
August 1: Germany declares war against Russia. August 2: Germany and The Ottoman Empire sign a secret
treaty entrenching the Ottoman-German Alliance August 3: Germany declares war on France. Germany
states to Belgium that she would "treat her as an enemy" if she did not allow free passage of German troops across her lands.
August 4: Germany invades Belgium according to the modified Schlieffen Plan.
August 4 Britain declares war on Germany. August 6: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. August 23: Japan, honoring the Anglo-Japans', declares
war on Germany.
Europe in 1914Europe in 1914