Revision

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Revision Session 5

• The Road to War International Rivalry

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International Rivalry - an introduction

• From 1871 Bismarcks efforts were aimed at
  preserving alliances
• He wanted to avoid angering Britain
• Britain in Splendid Isolation when it came to
  European affairs
• Bismarck understood that Britain was touchy about
  the Empire and their Royal Navy

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International Rivalry an introduction

• British Empire covered 25 of the worlds surface
• British government had adopted the two power
  standard which meant there Navy had to be at
  least as big as the next two strongest navies
  combined
• Bismarck therefore saw no reason to challenge
  Britain
• In fact, Bismarck was planning to form an
  alliance with Britain
• He felt there was a strong connection i.e.
  Wilhelm II was the grandson of Queen Victoria

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Weltpolitik

• In 1890 Bismarck was forced to resign by Wilhelm
  II
• Wilhelm was 26 and Bismarck 72!
• Wilhelm was impulsive and emotional often
  caricatured as a bully he was ambitious.
• Wilhelm wanted to increase Germanys prestige at
  home and abroad
• Without Bismarck, the new Kaiser was free to
  pursue policies that increased risk of
  confrontation

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Weltpolitik Wilhelm II VS Bismarck

• Wilhelm wanted to expand the German Empire in
  Africa
• Bismarck wanted to avoid conflict with Britain
  and France
• Wilhelm wanted to expand the navy
• Bismarck wanted to concentrate on the army so as
  not to upset Britain
• Wilhelm wanted to play and important role in
  foreign affairs and challenge Britain and France
• Bismarck had wanted to keep as many countries on
  his side as possible

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Weltpolitik

• In 1890 Wilhelm refused to resign the Reinsurance
  Treaty with Russia
• This helped to bring about the Dual Entente
• In 1896 Wilhelm started to use new terms like
  Weltpolitik meaning world policy
• He wanted to take a full part in international
  affairs
• He began to talk of Drang Nach Osten drive to
  the East and a scheme for a Berlin to Baghdad
  railway was drawn up
• This appeared to threaten Britains influence in
  the Middle East and Asia

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Weltpolitik

• Wilhelm also demanded a Place in the Sun
• This meant he wanted to expand the German Empire
  in Africa and other parts of the world (Togoland
  and the Cameroons in West Africa, German South
  West Africa now Namibia and a number of
  island groups in the South Pacific)
• The significance of these changes was the threat
  of what MIGHT happen rather than what actually
  DID happen
• The four German colonies in Africa all bordered
  with British colonies and the British grew
  suspicious.

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Weltpolitik

• In 1895 The British of Cape Colony in South
  Africa raided a region occupied by Boers called
  Transvaal the raid was unsuccessful and the
  British were defeated. Wilhelm sent a letter of
  Congratulations to President Kruger of the Boers
  and this was seen as antagonistic by the British

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The German Navy Laws

• Serious threat came from the German Navy Laws
• The First Navy Law 1898 announced that they would
  built a fleet strong enough to combat the largest
  navy in the world
• Taken as a direct challenge by the British
  government
• The Second Navy Law 1900 provided for a fleet
  of 38 battleships to be built over a 20 year
  period
• Since number of battleships was how naval power
  was assessed this was a challenge to Britain

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The German Navy Laws

• The British government were suspicious what
  were all these battleships going to be used for?
• The obvious answer was to attack the British
  fleet
• Because the British had the two-power standard
  this meant that the British had to respond by
  building more ships
• Situation was made even worse when the Germans
  announced that they were to link the Baltic and
  the North Sea with the Kiel Canal
• In fact it was too shallow for the battleships
  but the British didnt know this at the time

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The German Navy Laws

• In1902 the British started building battleships
  to stop Germany getting the lead
• In 1906 the British launched the Dreadnought an
  new type of battleship - which had more guns and
  went faster!
• The German navy responded by building its own
  dreadnoughts
• The Naval Arms race began

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The Naval Arms Race

• 1906-1914 the British built 29 Dreadnoughts and
  the Germans built 17
• BY 1914 the Dreadnoughts were massively improved
  and the first Dreadnought was obsolete
• The British public became very involved in the
  race we want eight and we wont wait
• Navy Leagues were set up to campaign for more
  ships
• 1909 budget allowed for the building of 8
  battleships
• The German government failed to build the ships
  they had planned for because the cost was too
  great
• The Naval Arms Race came to nothing in the end
• It had important effects on the perceived
  relationship between Germany and Britain
• They were seen as bitter enemies and natural
  rivals

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The Moroccan Crises

• Wilhelm II started to interfere in parts of the
  world which werent under his influence
• In 1905 he visited Morocco
• Morocco had been under French influence
• At Tangier he made a speech in favour of an open
  door policy in Morocco
• This alarmed the French as they thought Germany
  was trying to force its way into Morocco
• In fact, Germany wanted to test the Entente
  Cordiale between Britain and France

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The Moroccan Crises

• The matter was not finally settled until January
  1906.
• The Great Powers of Europe met at the Algeciras
  conference and it was decided that France should
  have the control of Morocco
• A second crisis developed in 1911 when a German
  gunboat (The Panther) appeared at Agadir
• The Germans said they were there to protect
  Germans and their property
• In fact, it was there to frighten the French

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The Morrocan Crises

• The situation was made worse by a speech made by
  David Lloyd George Chancellor of the Exchequer
  (was PM 1916-1922) at Mansion House
• He accused the Germans of stirring up trouble
• He threatened retaliation
• Britain began to prepare for war with Germany

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Moroccan Crises

• BUT in the end it came to nothing
• After months of negotiating the French and German
  governments came to an agreement by November 1911
• The French would keep Morocco
• The Germans would get some French land in Central
  Africa
• Relations between Britain, France and Germany
  started to improve threat of war dies down
• The public in Britain still see Germany as the
  enemy

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July-August 1914

• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in
  Sarajevo 28th June 1914 sparked a series of
  events which led to war
• Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia on 23rd July
• The Serbs rejected this ultimatum
• The Austrians tried to stop Russian involvement
  by promising not to take any Serb territory
• Britain called for an international conference to
  settle the matter
• Wilhelm tried to stop the Austrians from
  attacking Serbia
• Amidst all this chaos Russia mobilised its army
  on 29th July
• Germany followed suit on 1st August (declaring
  war on Russia)
• 2nd August the German Army invaded Luxemburg and
  demanded the right to pass through Belgium
• The intention was to quickly crush France through
  implementation of the Schlieffen Plan
• The Belgium government refused to let them
  through and appealed for help to Britain (Belgium
  was a neutral country and had been since gaining
  independence from Holland in Treaty of
  Westminster its neutrality was guaranteed by
  Britain and Prussia)
• On 4th August Britain declared war on Germany
• Austria declared war on Russia on 6th August
• On 12th August Britain and France declared war on
  Austria

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Why was it impossible to prevent the outbreak of
war?

• There were a number of attempts to stop the war
  but they failed
• The assassination released all the fears and
  suspicions which had been building up for years
• The French desire for revenge (Alsace-Lorraine)
• British suspicions of Germanys motives (Navy
  Laws, Naval Arms Race)
• Austrian and Russian rivalry in the Balkans

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Why was it impossible to prevent the outbreak of
war?

• One reason for the failure to call a halt was the
  speed at which events took place
• Russia mobilised its army on 29th July it later
  specified that it was mobilised only against
  Austria
• But by then the Germans had already mobilised
  their army against Russia and it was too late

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Why was it impossible to prevent the outbreak of
war?

• Another reason is the the Austrians failed to
  settle their dispute at an international
  conference they felt they couldnt accept that
  solution and wanted to deal with Serbia
• There was also a general belief that war would be
  short and new of war was received with great
  enthusiasm (all over by Christmas)
• Bismarcks system of alliances had ensured that
  one country after another would be drawn into the
  war.