The Beginning of the Twentieth-Century Crisis:

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Chapter 24 The Beginning of the Twentieth-Century
Crisis War and Revolution
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Europe in 1914 1. The Three Emperors' League,
created by Bismarck in 1873 to counter any threat
from France, consisted of Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The failure of
Germany to support Russia at the Congress of
Berlin in 1878 resulted in Russian withdrawal
from the league. Fearful of an anti-German
alliance featuring France, Russia, and Austria,
Bismarck made a defensive alliance with Austria
in 1879. Each would support the other in the
event of an attack by Russia. In 1882 the
alliance was enlarged with the addition of Italy
which had conflicting ambitions with France over
North Africa. This Triple Alliance provided
protection against France. Although the alliance
had only a five year term, it was regularly
renewed. 2. The Three Emperors League was
reconstituted in 1881 when Russia returned but
collapsed in 1886 over the Austrian-Russian
rivalry in the Balkans. In 1887 Germany and
Russia pledged in the Reinsurance Treaty to
remain neutral if the other became involved in a
war with a third power. 3. In 1890 Emperor
William II (1888-1918) dismissed Bismarck and
personally took over direction of foreign policy.
His decision to drop the Reinsurance Treaty led
Russia to conclude a military alliance with
France in 1894. 4. France signed the Entente
Cordiale with Britain in 1904 out of fear that
Britain and Germany had resolved their
differences. This agreement had no military
provisions and was intended to resolve the
colonial differences of the two states. Britain
and France were successful in achieving this. 5.
Britain was somewhat encouraged by the Japanese
victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and
the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1905
since both left Russia weakened. Nevertheless,
there was concern that Russia could drift back
toward Germany. Thus, in 1907 Britain concluded
an agreement with Russia similar to the one
signed with France. Again the differences,
especially those in Asia, were resolved. 6.
Having settled their sources of friction,
Britain, France, and Russia were tied together in
an informal yet powerful association, the Triple
Entente. Questions 1. Why was it important for
Bismarck to bring together Russia, Germany, and
Austria-Hungary into an alliance? 2. Why did
Britain resolve its differences with France and
Russia? 3. Why did France need a European ally?
Europe in 1914
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• The Road to World War I
• Nationalism and Internal Dissent
• Diplomacy based on brinkmanship
• Socialist labor movements create fear
• Militarism
• Conscription
• Influence of military leaders
• The Outbreak of War Summer of 1914
• Serbia
• Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and
• Sophia, June 28, 1914
• Russian mobilization
• Schlieffen Plan

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World War I, 1914-1918 Facing a two front war in
which Austria was to hold off Russia, it was
necessary that the 1905 Schlieffen Plan adopted
by Germany be successful. Since the plan called
for troop movement through neutral Belgium to
attack Paris, it was essential that German troops
be permitted to cross. When Belgium refused,
Germany invaded thereby invoking an 1839 treaty
with Britain that guaranteed Belgian neutrality.
Stiff resistance, however, slowed the German
attack. French and British forces staged an
orderly retreat to about twenty miles outside of
Paris at the Marne River where they struck on
September 6, 1914, at a gap in the German lines.
After four days the Germans fell back. 2.
Stalemate followed the battle of the Marne as
each side began to dig trenches to protect
itself. By November there was an unbroken line
of parallel trenches from the English Channel to
Switzerland. The unconventional trench warfare
caught the generals on both sides unprepared
since they were trained for wars of movement and
maneuver. Without imagination, their only plan
was to throw masses of men against enemy lines to
force a breakthrough. The tactic resulted in
slaughter. In 1916, the Germans initiated a
campaign to capture the French fortress of Verdun
125 miles east of Paris. After ten months, the
losses totaled 700,000 men for both sides. To
take pressure off Verdun, in July the British
launched an attack along the Somme River.
Fighting through October, the battle of the Somme
cost British and French forces 600,000 soldiers
to gain 125 square miles. The German losses were
500,000. 3. When hostilities began, Russia
pushed into eastern Germany and Austria but was
stopped at Tannenberg in August 1914 where an
entire 1. Russian army was captured. At Masurian
Lakes two weeks later Russia suffered another
defeat and heavy losses. A third failed
offensive against the Austrians in June 1916
featured a German counter-offensive resulting in
Russian losses of one million men. Lenin's
desire to pull Russia out of the war led to the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed March 3, 1918. By
its terms Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states
were placed under the control of Austria and
Germany. The Ukraine became independent. To
Germany's ally Turkey was ceded part of the
Transcaucasia. The losses amounted to 26 percent
of Russia's total population, 27 percent of its
arable land, 26 percent of the railway system, 33
percent of its manufacturing industries, 73
percent of the iron industry, and 75 percent of
Russia's coal fields. (G. Vernadsky in Nicholas
V. Riasanovsky, A History of Russia, third ed.,
p. 529) 4. Germany began a spring offensive in
March 1918 and pushed within thirty-five miles of
Paris but were stopped in July in the second
battle on the Marne. An Allied counter-offensive
now pressed on into Germany. On November 9,
1918, Emperor William II abdicated. Question
1. How important was the Russian failure to
defeat the Germans?
World War I, 1914-1918
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• The Great War
• Illusions and Stalemate, 1914-1915
• Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
• First Battle of the Marne, September 6-10, 1914
• Russian failures
• Battle of Tannenberg, August 30, 1914
• Battle of Masurian Lakes, September 15, 1914
• Driven out of Galicia and Serbia
• The Great Slaughter, 1916-1917
• Trench warfare
• Battle of Verdun, 1916, 700,000 killed

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• Widening the War
• Battle of Gallipoli, April 1915
• Italy enters the war, May 1915, against
  Austria-Hungary
• Bulgaria enters the war, September 1915, on the
  side of the Central Powers
• Middle East
• Lawrence of Arabia (1888-1935
• Sinking of the Lusitania, May 7, 1915
• United States enters the war, April 6, 1917
• Bolshevik Revolution, 1917

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• The Home Front The Impact of Total War
• Extension of government power
• Politics
• Economics
• Internal dissent
• Propaganda
• New roles for women
• The Last Year of the War
• Last German offensive, March 21-July 18, 1918
• Allied counterattack, Second Battle of the Marne,
  July 18, 1918
• William II abdicated, November 9, 1918
• Armistice, November 11, 1918

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Territorial Changes in Europe and the Middle East
after World War I 1. France, seeking lasting
security, wanted to create a buffer state between
itself and Germany in the Rhineland. This was
opposed by Woodrow Wilson and David LLoyd George
who believed it would be a violation of the
principle of national self-determination. The
French gave up the demand in return for a
defensive alliance with Britain and the United
States. Nevertheless, France did gain the return
of Alsace and Lorraine as was specified in point
eight of the Fourteen Points. Also, German land
west of the Rhine River (the Rhineland) was to be
demilitarized to serve as a barrier between
France and Germany. 2. Northern Schleswig was
surrendered to Denmark. 3. To compensate for
German destruction of France's coal resources
during the war, the coal mines of the rich Saar
Basin were ceded to France to be exploited for
fifteen years (after which the German government
could buy them back). The region was placed
under the administration of the League of Nations
until 1935 at which time a plebiscite was to be
held to determine whether the area was to remain
under the League, be returned to Germany, or be
awarded to France. 4. Most of the German
territories of Posen and West Prussia were
surrendered to independent Poland. This would
give the Poles access to Danzig (modern Gdansk)
on the Baltic Sea by a corridor which would cut
through Germany, separating East Prussia from the
rest of the German states. Danzig was placed
under the administration of the League. 5. The
Treaty of St. Germain (1919), which settled the
war with Austria, forced several concessions.
Austria had to recognize the independence of
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland.
All of the states were ceded parts of Austria.
To Italy, Austria had to surrender Trieste, the
south Tyrol, and the Istrian Peninsula. 6. The
Treaty of Neuilly (1919) settled the war with
Bulgaria and it had to cede lands to Romania,
Yugoslavia, and Greece. The Treaty of Trianon
Palace (1920) required Hungary as a former
belligerent to surrender Slovakia to
Czechoslovakia, Transylvania to Romania, and
Croatia-Slovenia to Yugoslavia. The Treaty of
Sevres (1920) required among other things for
Turkey to give up European territory to Greece.
This was abrogated in 1922 when Turkish
nationalists under Mustapha Kemal (Ataturk)
seized the lands. 7. By 1922 the Bolsheviks
had ended the civil war in Russia and had
stabilized their frontier boundaries by making
cessions of Russian territory to Finland, Latvia,
Estonia, Poland, and Romania. Significantly, the
peace settlement made Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
and Lithuania independent. 8. The disappearance
of the old Ottoman Empire resulted in Palestine
and Iraq being placed under the control of
Britain while Syria and Lebanon were turned over
to the French as mandates under the League of
Nations. Questions 1. How was the settlement of
1919 unsatisfactory? 2. What could be the
possible implications of ethnic Germans being
placed under newly created governments, thus
becoming minorities?
Territorial Changes in Europeand the Middle East
after World War I
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• The Peace Settlement
• Palace of Versailles, January 1919, 27 Allied
  nations
• Woodrow Wilson, Fourteen Points
• Georges Clemenceau of France concerned with his
  nations security
• Lloyd George determined to punish Germany
• Five separate treaties, the most important being
  the Treaty of Versailles with Germany
• Territorial changes in Europe
• Dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire
• Mandates
• United States Senate rejects the Versailles Peace
  Treaty

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• Uncertain Peace and the Search for Stability
• Weaknesses of the League of Nations
• Allied Reparations Commission, April 1921
• French occupation of the Ruhr valley
• Liberal-socialist governments of Britain and
  France
• Dawes Plan, August 1924
• Treaty of Locarno, 1925
• Kellogg-Briand pact, 1926
• Disarmament

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• The Great Depression
• Problems in domestic economies
• International financial crisis
• Crash of the American stock market, October 1929
• Reaction to economic decline
• United States
• New Deal
• Britain
• John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)
• France
• Popular Front
• Germany
• Weimar Republic

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• The Russian Revolution
• Revolution of 1905
• Tsar Nicholas II
• Actions in Petrograd, March 1917
• Women
• Provisional Government
• Alexander Kerensky (1881-1970)
• Bolsheviks
• V.I. Lenin (1870-1824)
• Collapse of Provisional Government, November 6-7,
  1917
• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 3, 1918

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• Civil war, 1918-1921
• Bolshevik army
• Leon Trotsky
• White army
• Red Terror
• New Economic Policy (NEP)
• Modified capitalism
• Death of Lenin, 1924
• Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)