A4: Th e Road to War in Europe, 1870 to 1914

The Alliance System

Why did Prussia win the Franc-Prussian War?

  • Bismarck changed the wording of the Ems telegram sent by King Wilhelm I to the French ambassador to make it appear as if the ambassador had been insulted.
  • The French government was forced to declare war.
  • The Prussian railway network enabled troops to reach the border as quickly as possible.
  • The French army was no match for the Prussians. The Prussian army had fought two wars in the previous six years.
  • The Prussian Dreyse rifle was far more efficient than the French rifle.

What were the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt?

  • France had to agree to hand over the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine. These included the cities of Strasbourg and Metz and contained valuable agricultural land and iron ore fields.
  • France had to pay an indemnity of 5,000,000,000 francs to Germany and some areas of northern France were to be occupied by the German army until the sum was handed over.
  • A triumphal parade of the German troops was held in Paris on 1 March 1871.

What were the effects of the Franco-Prussian War?

  • The German Empire was created. Bismarck emerged as a hero and chancellor of the Empire was secure. The south German states all agreed to join the German Empire.
  • Germany was now the most powerful country in Europe. The German army had proved itself invincible.
  • Bismarck feared the French desire for revenge.
  • His aim was to ensure that Germany always had plenty of allies, while France remained isolated.
  • So Bismarck set himself the task of trying to ensure that France could never be a threat to Germany. He did this by creating the Alliance System.

How did Bismarck try to keep on good terms with Russia?

  • Bismarck wanted avoid at all the costs the possibility of a war on two fronts.
  • For the next twenty years, Bismarck tried to ensure that France and Russia would never form an alliance and that Russia would always be linked to Germany in one way or another.

In 1873 the DreiKaiserBund (League of Three Emperors) was signed by the Emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary and the Tsar of Russia.

The three great powers of central and eastern Europe were now linked in a loose agreement, which was intended to maintain the status quo.

Why did the DreiKaiserBund not work?

But it was only a vague agreement rather than a formal alliance, but it also involved two countries that were rivals for influence in the Balkans.

  • Russia wanted to extend its empire south towards the Mediterranean, and, when that proved impossible, to protect the Slav peoples in the Balkans.
  • The Austrians wanted to extend their empire into the Balkans, and that meant occupying Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the majority of the population was Serb.

In 1877 Russia declared war on Turkey in 1877 and then tried to create a ‘Big Bulgaria’ at the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878. What could Bismarck do to keep the peace between the two Great Powers?

Why were the Congress and Treaty of Berlin important?

  • After the Treaty of San Stefano between Russia and Turkey, Bismarck stepped in as an ‘honest broker’.
  • Bismarck wanted to try to make sure that both Austria and Russia remained allies of Germany.
  • He invited the Great Powers to Berlin to try to sort out the problem.
  • Russia agreed to Bulgaria being split up into three parts. The southern part remained under Turkish rule. Roumelia became independent and the remainder became the new state of Bulgaria.
  • Russia retained southern Bessarabia and Austria retained control of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Why was the Treaty of Berlin unpopular in Russia?

  • Bulgaria had been split up.
  • Bismarck had appeared to support Austria against Russia.
  • To keep the situation under control Bismarck signed the Dual Alliance (with Austria) in 1879.

Why did Bismarck sign the Second DreiKaiserBund?

  • The Treaty of Berlin and the Dual Alliance isolated Russia.
  • The Second DreiKaiserBund contained a series of clauses which attempted to bind the three empires together.
  • In the case of one of the three empires being attacked by a fourth power, the other two powers would remain neutral.
  • Russia agreed to respect the interests of Austria-Hungary arising from her new position in the Balkans as set out in the Treaty of Berlin.
  • Austria also reserved the right to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future.
  • The Second DreiKaiserBund was renewed in 1884, but in 1887 Russia refused to sign because of events in Bulgaria.

Why did Bismarck sign the Mediterranean Agreements and the Reinsurance Treaty?

  • He wanted to prevent Russia and France drawing closer together.
  • In March 1887 Bismarck formed the First Mediterranean Agreement with Britain, Italy and Austria.
  • The Royal Navy would protect Italy if France attacked, and Italy would support Britain if France interfered in Egypt.
  • The Reinsurance Treaty was designed to prevent Russia forming an alliance with France.
  • The Second Mediterranean Agreement was signed in December 1887, Germany, Italy, Austria and Britain agreed to support Turkey if it was attacked by Russia.
  • The two Mediterranean Agreements were desperate attempts by Bismarck to protect Germany if France and Russia formed an alliance.

Why was the resignation of Bismarck important?

  • The Reinsurance Treaty was not renewed.
  • The alliances that Bismarck had created now had the effect of dividing Europe into two armed camps.
  • The Alliance System, which Bismarck had so carefully created and maintained, fell apart.

The creation of the Triple Alliance

In 1879 Bismarck signed the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary.

The Dual Alliance became the most important part of Bismarck’s attempts to give Germany security. It was clearly aimed at Russia.

In 1882 the Dual Alliance was extended to become the Triple Alliance with the inclusion of Italy.

Austria and Germany promised to support Italy if it was attacked by France.

If any one of Austria, Germany and Italy was attacked by two or more countries, the others would support it.

The first clause was obviously a threat to France and the second was a warning against a possible alliance between France and Russia.

  • The Triple Alliance was renewed in 1887, 1891, 1902 and 1912 and it became one of the alliances by which the great powers of Europe were divided into two armed camps by 1914.

The creation of the Triple Entente

  • In the 1890s relations between Russia and France grew much closer.
  • In 1892 there was a military agreement between the two countries.
  • The Dual Entente was signed in 1894. The Entente was a defensive agreement like the Triple Alliance.
  • Russia agreed to support France if it was attacked by Germany, or by Italy supported by Germany. France agreed to support Russia if it was attacked by Germany or Austria supported by Germany.
  • The Dual Entente created possibility of a war on two fronts, with Germany caught between the armies of France and Russia.
  • In 1904 Britain and France signed The Entente Cordiale, the ‘friendly agreement’.
  • The Entente led subsequently to discussions on naval issues. The two navies agreed to divide responsibility for European waters. In 1912 the British navy withdrew its forces from the Mediterranean and the French navy withdrew its forces from the Channel.
  • In 1907 Britain signed an Entente with Russia. This helped to create the Triple Entente.
  • The Triple Entente did not commit Britain to defend or support the other two powers, but it did make British support for them much more likely in the event of war.
  • Europe was now divided into two armed camps, each made up of three powers and each with a series of built in clauses, which involved automatic and immediate military action. The stage was now set for a showdown, should the situation arise.

International Rivalry

What was Weltpolitik?

  • Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to increase Germany's prestige both in Europe and abroad and this ran the risk of making enemies.
  • Wilhelm wanted to expand the German Empire in Africa and the German navy. Wilhelm wanted to challenge France and Britain.
  • In 1890 Wilhelm refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty and this decision helped to bring about the Dual Entente which was signed in 1894.
  • In 1896 Wilhelm began to use the term ‘Weltpolitik’, meaning world policy. Germany would be taking part a full part in international affairs.
  • The ‘Drang nach Osten’ suggested that Germany was going to expand in an easterly direction.
  • A scheme for a Berlin to Baghdad railway appeared to threaten Britain’s influence in the Middle East and Asia
  • Wilhelm also demanded a ‘Place in the Sun’ for Germany, which suggested that he wanted to expand the German Empire in Africa and other parts of the world.
  • The significance of these changes in policy was more to do with what might happen than what actually did happen
  • The British suspected that the Kaiser and Germany were up to something and did not know what.
  • In December 1895 Cecil Rhodes sent a raiding party into the Transvaal in the belief that an uprising was about to take place.
  • In January 1896 the Kaiser sent a telegram to President Kruger congratulating him on defeating the Jameson Raid. This did not go down well in Britain.

Why were the German Navy Laws important?

  • These laid out plans to build a navy to challenge the Royal Navy over a period of twenty years.
  • In 1898, the First Navy Law announced that Germany would build a fleet strong enough to combat the strongest navy in the world.
  • In 1900 the Second Navy Law provided for a fleet of thirty-eight battleships to be built in the next twenty years.
  • The British government believed that the Germans were planning to challenge Britain’s command of the seas.
  • If the Germans began to build a larger navy, Britain would have to respond and build more ships.
  • The Germans also announced the building of the Kiel Canal. This would link the Baltic with the North Sea and would allow German warships to sail from the Baltic to the North Sea.
  • From 1902 Britain began to build battleships to stop the Germans getting a lead.
  • In 1906 the British launched HMS Dreadnought, a battleship which made all existing battleships obsolete. It carried ten twelve-inch guns and had a top speed of twenty-one knots.
  • The German navy replied by building ‘Dreadnoughts’ of its own and a Naval Arms Race began.

What was the Naval Arms Race?

  • From 1906 to 1914 the British built twenty-nine Dreadnoughts and the Germans built seventeen.
  • By 1914 the ships carried fifteen-inch guns and their oil-fired turbine engines could reach a top speed of twenty-five knots.
  • A Navy League was formed to campaign for more and more ships.
  • The German government failed to build the ships that had been planned in 1900 because the cost was simply too great.

What effects did the Naval Arms Race have?

  • It helped to create the impression that the two countries were bitter enemies, when in fact relations were getting better.
  • In Britain there were newspaper campaigns that described the Germans as barbarians.
  • Books were published giving accounts of German invasions of Britain.

What effects did the Moroccan Crises have?

  • In March 1905 Kaiser Wilhelm visited Morocco, which had been under French influence.
  • At Tangier the Kaiser made a speech in which he spoke in favour of an ‘open door’ policy in Africa.
  • The visit was an attempt by the German government to see how strong the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France really was.
  • The German government accepted an invitation from the Sultan of Morocco to an international conference. This seemed to make the crisis even worse.
  • In January 1906, the great powers of Europe met at the Algeciras Conference and decided that France would have control of Morocco. Germany opposed the decision, but had to accept it.
  • On 1 July 1911 a German gunboat, the ‘Panther’, arrived at Agadir. The German government claimed that it had been sent to protect Germans and their property.
  • David Lloyd George accused the Germans of stirring up trouble and threatened retaliation. In the next few months Britain began to prepare for war with Germany.
  • After several months of negotiation, the French and German governments reached agreement in November 1911.
  • Germany agreed to allow France a free hand in Morocco and the French handed over some land in Central Africa.
  • Relations between Germany and Britain and France began to improve and the threat of war died down.
  • But as far as most British people were concerned, Britain and Germany were natural enemies. But that was soon to change.

Why did war break out in July-August 1914?

  • The assassination of the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 suddenly brought all of the existing rivalries to a head.
  • The Austrian ultimatum to Serbia was not sent until 23 July, by which time many people had assumed that the assassination had been forgotten
  • 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 II tried to stop the Austrians from attacking Serbia.
  • Russia mobilised its army on 29 July and Germany followed suit on 1 August, declaring war on Russia on the same day.
  • On 2 August the German army invaded Luxembourg and then demanded the right to pass through Belgium.
  • The Belgian government refused permission. On 3 August Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium.

What was the Schlieffen Plan?

  • The Schlieffen Plan was designed to cope with a war on two fronts, that is an attack on Germany by both France and Russia.
  • The plan was intended to knock out France before the Russian army had had a chance to mobilise.
  • It was assumed that the Russian army would prove much more difficult nut to crack.
  • The Schlieffen Plan involved an attack through Belgium. The German armies would surround Paris and then attack the French from the rear.
  • Schlieffen assumed that when war broke out the French would immediately attack across the border into Alsace and Lorraine.
  • The main plan of the French army, Plan 17, was based on an attack into Alsace-Lorraine. So by the beginning of 1914 the armies of France and Germany were both prepared for the conflict that was about to take place.

What effects did the Schlieffen Plan have?

  • Belgium was a neutral country and its neutrality had been guaranteed by two powers, Britain and Prussia. The Belgian government immediately appealed to Britain for help.
  • On 4 August Britain declared war on Germany.

Why was it impossible to prevent the outbreak of war in 1914?

  • There were a number of attempts to stop the war. The Kaiser, Tsar Nicholas II, the British and French governments all tried to halt the process of mobilisations and declarations. But they all failed.
  • The assassination of Franz Ferdinand released all the suspicions and fears that had been bottled up for the previous forty years. The speed at which events took place took people by surprise.
  • The Austrians resisted attempts to settle the dispute at a conference because they felt that having presented the ultimatum to Serbia, they simply had to see the matter through.
  • There was a general belief that the war would be short and glorious. In all European capitals news of the outbreak of war was greeted with great enthusiasm.

B3: The Balkans, 1876 to 1914

What were the aims of Russia and Austria in the Balkans?

  • The collapse of Turkey created a power vacuum, of which both Russia and the Austrian Empire tried to take advantage.
  • Austria wanted to extend its influence to the south and, if possible, gain an outlet to the Mediterranean.
  • Russia wanted to gain control of the Straits, the entrance to the Black Sea, which would enable its navy to sail into the Mediterranean.
  • The most powerful state in the Balkans was Serbia. The Serbs shared a common language, alphabet and Orthodox religion with Russia.
  • Russia believed that it was the natural leader of the Slavs and wanted to protect them against the other countries of Europe. Russia wanted to increase its influence in Bulgaria and also protect Serbia.
  • The Austrian government referred to the Serbs as the South Slavs and was determined to prevent Serbia expanding in the Balkans.
  • Austria wanted to take possession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the population was mostly Serb. This caused conflict with Serbia.

Why was there a crisis over Bosnia and Herzegovina 1878-85?