-1. 1. Causes of WW1 (Including Historiography)
-1.
I. Arms Race
a. Tension grew between Germany, Britain, and France
b. Germany
i. Desperate for diplomatic victory
ii. Influenced by the army, public opinions and the Whrverein
1. Increased army size by 146,000 soldiers (1913)
c. Britain
i. Influence by the Navy League and the National Service League
d. France
i. Tried to compete with Britain and Germany
1. Compensation for small country
a. Changed the conscription period from two to three years
b. Modernized their artillery and equipment
e. Russia
i. Spent over 800 million roubles on re-armament
ii. Army was prepared to reach two million men (1914)
1. Three times as large as Germany’s army
II. The Immediate Causes of the War: July Crisis (1914)
a. European states had reached a relative calm (Early 1914)
i. Thought if conflict arose they could peacefully resolve it
b. Sarajevo Assassination
i. Franz Ferdinand heir to the Austrian throne
1. Assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip
a. Gavrilo was recruited by the Black Hand
ii. Black Hand
1. Serbian terrorist group
iii. Black Hand’s leader was a colonel in the Serbian General Staff
iv. Gave Austria an excuse to eliminate Serbia
v. Austria needed backing by Germany
1. In case Russia backed Serbia
2. Germany gave Austria Blank Cheque
c. Austria’s chance to crush Serbia
i. Confirmed alliance with Germany
1. Blank Cheque
ii. Austria would not restrict its plans against Serbia
d. Germany’s Misconceptions
i. Believed war with Serbia would remain localized
ii. Thought Russia would not enter war because it was not financially ready
iii. A rapid defeat of Serbia would ensure Germany regained prestige
1. Would also weaken Pan Slavism and Russia
iv. Allow Germany to have a position of strength to improve relations with the Entente Powers
e. Serbia Ultimatum
i. Austro-Hungarian Council decided to send Serbia an Ultimatum
1. If they rejected the Ultimatum they would go to war
ii. Important Part of the Ultimatum
1. Austria would supervise Serbian anti-terrorist measures
a. Austria knew Serbia would deny this
iii. Couldn’t blame war on initial reaction to assassination
1. Took until mid july to draw up Ultimatum
iv. Russia was not pleased with the ultimatum
f. Responses
i. Serbia provided a conciliatory response that satisfied most of Austria’s demands
1. Only denied supervision of anti-terrorist measures
ii. Germany was happy with Serbia’s response
1. Thought cause for war was over
iii. Austria was not satisfied
1. Declared war on Serbia (July 28, 1914)
g. Mobilization
i. Russia began mobilization on July 30th (Defending Serbia)
ii. Germany began mobilization on Aug 1st (Defending Austria)
1. Followed Schlieffen Plan
a. Sent ultimatum to France
iii. France refused to be neutral
1. Germany declared war on France Aug 3rd
iv. Britain threatened Germany that if they invaded Belgium neutrality then Britain would get involved
v. Germany still invaded Belgium
vi. Britain declared war on Germany Aug 4
III. What as the contribution of each of the European Powers during the July Crisis to the outbreak of war?
a. Germany
i. Expected localized fight in the Balkans
1. Russia would be too intimidated to intervene
ii. Kaiser was satisfied with the Serbian response to the Ultimatum and expected war to be avoided
iii. Motives for War:
1. Support Austria-Hungary
2. Don’t get crushed by Entente Powers
3. Attacked before Russia modernized and ruined Schlieffen Plan
4. Favorable time for war (Thought by Generals)
5. War = distraction from domestic issues
6. Improve the popularity or the Kaiser
iv. Responsible for:
1. Giving A-H power with Blank Cheque
2. Declaring war on Russia
3. Violating Belgium’s neutrality
4. Invading France
5. Bring Britain into conflict
b. Austria-Hungary
i. Determined to respond to the Sarajevo incident violently
ii. An opportunity to eliminate Serbia
iii. Responsible for:
1. Exaggerating threat of Serbia
2. Delayed response to the assassination
3. Declared war on Serbia
4. Refused to halt military actions
a. Had scheduled negotiations with Russia planned on July 30th
The Causes of World War I
Timeline of Events
The Balkan Wars
· 1890-1915à Balkans remained quiet
o Britain no longer concerned by Russian threat to the Straits
§ Protected their interests in the eastern Mediterranean with bases in Egypt
o Austria and Russia signed an agreement in May 1987à would do as little as possible to disturb the existing situations in the Balkans and Near East
o 1905-Russia weakened by defeat in the Far East and trouble at homeà hoped to maintain the agreement but its weakness tempted Austria to take advantage against an aggressive Serbia
§ 1903- Serbian nationalists assassinated their pro-Austrian Serbian King
· Replaced by Peterà fiercely anti-Austrian and hoped to attract Russian support
o Aim to free South Slavs
· First Balkan War (1912)- Russia encouraged the Balkan states of Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro to form an alliance
o Aim- force Turkey from Balkans by taking Macedonia and dividing it together
§ Turkey already weakened by the Italian attack on Tripolitania
· Easily drove Turkey out of the Balkans in 7 weeksà Turkey collapsed
o Problems Created:
§ Austria- feared strengthened Serbia which occupied Albania
· Wanted to create Albania n independent state so Serbia wouldn’t have access to the Adriatic
§ Russia- didn’t want Constantinople falling to Bulgariaà important for their economy and exports
§ Threatened to activate the alliance system- Germany supported Austria and Russia was supported by France
· December 2, 1912- Germany declared to support Austria if attacked by a “third Party”à Britain said it wouldn’t remain neutral in a major conflict
o December 8, 1912- Kaiser argued for warà decided to wait until the Kiel Canal was widened
o Sir Edward Grey called for a peace conference in London
§ Turkish lands divided between Balkan states
§ Albania became an independent state (what A.H. wanted)
· Placed Serbia between Adriatic Sea
· Caused more resentment between Serbia and A.H.
· Second Balkan War (1913)
o Bulgaria felt it didn’t get enough land (too many Bulgarians living in areas given to Serbia and Greece)
§ Bulgaria declared war on Serbiaà Greece, Romania, and Turkey supported Serbiaà 1 month and Bulgaria was defeated
o A.H. wanted to get involvedà asked for German assistance (believed Russia would support Serbia)
§ Germany urged Austrian restraint
o Treaty of Bucharest (August 1913)- Bulgaria lost all the land it gained in the first war
§ Serbia was successful again, doubled in size, and proved itself militarily
· A.H. determined to crush Serbia (feared their success)
Arms Race and Militarism
· 1870-1914 military spending by European powers increased by 300%
o Possible to have large standing armies
· 1871- Conscription introduced
o Massive increase in armaments
· 1899-1907- conferences at The Haugeà attempted to stop arms build up
o No limits agreed upon but some restrictions on war practices made
· European powers made plans in the case of war
o German war plan (by Count Alfred von Schlieffen)- intended to deal with the Triple Entente and prevented a two-front war
§ France crushed first by going through Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg as Russia mobilized
· 1911- Helmuth von Moltke modified the plan by reducing the amount of neutral territory that Germany would pass and changing the deployment of troops
· Other war plants- Frances Plan 17, Russia (attack A-H and Germany), A-H (Plan R and B)
-1. 2. Outcomes of WW1 (Social/Political/Economic)
Social
· Art: Cultural Pessimism
o Negative outlook on society seen in the arts
o Dada-ism – Break down of form because WW1 was so disruptive
o Against normal art- normal art was not an accurate description of the social structure of nations back then
o Similar to an anti joke
o Surrealism – Grotesque forms that tend to be ugly or disturbing and reflects the cultural environment at the time
o Realism – focused on the everyday and representations of daily life
o Writers “Lost Generation”
§ Hemingway, Gertude Stein, Fitzgerald
· Discontent ethnic minorities
o Germans living under “foreign rule”
§ In Poland and Czechoslovakia
· Social Group Changes
o Aristocrats lost power
§ Russia removed it completely
o Junkers lost influence in Prussia
o Conflict between proletariats classes and upper class
· Women’s rights
o Female confidence
o Profession available to women
§ New employment opportunities do not last
o America and European countries (some) gave women the right to vote
· Standards
o Better health and Welfare standards
§ Britain and France
§ Improved lives of the poor
o Housing & unemployment acts
· Demographic Impact
o Facts and Numbers
§ 65 Million men mobilized in WW1
· Largest armies that the world has ever seen to that date
§ 10 Million killed
§ 21 Million Wounded
§ Millions of orphans and widows
· POOR
· Dependent on Govt
o Outbreak of Spanish Flu
§ Killed about 50 million people world wide
Social IMPORTANCE
· Women’s rights don’t last they return to the way they were before the war
· Art was used as propaganda and it encouraged people to express new opinions
· Discontent ethnic groups like Germany were angry and it lead to revolts
o They hated their government
o Led to rise of Hitler
· Led to WW2 due to social group tensions
o Upper class controlled government
· Major upset in balance of power (Shifts to the left because civilians revolt)
o Doesn’t work Hitler steps in and people believe he can solve problems
§ Goes back to the right wing
· U.S becomes prominent in international affairs and gains power over Britain and France
Political
· Break down of Empires
o Ottoman
o Austria-Hungary
§ Reduced amount of power per nation
o New States in Eastern Europe
§ Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia etc
o Russia
§ Bolshevik Dictatorship
§ Encourages revolution abroad of communism
§ Was not part of League of Nations or Treaty of Versailles
· Isolated from Europe
· Cordon Sanitaire
· Stopped spread of communism
· Peacemakers Goals/Problems
o Hoped to encourage democracy in the newly formed states(only been exposed to Autocracy)
o Government ineffective
§ Ethnic rivalries & Economic problems
o Powers remain divided by victors and losers
§ Conflicted over whether to change the Versailles treaty or not
§ Germany, Hungry and Italy wanted to revise it
· Britain and France
o Maintained their empires
o Started to decline in power
o Position undermined by US involvement in the war
§ Needed the U.S’s help
o Power shifted away from Europe
· Germany
o Socialist Revolution
o 1919- The Weimar Republic
§ Left Wing
§ Blamed by the TOV
§ Politically unpopular
· Lead to the rise of Hitler
· Voting Rights
o Woman and all economic classes gain the right to vote
o Made governments more populist
§ More nationalistic politics
§ Anti-Semitic politics
· Evident in Germany
· Weak Eastern European States
o Ethnically divided
o Have weak governments
o In support of Communism
o Makes politics more likely to change and unstable
Political IMPORTANCE
· Success of the Bolsheviks encouraged growth of socialist politics in post war Europe
· Huge section of Central and Eastern Europe in turmoil
· Many of the ruling classes afraid that revolution would spread across Europe particularly because of the weak economic state of all countries
Economic
· Great Depression
o France loses 1/5 of its GNP
o Economic downturn in America
o Effected world wide trade
· Benefits (Short Term)
o Poland gets access to the sea
o America and Japan benefit in trade
o League of Nations
§ All nations should help under privileged nations
· Problem Solving (Attempts in pic)
o New States Form
o Trade Unions
§ Increased Welfare and lives of the poor
o League of Nations
· Down Turns
o Rising Prices
o Inflation
o Loss of stable currency
o Destroyed Wealth of middle class
· Problems
o Fierce competition and high tariffs
o Many Countries must pay reparations (Germany, Austria, Hungary)
Mr. Meehan’s Additional Notes
· Economic Effects
o Monetary Costs
§ Cost for fighting the war
· 200 Billion dollars
§ Total Damages
· 40 Billion dollars (Property damages)
§ Lost Production
· 65 Billion dollars (Opportunity Costs – Bc factories were making war products and workers went to war)
§ Reparations
· Germany and other powers had to pay back to the allies
· Germany had to pay 33 Billion dollars
§ Homelessness
· 2.5 Million homeless or displaced people
o Resource Allocation
§ Labor
· Military Conscription
o Women working in factories
§ Need to produce war materials
§ Material
· Planned economies
o Government run economies
o Set Prices
o Restrict competition
o Reduce profit for factories
o Regulate trade
· Allowed materials for war effort to be created
o Trade
§ U.S and Japan become key exporters (Wasn’t a total war for them)
· Replace European nations
· They have free economy and less impacted by the war
· Both countries become very wealthy
§ Lending and Debt
· United States becomes the chief lender
o U.S makes a lot of interest and invests in industry
· Europe becomes the chief debtor
§ European economies are slow to recover
· In debt and displaced by the U.S and Japan
o Hyper Inflation
§ Prices go up
§ Occurred in Weimar Republic and Austria
· Cannot pay their bills
· Germans print money to pay their bills
· Go off the gold standard
o Don’t have enough gold to pay back all the debt