What Caused WWI, and Who was to Blame?

Read pages 12 through 16 in Mastering Modern World History.

What Caused World War I, and Who Was to Blame?

A: Alliance System

• Once the 1894 alliance had been signed between France and Russia, the fate of Europe was sealed
• Russia's war against Japan (1904-5), France sent no help; nor did they support Russia when she protested at the Austrian annexation of Bosnia
• Austria took no interest in Germany's attempts to prevent France from taking over Morocco
• Germany restrained Austria from attacking Serbia during 2nd Balkan war
• Italy was on good terms with France and Britain and entered the war against Germany in 1915
  

B: Colonial Rivalry

• German disappointment with their imperial gains and resentment at the success of the other powers
  

C: Naval Race

• Germany needed a much larger navy capable of challenging Britain (world's greatest sea power)
  
• Dreadnought battleship in 1906 made all other battleships obsolete
• New German navy could only mean that Germany intended making making war against Britain
  

D: Economic Rivalry

• Desire for economic mastery of the world caused German businessmen and capitalists to want war with Britain, which still owned about half the world's tonnage of merchant ships in 1914
  

E: Russia Supported Serbia

• Was the first to order a general mobilization, and this provoked Germany to mobilize
• Felt that their prestige as leader of the Slavs would suffer if they failed to support Serbia

F: Germany Backing Austria at Crucial

• Germany encourage Austria to declare war on Serbia in 1914
• Kaiser sent a telegram urging them to attack Serbia and promising German help without any conditions attached
  

G: Mobilization Plans

• The Shlieffen Plan was seen as the start of disaster both for Germany and Europe
• German troops crossed the frontier into the Belgium on August 4, thus violating Belgian neutrality
  

H: A "Tragedy of Miscalculation"

• The Austrians miscalculated by thinking that Russia would not support Serbia
  
• Germany made a crucial mistake by promising to support Austria with no conditions attached therefore the Germans were certainly guilty, as were the Austrians, because they risked a major war
• Politicians in Russia and Germany miscalculated by assuming that mobilization would not necessarily mean war
• The generals, especially Moltke, miscalculated by sticking rigidly to their plans in the belief that this would bring a quick and decisive victory
  

Churchill Criticizes the German Fleet

1. Explain in your own words what Churchill sees as the difference between the significance of the German and the British fleets.
He thinks that the British's naval power is for their defense whereas Germany built theirs just to have a naval power.

2. Look carefully at the language Churchill uses in describing the German fleet. What impression of the German fleet does his choice of language give?
That Churchill doesn't really want to start anything, like a war, so it seems as though he is chosing his words wisely so they don't take anything the wrong way.

3. What does Churchill mean by "the ratio which our naval strength will have to bear to other great naval Powers"?

Churchill basically means that if Britain and Germany ever go to war, then Britain definately needs to step up and make sure that they have way more ships than Germany or at least one more. And I think that he might be saying that their naval power will be stronger.

4. How exactly is Churchill threatening Germany in this speech?
Churchill is threatening Germany by saying that Britain's naval power is better than Germany's so they should just give up.

5. This speech was studied very carefully by the German government (as Churchill knew it would be). Which parts of it might give the German government grounds to complain to the British government? What do you think was the effect Churchill intended this speech to have in Germany?

When Churchill says, "We have no thoughts, and we have never had any thoughts of aggression, and we attribute no such thoughts to other great Powers. There is, however, this difference between the British naval power and the naval power of the great and friendly Empire-and I trust it may long remain the great and friendly Empire-of Germany. The British navy is to us a necessity and, from some points of view, the German Navy is to them more in the nature of luxury. Our naval power involves British existence. It is existence to us; it is expansion to them." That part of his speech might gave given the German government grounds to complain to the British government. I think the effect that Churchill wanted to have in Germany was to get the Germans to realize that they don't stand a chance against the British.

Bismarck & Europe 1871- 1878

1. What were Otto von Bismarck's aims in foreign policy following Germany's victory over France in 1871?

Otto von Bismarck's aims in foreign policy following Germany's victory over France was to secure the German empire because they already achieved at beating France so to him they had all the power they needed and they were a "satisfied power". So Bismarck thinks that the best guarantee of this was European peace. He also unified Germany because he thought unification was inevitable sooner or later.

2. Why did events between the years 1875-78 in the Balkans lead to a crisis between the Great Powers?

There were taxation and labour problems between christians and muslims,