Tensions:
There were many causes of the devastating WWI. The first was imperialism, as was formerly explained. As countries expanded, there as only so much land and resources available to take, so there was competition for the land; this led the nations to have bitter feelings towards one another. Militarism also led to war, as many citizens and governments glorified war and made it and the military a primary focus of the country. Social Darwinism also played into militarism, as many felt that war was a biological necessity; people had to compete to survive and the strong would succeed and breed future successful generations. In addition, the military tactics of the time caused nations, such as Germany with the Schlieffen plan, to have offensive plans for attack, which caused them to want to jump into war quickly if they foresee it, in order to gain an advantage. Nationalism was a big factor in the cause of WWI as well, as people’s pride in their nation and people made them want to protect and prove themselves, so no one was willing to back down and look weak or inferior when fighting for what they wanted. In some cases, like the Pan-Slavic movement, nationalism caused the Slavs to want to unite with Serbia, drive out oppressors in the Balkans, and create their own country. The forming of alliances was yet another cause of war, as if one country became engaged in a serious conflict with another, many 3rd-party great powers would be drug into the situation and be obligated to fight with their ally. The two major alliances were, of course, the Triple Entente, consisting of Britain, France and Russia, and the Triple alliance, made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
The Naval Race
Britain had always put great emphasis on their Navy. They didn’t have a big army, as their nation was an island, and was more effectively defended by sea. Britain’s Navy helped them to protect their nation, and dominate the seas and colonize; they put a great deal of physical and financial effort into making sure their Navy was twice as massive and powerful as any other nation. However, in the late 19th century, when Germany emerged as a great power, the Germans realized they needed colonies and wanted to boost their industry overseas. So, the German Kaiser funded huge naval expenditures, and greatly increased their navy. The British felt threatened, as they needed their Navy to survive, whereas the landlocked Germany had a massive army. In 1906, Britain released the Dreadnought, with was a new large and heavily gunned battleship. All the other powers felt pressured to implement Dreadnoughts as well, which they did, but Germany and Britain would not stop trying to outdo each other, spending great amounts of money, and causing tension between the countries.
The Balkan Wars
As the Ottoman Empire was deteriorating, many nations looked to gain possessions in the Balkans. Russia specifically wanted the Turks out of Constantinople so they would stop getting in the way of Russian expansion. The Slavs and other nationalities just wanted to create their own nations for their people. In 1912, Serbia, Bulgaria and Russia decided to make a treaty of alliance which declared that they would have joint military action when attempting to make conquests in the Balkans. In the First Balkan Crisis, Austria-Hungary upset the Slavs by taking Bosnia. Without Russia’s help Serbia could not fight Austria-Hungary. Problems again arose for Serbia when Serbia expressed intentions of taking part of Albania, in order to gain an outlet to the Adriatic Sea. Austria- Hungary did not want this to happen, and as the Albanians proclaimed their independence, Austria-Hungary called together a Conference of the Great Powers, who agreed on Albania becoming independent. Again, Russia had not backed up Serbia, as Britain and France did not seem keen on supporting Russia in the case of a war. This would lead to WWI, as Russia was not willing to let down Serbia anymore. Further conflict in the Balkans was seen in the Second Balkan War, as Bulgaria attacked Serbia, soon to be attacked by Romania, Greece and Turkey, which caused Bulgaria to lose territory in the Treaty of Bucharest.
The Moroccan Crisis
France and Spain had made a secret treaty partitioning Morocco in 1904, although, Germany wanted an open- door policy in Morroco. So, on March 31, 1905, Kaiser William II of Germany came to Tangier and declared Morroco independent. This event, known as the First Morrocan Crisis, was solved at the Algeciras Conference, in 1906, called by the Germans, where France and Spain were granted rights to Morroco. This conference was a bit of a test conducted by the Germans, to see whether Britain would side with France, to help gage the strength of their alliance in the case of a real war. Germany failed miserably, as the Triple Entente held together firmly, and they became more distrustful of Germany. The Second Morrocan Crisis arose in 1911, when the “Panther,” a German gunboat, arrived in Morroco, demanding the French Congo. France did give some land to Germany, but Germany was again hurt as this event caused Britain to see Germany as even more of an aggressor, which would contribute to the harsh blame Germany faced at the Treaty of Versailles.
The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
On June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by the Black Hand, a terrorist group in Serbia. Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austrian throne, and interestingly enough, wanted to give the Slavs more rights when he came to power. Radical Slavs were afraid that if this happened, all Slavs would be satisfied and give up on the idea of creating their own nation, so the radical Slavs killed Ferdinand. This event helped cause WWI, because Austria-Hungary viewed the assassination as a personal attack on them, and thought that Russia and Serbia just wanted to weaken the Triple Alliance and destroy Austria’s empire. In reality, the Slavs just wanted their own nation. This event gave Austria an excuse to want war with Serbia, and Austria-Hungary looked to Germany for support, telling the Germans that Russia was a threat to them, so that the Germans gave the Austrians the famous “blank-check” note. The Russians were not willing to let their Serbian “brothers” be defeated a third time without a fight, and gave their support; Russia then looked to their ally France, who agreed to support Russia in the event of a war. So, when what could be considered a completely unfair and irrational Ultimatum was delivered to Serbia from Austria-Hungary, the Great Powers were pretty much set for war.
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