Causes of World War I

Who wanted this war anyway?Causes of World War I

Video ClipAlliancesMy dad can beat up your dadTriple AllianceGermanyRivalry with France and EnglandAustria/HungaryRivalry with Russia, Serbia, and ItalyItalyRivalry with France and Italy Ottoman EmpireRivalry with England

Germany rivalry over territory with France (Alsace and Lorraine this area would be under dispute until after WW II) and England over their navy will talk more laterAustria / Hungary rivalry over Balkans with Russia, and Serbia, and Italy over territory The first 2 rivalries would be the primary reasons behind the warItaly rivalry with France and Austria / Hungary over territory, remember that Italy fought Austria for independence and has historically fought with France over territoryItaly would eventually leave the alliance and join the other sideOttoman Empire Rivalry over territory with England5Triple EntenteRussiaHad lost face by losing the war to JapanFranceLost territory to GermanyBritainLooking to protect its trade empire

Russias place as a European power was called into question with its defeat to Japan. It had proclaimed itself the protector of Serbia and didnt want to lose face again.France was very concerned about a unified Germany seeing it as a threat to Frances place in EuropeBritain feared losing control of some of its colonies and needed the support of France to keep control6Schlieffen PlanAssumed that if Germany was at war with Russia it was also at war with FranceRelied on two things:Russia would be slow to mobilizeUsing rapid troop movements Germany would be able to quickly defeat France

Easiest way for Germany to achieve rapid troop movement would be to go through Belgium which was a neutral country and protected by England7Schlieffen PlanThe moment Russia started to mobilize its troops a world war was guaranteedGermany either had to declare war on France AND Russia or admit defeat prior to a shot being fired

NationalismI am better than you!The Big ThreeWeltpolitik or the desire for world power was popular in GermanyFrance wanted revenge for the loss of Alsace and LorraineEngland wanted to maintain its position as the leading imperial power

BalkansSerbia wanted Austria-Hungary out of the BalkansSerbia wanted to form a Slavic state called Yugoslavia where they would be the main powerAustria-Hungary was looking to maintain its power in the regionRussia was looking to gain power by being seen as the protector of the Slavs

AssassinationOn June 28, 1914 Austrian Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a 17 year Bosnian Serb studentAccording to their statements at trial the goal of the assassination was a symbolic act of protest

None of the conspirators in the assassination were older than 27Assassination occurred after one of the conspirators had failed to kill the arch duke with explosivesThe Arch Dukes driver took a wrong turn on the way back to where the duke was staying and was forced to back up slowly going past a bar were one of the conspirators had gone to eat after their failure to kill the DukeA local crowd immediately captured the shooter12Who was to blame?The Bosnian Serbs who did the killing had no real plan and had in fact originally planned to kill the local governorThe Austrian-Hungarians ignored advice that said this was a very bad time to visitSerbian intelligence officers provided the conspirators with information and weapons

The Bosnian Serbs really had no intention of causing anything bigger and in fact can be said to have not fully thought this outIn fact Austria-Hungary did receive reports from Serbia that an assassination was being planned but failed to take it seriouslySerbian officers involved were part of a radical group called the Black Hand and did not have the support of either the government or the military13How did this lead to war?Austrians acted out against Slavs by arresting them and destroying their businessesAustria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the assassinationAustria-Hungary sought out the support of its ally Germany before taking any action at allAustrian-Hungarian demands of Serbia were deliberately designed to be to offensive for Serbia to accept and gave a 48 hour deadlineSerbia initially stated that they could accept the demands with a few minor issuesHowever when it became clear that Russia would support Serbia they stopped negotiating with Austria-HungaryIn fairness to the Serbian government they did not sanction the assassination nor did the actual Serbian militaryHowever the Serbian government did find out about the plan and failed to fully pass the information along to the Austrian-HungariansAustria-Hungary military leaders in fact desired to use this as an excuse for war against Serbia and Russia after which they would deal with Italy14ImperialismMy country is bigger than yoursColonies around the World in 1914

ImperialismImperialism had for Europe provided a period of relative peaceWars were fought far away and were very shortEuropean countries competed with each other to have the most coloniesColonies provided European nations with a way of showing how powerful they wereA part of a poem from the time goes: Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim gun, and they have not.Wars tended to be short and easy for Europeans due to a technological advantage over their opponents as seen in the poem statementEuropeans thought since colonial wars were short and relatively bloodless a European war would be the sameEuropeans forgot that they would not have a technological advantage in a European war17MilitarismWhy arms races are badNaval Race 1906 - 1914In 1906 the British navy completed the HMS DreadnoughtThis ship was so revolutionary that all ships before it were classes as pre-dreadnoughtGermany and England then proceeded to get into a race to see who could produce the most of this new type of ship

The dreadnought was not only the most heavily armed ship ever (it had 10 12 guns when the next best had 4, and it had 24 3 guns and 5 torpedo tubes), it could also fire more accurately at distance, and it was the first to be driven solely by steam powered turbines making it faster than any other war ship at 21 knotsThe creation of this ship was so revolutionary that it made others obsolete by comparison, and this lead to the naval raceEngland strive to keep its traditional advantage of having 2x the number of battleships of the next best navyBy the start of the war England had 38 dreadnoughts and dreadnought cruisers while Germany had 2419Military SpendingIn the years leading to WW I both Germany and France saw their armies more than double in sizePrior to 1914 85% of French men military age and 50% of Germany men had served in either the army or navyAll the major powers except England had conscriptionPercentage Increase in Military Spending1890-1913Size of Peacetime Army 1914Britain117430,000France92970,000Russia191,500,000Germany158760,000Austria Hungary160480,000Everyone is AfraidGermany had long had the most powerful army in EuropeGerman naval development was a threat to EnglandGermany feared be encircled by enemiesAustria-Hungary feared losing its place in the world

Germany army was seen as a threat to France directlyA Germany navy would threaten England with invasion as well as threaten English trade which relied on their naval powerGermany feared attack from both sides correctly as it would happenAustria Hungary having lost territory to Italy and Germany as well as Serbia feared growing nationalism would destroy its nation21Now off to the trenchesThe EndSources:History Learning Site The Naval Race 1906-1914 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/naval_race_1906_to_1914.htmSpartacus Educational Dreadnought: World War I http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWdreadnought.htmTonge, Stephen Causes of the First World War http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/causeww1.htm#bHIS 102 Western Civilization II Lecture 8 -- A New World Order: Imperialism and World War I http://courses.cvcc.vccs.edu/history_mcgee/courses/his102/his102ln08.html1996 Steven W. Sowards; used with permission. For additional information see http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/balkan/lect15.htm.22