Topic 1 - WWI Notes

~ WWI Notes ~

Impact of the Franco-Prussian war on France:

·       France lost Alsace-Lorraine

·       Pay an indemnity of 5,000 million marks

·       France was humiliated

·       Lost prestige – no longer great

·       Divided nation because some wanted immediate revenge

·       “Revanche”

European powers worried about the unification of Germany:

·       Shifted the power in central Europe

·       France had been undermined

·       Germany becomes unified, central power

·       Impact of war – railway, speed, alliance, technology

 

Long Term Causes that Contributed to the Start of the War:

Naval Race:

·       Germany challenged Britain’s navy with Naval Laws

·       Threat to Britain’s naval supremacy

·       Brit had clashed with France in the Sudan and had a rivalry with Russia in Far East

·       Germany seeked alliances  

·       Britain made alliance with Japan and France-entente

·       Britain and Russia alliance reduced concern over security in India

·       R, F, and B made Triple Alliance

·       Seeked agreement with former colonial rivals

·       Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance

·       Naval arms race

·       Super battle ship-Dreadnaught

·       Nullified Britain’s advantage because all other ships were now outdated

·       Naval scare – Germany new threat

Bismarck’s Web of Alliance and the Alliance System:

·       The Dreikaiserbund or Three Emperors’ League (1873)

o      Germany, Russia, and Austria Hungary alliance

o      Keep France isolated

·       Dual Alliance (1879)

o      Austria and Russia argued over the Balkans

o      Dreikaiserbund collapsed

o      Bismarck made new alliance with the Austrians to reduce the chances of war between European powers and

o      Was primary defensive

o      G and A agreed to help each other if R attacked

o      Remain neutral if the other was attacked by another European country

·       The Three Emperors’ Alliance (1881)

o      Russia and Germany

o      Offered Bismarck security

o      If R, G, or A was at war with another power they would remain neutral

o      Resolved around Austro-Russian disputes in Balkans

·       The Triple Alliance (1882)

o      Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

o      If attacked by two or more powers, the others would help

·       Reinsurance Treaty (1887)

o      Three Emperors’ Treaty fell because of Balkan war

o      Separate treaty with Russia

o      Avoid war on two fronts

Weltpolitik:

·       New Kaiser Wilhelm II and Chancellor Leo von Caprivi

·       ‘New Course’ overturned Bismarck’s alliances

·       Franco-Russian alliance

·       Weltpolitik hoped to make Germany a colonial power with navy

·       Divert away from social and political problems at home

Imperialism:

·       Germany wanting colonies created tension with existing colonialists, especially Britain

·       Germany congratulated the Boer leader who resisted British control 

Balkans Situation:

·       Unstable area

·       Turkey, A-H, Russia

·       Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians revolted against Turkey

·       T struggle to keep territory

·       A-H loosing grip on multi-ethnic empire

·       Serbs, Croats, Slovens look to Serbia for help

·       Serbia was a threat to A-H

·       Bosnia (where WWI began) had lots of Serbs

Short Term Causes that Contributed to the Start of the War:

Moroccan Crisis:

·       Germany was worried by new B-F relationship

·       B & F had always fought over Africa

·       G tried to break up entente by attacking France in Morocco by defending Sultan of Morocco and demanded a conference

·       But Britain supported a French takeover of Morocco in return France recognized Britain’s position in Egypt

·       Conference in Algeciras, Spain, 1906

·       British backed French

·       Germany didn’t gain land in North Africa, were embarrassed, not undermined entente, but strengthened it

·       Germany was no seen as British threat

The Bosnian Crisis:

·       Almost went to war

·       1907-Anglo-Russian Entente

·       Conformed Germany was ‘encircled’

·       A-H annexed provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovia after Young Terk revolution & caused outrage in Serbia

·       January 1909-G reassured A-H that it would mobilize in support of A-H is they went to war with Serbia

·       Russia had little support from B or F, plus weakened by war with Japan, had no alternative but recognize A-H annexation of Bosnia

·       Russia was humiliated again after Japan and now embarked on a rearmament program

·       Serbia was enraged and more nationalistic

·       Alliance between G and AH was stronger

·       Balkans were even more unstable

·       G had encourage AH

Agadir Crisis (1911):

·       France sent troops to Fez to suppress a revolt and Germans, seeing this as a French takeover, sent a German gunboat, the Panther, demanding the compensation of the entire French Congo

·       This threatened B naval routes

·       David Lloyd George (British Chancellor) made Mansion House speech to ward off G

·       G got 2 strips of French Congo

·       G public was hostile about settlement and critical of government for failure for the policy if Weltpolitik

·       B and F alliance strengthened

·       Divided sea and had joint naval maneuvers

·       Hostility between B and G

First Balkan War (1912):

·       Encouraged by the Russians, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro formed a Balkan alliance to force Turkey from the Balkans by taking Macedonia ad dividing it between themselves

·        Austria didn’t want a strengthened Serbia

·       British Foreign Secretary called a peace conference in London and former Turkish lands were divided between Balkan states

·       AH succeeded in containing Serbia with the creation of Albania placed between Serbia and the Adriatic Sea

Second Balkan War (1913):

·       Bulgaria went to war with Serbia and Greece over Serbian territory

·       AH asked for German help, but G urged A restraint

·       Defeated Bulgaria, which lost almost all its land it had gained after first war

·       Serbia successful, nationalistic, proved itself militarily, and doubled in size

·       Success for Russia

·       AH convinced it needed to crush Serbia

July Crisis (1914):

·       Archduke Franz Ferdinand was on an official visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and he and his wife were shot by Gavrilo Princip of the Serbian Black Hand movement

·       Black Hand objective was the unification of all Slavs from the Austria-Hungarian Empire into a greater Serbia

·       Austrian government saw its chance to crush Serbia

·       AH knew Serbia would bring in the Russians, so they needed assurances from ally Germany

·       On July 5^th 1914, the Kaiser and his chancellor issued a ‘blank cheque’   

·       AH gave an ultimatum that S could never agree to

·       The drawing up the ultimatum took until July 23^rd, so it appeared more calculated

·       The French president was in Russia until July 23^rd and the Austrians didn’t want the Russians to be able to liaise directly with their ally France

·       Declared war on Serbia and bombarded Belgrade

·       Russians ordered general mobilization August 1^st

·       Germany sent an ultimatum to France demanding guarantees of French neutrality.  The French responded by declaring they would follow ‘their own interests’ so G declared war on F on August 3^rd

‘War Plans’ Made War More Likely:

Will to Make War:

·       Literature, press, and education portrayed war as short and heroic

·       Nationalism was encouraged by popular press

Arms Race and Militarism:

·       Military spending by European powers increased by 300%

·       Large standing armies and conscription began in all continental countries after 1871

·       Massive increase in armaments

War Plans:

·       European power made detailed plans regarding what to do should war break out

·       Effects of alliance systems reduced flexibility if the Great Powers’ response to crisis

·       EX:  Count Alfred von Schlieffen created the Schlieffen plan.  Knowing that it would take Russia six weeks to mobilize, he decided to crush France first through Belgium and bypass the French defenses on the German-French boarder.  The plan was inflexible and contained miscalculations regarding the impact of marching through Belgium, the amount of time Russia would take to mobilize, and Britain’s effectiveness in coming to the aid of France. 

·       France’s Plan 17 involved a high-speed mobilization of the majority of its forces and a swift attack to capture Alsace Lorraine before crossing the Rhine to Germany

·       Russia had a plan to attack AH and G

·       AH had two plans – Plan R and Plan B.  The plans differed in the amount of troops allocated to fighting Russia and Serbia

Roles of Countries in the Events of 1914:

Russia:

·       Did not try to restrain Serbian nationalism though it was likely to lead to instability in the Balkans

·       Supported Serbia, which caused Serbia to reject the ultimatum

·       Mobilized, thus triggering a general European war

Germany:

·       Kaiser encourage AH with Blank Cheque

·       But may have been predicting another Balkans war, not the spread of war

·       Declaring war on Russia on August 1^st

·       Violating Belgium’s neutrality

·       Invading France

·       Bringing Britain into the conflict

·       Motives:

o      Support ally AH

o      Prevent itself and AH being crushed by entente powers

o      Russia’s military modernizations were increasing the country’s potential for mobilization, and this could undermine the Schlieffen Plan

o      German generals believed it was a favorable time

o      Provide a good distraction

o      War could improve the popularity of the Kaiser

France:

·       Swept into war

·       Gave Russia assurances of support before the July crisis

Britain:

·       Britain’s ambiguous position in the July crisis

·       Should have made it clear to Germany that B would stand ‘sholder to sholder’ with French

Austria-Hungary:

·       Exaggerated potential threat of Serbia and was determined to make war

·       Delayed responding to the assassination, which contributed to the development of the July Crisis

·       Declared war on Serbia July 28^th, only five days after the delivery of the ultimatum (which has a time limit of 48hrs)

·       Refused to halt its military actions even though negocions with Russia were scheduled for July 30^th

Opinions of Historians on Who Started WWI:

Fritz Fisher:

·       Wrote Germany’s Aims in the Fist World War

·       Found document ‘September Program’ dated September 9^th 1914 that set out Germany’s aims for domination of Europe

·       Argues ‘September Program’ but there is limited evidence that Germany had specific expansion aims prior to September 1914

·       The December War Council is also limited evidence; its importance is debatable as the Chancellor wasn’t present

·       Domestic crisis was cause-solution to the rise of socialism

·       German plan lacked coherency

John Keegan:

·       Military historian

·       War was not inevitable

·       Lack of communication in July Crisis

·       If AH acted immediately, the war might have been limited to a local affair

·       Information was always ‘incomplete’

·       AH had wanted to punish Serbia, but lacked the courage to act alone.  They didn’t want a general European war

·       Germany wanted a diplomatic success that would leaves AH ally stronger in European eyes.  Didn’t want a general European war

·       Russia didn’t want a general European war, but had not calculated that support for Serbia would edge the war closer

·       France had not mobilized, but was afraid Germany would mobilize

·       Britain didn’t want war, but wouldn’t leave France in danger

James Joll:

·       The atmosphere of intense tension was cause by impersonal forces

·       Decisions taken by political leaders were shaped by the impersonal factors

·       Capitalism, international anarchy, alliances

Niall Ferguson:

·       Wrote Pity of War

·       Britain misinterpreted German ambitions

Vocabulary:

Alsace Lorraine: territory taken from France by Germany

Verdun: biggest battle between France and Germany

Triple Alliance: alliance between Germany, Austria, and Italy

The Balkans: area Turkey was loosing control of

Sick Man of Europe: Turkey’s nickname

Encirclement: what Germany feared after the Franco-Russian alliance 1894

Entente: a “Friendly Understanding” between Britain and France

Schlieffen Plan: German war plan of 1905 to cope with a war on two fronts

Mad as March Hares: Kaiser described Britain in 1908

Daily Telegraph: the newspaper that interviewed Kaiser

Three Emperor’s League: (1873) unstable alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia

Anglo German Naval Race: rivalry between the English and German navies

Berlin Congress 1878: meeting between European powers and Ottoman Empire.  Bismarck who lead Congress, undertook to stabilize the Balkans, recognize the reduced power of the Ottoman Empire, and balance the distinct interests of Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary

“Splendid isolation” (Britain): foreign policy perused by Britain; lack of involvement in European affairs

Weltpolitik: more aggressive strategy adopted by Germany to gain colonies

“Place in the Sun”: said by German foreign minister, Bernhand von Bülow

Morocco Crisis (1905 – 06 and 1911): In March 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II went to Tangier and made a speech in favor of Moroccan independence. 

Algeciras Conference (1906): An international conference in Algerciras, Spain established international control over the police forces in the major ports of Morocco, a compromise solution that ended the crisis

Balkans Wars (1^st and 2^nd): wars in the Balkans

Entente Cordiale: agreements signed in April 1904 between the United Kingdom and French Republic

Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Archduke of Austria and Royal Prince of Hungary.  His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia

Dreadnoughts: battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionized naval power

1912 War Council Meeting (Germany): conference to consider the tense military and diplomatic situation in Europe

Two-Front War: war which takes place on two geographically separate fronts

Triple Entente: alliance among Great Britain, France, and Russia after signing the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907

Triple Alliance: military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

Black Hand Gang: secret military society that was part of the Greater-Serbia movement, with the intention of uniting all territories containing Serb populations annexed by Austria Hungary

Gavrilo Princip: Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archdue Ferdinand

Mobilisation: the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war

Blank Check/ Cheque: on July 6^th Germany promised unconditional support to Austria

Austrian Ultimatum: on July 23^rd Austria gave Serbia a list of demands made upon the Serbian government

September Memorandum: ?

Western Front: in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the gaining military control of important industrial regions of France

Eastern Front: war in Central and Eastern Europe

War of Attrition: a military strategy in which a belligerent side attempts to win a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continual losses in personnel and matérial. 

Total War: complete mobilization of fully available resources and population

Munitionettes: British women employed in munitions factories

Central Powers: German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria

Allied Powers: United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Russian Empire, and Japan.  Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Romania were minor members

Allied Blockade: prolonged naval operation conducted by Allied Powers to restrict the maritime supply of raw materials and foodstuffs to the Central Powers

Zeppelin Raid: balloons that dropped bombs

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchantmen without warning

Woodrow Wilson: 28^th president of the United States, wrote the Fourteen Points

Armistice: situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting.  It is not necessarily the end of the war, but may just be a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate peace

Zimmerman telegram: a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire to Mexico to make war against the United States.  The proposal was caught by the British before it could get to Mexico.  The revelation angered the Americans and led in part to US declaration of war in April

Historians

Fritz Fischer

Terence Zuber

AJP Taylor

L.C. Turner

 

Limitations of the Causes:

Colonial Rivalry:

·       Disputes had always been settled without war

·       Ango-German relations were good

Naval Race:

·       Churchill believed Britain could not be overtaken

Economic Rivalry:

·       Marxist historians like this because it puts the blame for the war on the capitalist system

·       Germany was already on the way to economic victory

·       Last thing Germany needed was a war

Russia’s support for Serbia:

·       Control of Serbia could enable G & A to control Dardanelles, the outlet from the black sea and Russian trade route could be strangled

·       Russia felt their prestige as leader of the slavs would suffer if they failed to support

·       Divert attention from troubles at home

·       Although Austria hoped for Russian neutrality, they should have realized it would have been hard for Russia to remain neutral

Arguments of Historians on the Mobilization Plans of the Great Powers

AJP Taylor:

·       Plans based on precise railway timetables for the rapid movement of troops, accelerated tempo of events so there was no time for negotiations

Ritter:

·       Schlieffen Plan was extremely risky and inflexible and the start of disaster for both Germany and Europe

·       Gave impression Germany was ruled by a band of unscrupulous militarists

Zuber:

·       Schliffen Plan was only 1 of 5 plans

Turner:

·       G may not have provoked war, but caused by a ‘tragedy of miscalculations’

·       A thought R would not support S

·       G made mistake of promising to support A and risked a major war

·       Politicians in R and G miscalculated by assuming mobilization would not necessarily mean war

Types of War

Total War:

·       A country uses all its human, economic, and military resources to fight

·       Creates a large fighting force through conscription

·       Using civilians in the war effort – in industry and home defense

·       Using all weapons available and developing new ones

·       Government control of key aspects of economy, so that it can be directed into the war effort

·       Government control of media to maintain civilian morale

·       The targeting of civilians as well as combatants in the quest for ‘total’ victory over the enemies political, social, and military structures

Limited War:

·      Limiting or constraining the way in which war is conducted

·      Confining the geographical area in which fighting takes place

·      Limiting the type of targets that cab be attacked

·      Limiting weapons that can be used

·       Limiting degree of mobilization

Civil War:

·      Conflicts fought between two fractions of the same country

·      Clashing over ethnic, religious, or ideological issues

·      Civil war combats can be identified as incumbents or insurgents

Guerrilla Warfare:

·      ‘Unconventional’ warfare

·      Small groups of fighters use tactics such as ambush and small-unit raids against a larger and less mobile formal army

·      Became common after 1945 because:

o      Conflicts involved people of Africa and Asia trying to fee themselves from colonial rule

o      Areas fought are ideal; jungles, bush, and mountains

o      Locals know terrain

o      All conflicts were struggle against communism or capitalism – unpopular governments were often supported by one or other of the superpowers, meaning the local opposition had little choice but use guerrilla

o      Fought war by ‘proxy’ - governments sponsored local insurgencies rather than fighting themselves

Causes & Effects of War

Economic cause:  conflict over economic resources; foreign market security, raw materials

Economic effects: dramatic impact such as debt, inflation, or food rationing

Social cause: tensions between social groups or classes

Social effects: structures, customs, and traditions of a society are frequently changed (such as shift in roles of females and different classes)

Political cause: clash between different political factions 

Political effects: change structure of government or nation and result in complete reconfiguration of how a country is run

Ideological cause: fundamental clash of ideas between different groups about how government and society should be run  

Ideological effects: can affect the ideological position of a country or of groups within a country

Britain was the only country that had fought a war recently, used to modern war, camouflage uniforms, skill compensated for size