Oxbridge Notes | First World War Origins Revision

First World War: Origins and Cause

Lecture:

The Triple Alliance:

1879 – a Dual alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary is signed
1882 – Accession of Italy, forming the Triple Alliance
The Triple alliance was designed as a counterweight to the Franco-Russian alliance, which surrounded central Europe
- Germany and France have a history of bad relations
  - Napoleon, Franco-Prussian war

Franco-Russian Alliance:

Russia feared an expanded Triple Alliance; this increased the appeal of a French alliance to the Romanov dynasty
French desire to recapture the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from the Germans
- Lost in Franco-Prussian war
Early 1892 – Tsar Alexander III suggested that if Germany attacked either France or Russia, the other must immediately come to their aid
August 1892 – Military convention
Ratified on January 4^th 1894

The End of British Isolation:

Since the establishment of the British Empire in the 17^th century the British policy of isolationism had enabled them to become to most powerful country in the world
Britain would intervene when one nation became too powerful
- Napoleonic France
British empirical concern at the forefront of any alliance made
- India, threat from Russia
Anglo-German agreement rejected in London as too dangerous
- The Germans could not help if Russia decided to invade India
Salisbury had faith in the system of isolation
- Suggested that forming an alliance was an attempt to guard from a danger the British had no reason to believe existed
Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1902 ensured British security in the Far East without undertaking dangerous continental commitments

The Entente Cordiale:

Outbreak of Russo-Japanese war in February 1904
Britain and France keen not to get involved, despite them both having alliances with participants
Process of settling imperial differences had been underway for a year
- Did not want to revert to hostile relationships between Britain and France
Entente signed on April 8^th, 1904
Not a military alliance; focused on colonial & naval disputes
- However, France believed that by signing this, Britain had forged a military alliance
Signing of the entente marked the end of the oldest animosity in the world
Sir Edward Grey on the Entente:
- Britain signing the Entente created an image to the French that the British would support them in a war. If the British disappointed the French, there would be no salvaging Anglo-French relations.
- Britain places a lot of significance on morality; they would not want to be viewed as untrustworthy or negatively portrayed to the international community

The First Moroccan Crisis:

1905 – France sought to establish a protectorate over Morocco
Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Tangiers, publically promising to support Morocco against any French aggression
April 1905 – Germany called a conference to resolve the crisis
January-April 1906 – Algeciras Conference
- Moroccan political independence
- French economic control of Morocco
- Policed by Spain and France (also Switzerland)
Russia and Britain supported France

The Anglo-Russian Entente:

Signed on 31^st August, 1907
Attempt to reconcile Imperial differences
Established a nominal ‘triple entente’ of Britain, France and Russia
Grey: ‘An entente between Russia, France and ourselves would be absolutely secure. If it is necessary to check Germany, it could then be done’
The Triple Entente was both geographically and militarily threatening to Germany
- Russia had a massive land army
- France had a relatively well-equipped military force
- Britain had the most powerful naval force in the world
- Germany was surrounded

Balkan connections to the Entente & Alliance:

Bulgaria
- Received aid from the Ottoman Empire, who signed an alliance with Germany in 1914
- Also received aid from Austria-Hungary, who were one third of the Triple Alliance
Serbia
- Serbia was a recipient of Russian aid; Russia signed an Entente with Britain in 1907 and an alliance with France in 1894

Great Britain and German Weltpolitik:

Britain wary of Russia’s imperialist threat and Germany’s Weltpolitik
Joseph Chamberlain and Arthur Balfour sought an arrangement with Germany
Théophile Delcassé was convinced that the British remained as likely an enemy as Germany, even after the Entente cordiale
German Weltpolitik antagonised the British, particularly the 1898 and 1900 Navy Laws
- Tirpitz
  - Risk theory
    - If the German navy reached a certain strength the British would avoid a naval conflict because the Germans would be able to sufficiently damage the British naval dominance over the world
    - Britain would choose maintaining imperial strength over weakening Germany
- Aimed at developing the Germany navy
- British national security depended on the Royal navy
  - Island nation
- As an Island nation, Britain relies on trade to function
  - If the German navy can successfully blockade Britain, the people will starve
- Developed German navy a threat to British imperial possessions
- If the Royal Navy defeat the German Navy, Germany remains safe; if the German navy defeat the Royal navy, Britain is almost defenceless
The young Kaiser was seen as unpredictable; his desire for Germany to attain imperial possessions could lead to violence
- Wants to prove himself to the Germans; leads to adoption of Weltpolitik

The ‘Second Moroccan Crisis’:

Militarism – Germany:

Germany Army Bill 1912
- Outflank Tirpitz – strengthen the land army 40,000 +
- Lapse of tension with Britain
  - The navy was neglected in favour of developing the German land forces to secure land borders
Schlieffen Plan
- War on two fronts
- Focus on rapid nullification of French military

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First World War Origins Revision Notes