DBQ2

Source A

`You too often lose sight of the importance of being one of three on the European chess-board. That is the invariable objective of all the cabinets, and of mine above all others. Nobody wishes to be in a minority. All politics reduce themselves to this formula : to try to be one of the three, so long as the world is governed by an unstable equilibrium of five great powers. That also is the true preservative against coalitions.' (Bismarck's comment after the formation of the Triple Alliance in 1881)

Source B

`...... Such incidents like a flash in the dark show the German peoples where is the foe. The German people now knows, when it seeks foreign expansion, such as is its right and destiny, where it has to look for permission. We Germans are not accustomed to that and cannot allow it and we shall know how to answer.' (The German Conservative Party leader's response after the Moroccan Crisis)

Source C

Proportion of population in the armed forces 1880-1914

Germany

Date Size of Size of Total % of

Army Navy population

1880 401650 7350 409000 0.9

1891 511650 17000 528650 1.07

1901 604100 31200 635300 1.16

1911 622500 33500 656000 1.01

1914 791000 73000 864000 1.30

Britain

1800 198200 59000 257200 0.73

1891 209000 97600 306600 0.80

1901 773500 114900 888400 2.10

1911 247000 128000 375000 0.83

1914 247000 146000 393000 0.85

With reference to Source A

i. Who were these five powers? (4 marks)

ii. How did Bismarck achieve this aim? (4 marks)

iii. Was Bismarck successful by the time of his downfall? (4 marks)

With reference to Source B

iv. What was the German response to the setback? (4 marks)

v. How did it affect the development of the Alliance System? (4 marks)

With reference to Source C

vi. Was the British fear over Germany justified? (5 marks)

vii. Drawing information from Source B and Source C, explain why Britain and Germany confronted against each other in two rival armed camps. (5 marks)

Suggested answers to DBQA

i. The five powers were Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Russia.(The comment was made after the formation of the Triple Alliance. Thus you should include Italy. Britain was not considered by Bismarck at that time because she still adopted an isolation policy. She began to change her attitude after the formation of the France-Russian Alliance as she was the only power in Europe without any ally.) (4 marks)

ii. He achieved this through the Alliance System. In 1873, he formed the Dreikaiserbund. In 1879, he formed the Dual Alliance with Austria. Finally in 1881, he formed the Triple Alliance with the addition of Italy. Russia was still linked to Germany through the renewal of the Dreikaiserbund and later the Reinsurance Treaty. In this was, France was completely isolated while the other major European powers were linked to Germany. (4 marks)

iii. On the surface, he was successful as Austria and Italy were bound to her through the Triple Alliance and Russian friendship was assured through the Reinsurance Treaty. However, there were serious loopholes in this system. Austria and Italy were hostile to each others. They had conflicts over territories. Meanwhile, Italy was friendly towards France and Britain. Though Russia was eager to maintain a friendly relation with Germany, the link was mainly based on the personal tie with Bismarck. Moreover, the new Kaiser, William II, regarded the Treaty as ridiculous. He wanted to keep the friendship with Austria. As a result, after Bismarck's downfall, the Reinsurance Treaty was not renewed and Russia then turned to France. Thus, by the time of Bismarck's downfall, the seeds of failure had already been sown. The success was only on the surface. (4 marks)

iv. She was very angry. She regarded the defeat a result of Britain's intervention. The passage was full of words of anger and from then on they regarded Britain as her enemy. (4 marks)

v. It affected the development in two ways. First of all, Germany became more hostile towards the British and they continued their effort to break the Dual Entente. This resulted in the Second Moroccan Conference which further strengthened the Triple Entente. On the other hand, the Germans intensified the naval armament race. This again alarmed the British and strengthened her link with France. Formal military cooperation gradually replaced the informal cooperation of the Dual Entente. (4 marks)

vi. It was justified because the Germans were always increasing their army strength as well as the navy. The increase in the navy was especially alarming since 1901. This greatly threatened the British naval supremacy. It was no surprise that the British regarded the Germans as the greatest threat. (5 marks)

vii. Both sides had learnt to be hostile towards each other. The British feared over the increasing strength of the Germans. As a result, they had to find new allies. The Germans had learnt to hate the British. They did not want to be checked by the British. As a result, both sides remained hostile and this paved the way for the formation of two rival armed camp[s by the outbreak of WWI. (5 marks)