THE CAUSES OF WORLD WAR ONE
The Alliance System
In 1914 the six most powerful countries in Europe were divided into two opposing ALLIANCES: the Central Powers or Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria—Hungary and Italy), formed in 1882, and the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia), formed in 1907. Each country was heavily armed, and each one had reasons for distrusting other countries in Europe.
THE CENTRAL POWERS
Germany
Before 1870 Germany was a collection of small independent states of which Prussia was the most powerful. In 1870 the Prussian statesman Bismarck won a war against France, after which he united the many German states into a new and powerful German empire. Germany took from France the important industrial area of Alsace—Lorraine and, to guard against a revenge attack from the French, formed an alliance with Austria—Hungary and Italy.
The new Germany was especially successful in industry. By 1914 German industry had overtaken Britain's and was second in the world only to that of the USA.
However, Germany's leaders had greater ambitions, as well as concerns.
• The German Kaiser felt that Germany should be a world power and should have overseas
colonies and an empire like France and Britain had. The Germans hadestablished two colonies in Africa, but they wanted more.
• In the 1890s the Kaiser ordered the building of a large navy, which soon became the world's
second most powerful fleet. Britain's was the largest and most powerful.
• German leaders were very worried by what they called 'encirclement'. Friendship between
Russia to the east and France to the west was seen as an attempt to 'surround' and threaten Germany.
• Germany was also concerned by the huge build-up of arms, especially in Russia, and was itself
building up a vast army.
Austria-Hungary
Austria—Hungary was a sprawling empire in central Europe. It was made up of people of different ethnic groups: Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs and many others. Each group had its own
customs and language. Many of these groups wanted independence from Austria—Hungaiy.
• In the north the Czech people wanted to rule themselves.
• The Slav people in the south-west (especially the Croats) wanted their own state.
• The Serbs living in the south wanted to be joined to the neighbouring state of Serbia.
By 1914 the main concern of the Emperor of Austria—Hungary was how to keep this fragmented empire together.
Austria—Hungary also faced problems from neighbouring states:
• Its newly independent neighbour Serbia was becoming a powerful force in the Balkans. Austria
was very anxious that it should not become any stronger.
• Another neighbour, Russia, supported the Serbs, and had a very strong army.
Italy
Like Germany, Italy was formed from a collection of smaller states. At first, its main concern was
to get its government established, but by 1914 the country was settled and was looking to 'flex its
muscles'.
Like some of the other European powers, Italy wanted to set up colonies and build up an overseas empire. With this aim in mind, Italy joined Germany and Austria in the Triple Alliance. However, there is some evidence that Germany and Austria did not entirely trust their ally. In any case, Italy was not a strong industrial or military power.
The Triple Entente
Britain
In the nineteenth century Britain had tried not to get involved in European politics. Its attitude became known as 'splendid isolation' as it concentrated on its huge overseas empire (seeSource 7). For most of the nineteenth century, Britain had regarded France and Russia as its two most dangerous rivals. However, by the early 1900s the picture had begun to change.
The three main reasons were that:
• France and Britain had reached a number of agreements about colonies in North Africa in 1904.
• Russia was defeated in a war against Japan in 1904. This weakened Russia so that Britain was less concerned about it.
• Above all, Britain was very worried about Germany. The German Kaiser had made it clear that he wanted Germany to havean empire and a strong navy, which Britain saw as a serious threat to its own empire and navy.
Britain began to co-operate more with France and signed an agreement with it in 1904. Britain signed another agreement with Russia in 1907.
France
France had been defeated by Germany in a short war in 1870. Since then, Germany had built up a powerful army and strong industries. It had an ambitious leader in Kaiser Wilhelm. France was worried about the growing power of Germany, so the French had also built up their industries and armies. France had also developed a strong and close friendship with Russia. The mainconcerns of France were:
• to protect itself against attack by Germany
• to get back the rich industrial region of Alsace—Lorraine which Germany had taken from it in
1870.
Russia
Russia was by far the largest of all the six powers, but was also the most backward. The country
was almost entirely agricultural, although loans from France had helped Russia to develop some
industries.
Russia shared France's worries about the growing power of Germany. It also had a long history of rivalry with Austria—Hungary. This was one reason why Russia was so friendly with Serbia. Another reason was that both Russians and Serbs were Slavs.
Many other Slays lived in Austria—Hungary's empire. Russia felt it should have influence over them.Russia lost a war with Japan in 1905. There was then a revolution against the ruler, Tsar Nicholas II. He survived, but he knew Russia could not afford to lose in any other conflict. The Russians began to
build up a large army in case of emergencies in the future.
The Balance of Power
Politicians at the time called this system of alliances the 'Balance of Power'. They believed that the size and power of the two alliances would prevent either side from starting a war.
Anglo-German Naval Rivalry
One of the most significant causes of tension in Europe was the naval rivalry which developed
after 1900. Ever since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Britain had ruled the seas without any
challenge. Its navy was the most powerful in the world. This situation began to change in 1898
when the new Kaiser, Wilhelm, announced his intention to build a powerful German navy.
Britain felt very threatened by this. Germany's navy was much smaller than Britain's but the British navy was spread all over the world, protecting the British Empire. Germany didn't have much of an empire. Why did it need a navy? What was Germany going to do with all of these warships concentrated in the North Sea?
Not surprisingly, Germany did not see things the same way. The Kaiser and his admirals felt that Germany needed a navy to protect its growing trade. They felt that the British were over-
reacting to the German naval plans.
Britain was not convinced by what the Germans said. In fact, in 1906 Britain raised the stakes in the naval race by launching HMS Dreadnought, the first of a new class of warships. Germany responded by building its own 'Dreadnoughts'. The naval race was well and truly on and both Britain and Germany spent millions on their new ships.
The Arms Race on Land
While Britain and Germany built up their navies, the major powers on mainland Europe were also building up their armies.
Plans for War
Many countries felt so sure that war was 'bound to come' sooner or later that they began to make very detailed plans for what to do if and when it did.