A4: Th e Road to War in Europe, 1870 to 1914
The Alliance System
Why did Prussia win the Franc-Prussian War?
Bismarck changed the wording of the Ems telegram sent by King Wilhelm I to the French ambassador to make it appear as if the ambassador had been insulted. The French government was forced to declare war. However, the Prussian railway network enabled troops to reach the border as quickly as possible and the French army was no match for the Prussians. The Prussian army had fought two wars in the previous six years. The Prussian Dreyse rifle was far more efficient than the French rifle.
Why did France lose the Franco-Prussian War?
Explain how each of the following was important.
RailwaysNumbers of men
The Prussian Army
Rifles
What were the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt?
France had to agree to hand over the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine. These included the cities of Strasbourg and Metz and contained valuable agricultural land and iron ore fields.
France had to pay an indemnity of 5,000,000,000 francs to Germany and some areas of northern France were to be occupied by the German army until the sum was handed over.
A triumphal parade of the German troops was held in Paris on 1 March 1871.
Fill in the details of the Treaty.
Alsace-LorraineIndemnity
OccupationParade
Now what could you add in the final box. What can you work out about the aims of the Prussians?
1. They intended the Treaty to be harsh.
2. They wanted to weaken France so that it could not cause trouble in the future.
This is what should go in the final box.
What were the effects of the Franco-Prussian War?
The German Empire was created. Bismarck emerged as a hero and chancellor of the Empire was secure. The south German states all agreed to join the German Empire. Germany was now the most powerful country in Europe. The German army had proved itself invincible. But Bismarck feared the French desire for revenge. His aim was to ensure that Germany always had plenty of allies, while France remained isolated. So Bismarck set himself the task of trying to ensure that France could never be a threat to Germany. He did this by creating the Alliance System.
What effects did the Franco-Prussian War have on France and Germany? Fill in the names of the countries in the right hand column.
2 / People began to refuse to visit Germany.
3 / It began to set up the ‘Alliance System’
4 / It became the most powerful country in Europe in military terms.
5 / People began to talk of ‘revanche’.
6 / The remaining independent states joined the empire
7 / There were demonstrations against the Treaty.
8 / Its industry soon began to dominate Europe.
9 / The Treaty was regarded as a national disgrace.
10 / It began to take steps to protect itself from revenge.
How did Bismarck try to keep on good terms with Russia?
Bismarck wanted avoid at all the costs the possibility of a war on two fronts. For the next twenty years, Bismarck tried to ensure that France and Russia would never form an alliance and that Russia would always be linked to Germany in one way or another. In 1873 the DreiKaiserBund (League of Three Emperors) was signed by the Emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary and the Tsar of Russia. The three great powers of central and eastern Europe were now linked in a loose agreement, which was intended to maintain the status quo.
Why did the DreiKaiserBund not work?
It was only a vague agreement rather than a formal alliance, but it also involved two countries that were rivals for influence in the Balkans. Russia wanted to extend its empire south towards the Mediterranean, and, when that proved impossible, to protect the Slav peoples in the Balkans. The Austrians wanted to extend their empire into the Balkans, and that meant occupying Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the majority of the population was Serb.
The alliance was put to the test in 1877 when Russia declared war on Turkey in 1877 and then tried to create a ‘Big Bulgaria’ at the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878. What could Bismarck do to keep the peace between the two Great Powers?
Why were the Congress and Treaty of Berlin important?
After the Treaty of San Stefano with Turkey, Bismarck stepped in as an ‘honest broker’.
Bismarck wanted to try to make sure that both Austria and Russia remained allies of Germany. He invited the Great Powers to Berlin to try to sort out the problem. Russia agreed to Bulgaria being split up into three parts. The southern part remained under Turkish rule. Roumelia became independent and the remainder became the new state of Bulgaria. Russia retained southern Bessarabia and Austria retained control of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Why was the Treaty of Berlin unpopular in Russia?
Bulgaria had been split up and Bismarck had appeared to support Austria against Russia.
To keep the situation under control Bismarck signed the Dual Alliance (with Austria) in 1879.
List the differences between the Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin.
San Stefano / BerlinBosnia and
Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Southern Bessarabia
The Treaty of Berlin and the Dual Alliance isolated Russia. The Second DreiKaiserBund in 1879 was signed to keep the Russians on Bismarck’s side. It contained a series of clauses which attempted to bind the three empires together. In the case of one of the three empires being attacked by a fourth power, the other two powers would remain neutral.
Russia agreed to respect the interests of Austria-Hungary arising from her new position in the Balkans as set out in the Treaty of Berlin. Austria also reserved the right to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future. The Second DreiKaiserBund was renewed in 1884, but in 1887 Russia refused to sign because of events in Bulgaria.
Why did Bismarck sign the Mediterranean Agreements and the Reinsurance Treaty?
He wanted to prevent Russia and France drawing closer together. In March 1887 Bismarck formed the First Mediterranean Agreement with Britain, Italy and Austria.
The Royal Navy would protect Italy if France attacked, and Italy would support Britain if France interfered in Egypt.
The Second Mediterranean Agreement was signed in December 1887, Germany, Italy, Austria and Britain agreed to support Turkey if it was attacked by Russia. The two Mediterranean Agreements were desperate attempts by Bismarck to protect Germany if France and Russia formed an alliance. The Reinsurance Treaty was designed to prevent Russia forming an alliance with France.
The creation of the Triple Alliance
In 1879 Bismarck signed the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Dual Alliance became the most important part of Bismarck’s attempts to give Germany security. It was clearly aimed at Russia. In 1882 the Dual Alliance was extended to become the Triple Alliance with the inclusion of Italy. Austria and Germany promised to support Italy if it was attacked by France. If any one of Austria, Germany and Italy was attacked by two or more countries, the others would support it. The first clause was obviously a threat to France and the second was a warning against a possible alliance between France and Russia. The Triple Alliance was renewed in 1887, 1891, 1902 and 1912 and it became one of the alliances by which the great powers of Europe were divided into two armed camps by 1914.
Fill in the details of the Alliances
In the first column write the date of the Alliance. In the third column write the reason for the Alliance. In the fourth column write the names of the countries that were involved in the Alliance.
DreiKaiserBundDual Alliance
DreiKaiserBund
Triple Alliance
First Mediterranean
Agreement
Reinsurance Treaty
Second Mediterranean
Agreement
Why was the resignation of Bismarck important?
The Reinsurance Treaty was not renewed. This meant that the alliances that Bismarck had created, now had the effect of dividing Europe into two armed camps. The Alliance System, which Bismarck had so carefully created and maintained, fell apart.
The creation of the Triple Entente
In the 1890s relations between Russia and France grew much closer. In 1892 there was a military agreement between the two countries. The Dual Entente was signed in 1894. The Entente was a defensive agreement like the Triple Alliance. Russia agreed to support France if it was attacked by Germany, or by Italy supported by Germany. France agreed to support Russia if it was attacked by Germany or Austria supported by Germany. The Dual Entente created possibility of a war on two fronts, with Germany caught between the armies of France and Russia.
In 1904 Britain and France signed The Entente Cordiale, the ‘friendly agreement’. The Entente led subsequently to discussions on naval issues. The two navies agreed to divide responsibility for European waters. In 1912 the British navy withdrew its forces from the Mediterranean and the French navy withdrew its forces from the Channel. In 1907 Britain signed an Entente with Russia. This helped to create the Triple Entente. The Triple Entente did not commit Britain to defend or support the other two powers, but it did make British support for them much more likely in the event of war.
Europe was now divided into two armed camps, each made up of three powers and each with a series of built in clauses, which involved automatic and immediate military action. The stage was now set for a showdown, should the situation arise.
Now fill in the details of what happened after Bismarck resigned.
Date / Treaty / Countries / Effects1892
1894
1904
1907
Revision
What have you learnt so far about Europe from the 1860s to 1914?
Fill the events that took place in the following years. Use the pages so far to help you complete the timeline.
18641866
1870
1871
1873
1876
1877
1878
1878
1879
1881
1882
1885
1885
1886
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1894
1903
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1913
International Rivalry
What was Weltpolitik?
Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to increase Germany's prestige both in Europe and abroad and this ran the risk of making enemies. He wanted to expand the German Empire in Africa and the German navy. Wilhelm wanted to challenge France and Britain.
In 1890 Wilhelm refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty and this decision helped to bring about the Dual Entente which was signed in 1894. In 1896 Wilhelm began to use the term ‘Weltpolitik’, meaning world policy. Germany would be taking part a full part in international affairs. The ‘Drang nach Osten’ suggested that Germany was going to expand in an easterly direction. A scheme for a Berlin to Baghdad railway appeared to threaten Britain’s influence in the Middle East and Asia. Wilhelm also demanded a ‘Place in the Sun’ for Germany, which suggested that he wanted to expand the German Empire in Africa and other parts of the world.
The significance of these changes in policy was more to do with what might happen than what actually did happen. The British suspected that the Kaiser and Germany were up to something and did not know what. When in December 1895 Cecil Rhodes sent a raiding party into the Transvaal in the belief that an uprising was about to take place, the Kaiser sent a telegram to President Kruger congratulating him on defeating the Jameson Raid. This did not go down well in Britain.
How did the policies of Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelem II differ?
Policy / Bismarck / Kaiser Wilhelm IIThe German Empire
The German Navy
Alliances
Germany in Europe
Why were the German Navy Laws important?
These laid out plans to build a navy to challenge the Royal Navy over a period of twenty years. In 1898, the First Navy Law announced that Germany would build a fleet strong enough to combat the strongest navy in the world. In 1900 the Second Navy Law provided for a fleet of thirty-eight battleships to be built in the next twenty years.
The British government believed that the Germans were planning to challenge Britain’s command of the seas. If the Germans began to build a larger navy, Britain would have to respond and build more ships. The Germans also announced the building of the Kiel Canal. This would link the Baltic with the North Sea and would allow German warships to sail from the Baltic to the North Sea. From 1902 Britain began to build battleships to stop the Germans getting a lead.
In 1906 the British launched HMS Dreadnought, a battleship which made all existing battleships obsolete. It carried ten twelve-inch guns and had a top speed of twenty-one knots. The German navy replied by building ‘Dreadnoughts’ of its own and a Naval Arms Race began.
Drang nach OstenWeltpolitik
A Place in the Sun
This suggested that Germany was going to try to create an empire in Africa. Most of Africa was already controlled by European nations so this would lead to friction.
The push to the East, which suggested that Germany was going to interfere in the Middle East, which had traditionally been under British influence
This suggested that the Kaiser wanted Germany to play a greater role on the world stage, whereas Bismarck had limited Germany to European actions.
What was the Naval Arms Race?
From 1906 to 1914 the British built twenty-nine Dreadnoughts and the Germans built seventeen. By 1914 the ships carried fifteen-inch guns and their oil-fired turbine engines could reach a top speed of twenty-five knots. In Britain a Navy League was formed to campaign for more and more ships. In fact the German government failed to build the ships that had been planned in 1900 because the cost was simply too great. By 1909 it had dropped out of the Naval Arms Race.