Europe goes to War

What were the causes of the First World War? – Bits of information you might want to include!

Europe in 1914

The 5 great powers in 1914 were Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Great Britain was still one of the leading industrial powers though she had been recently overtaken by Germany and the USA. She had a huge Empire and needed a huge Navy to control it. Britain was always worried in case another power would build up its Navy and challenge her. Her Army was tiny and usually played no part in any wars on the continent. Britain had no real allies though she was on friendly terms with France and Russia, both of whom she had fought against in the past.

Russia was the largest of the great powers but was also the most old fashioned. Her industrial base was small and though her armies were huge they were badly equipped. Russia had recently lost a war to Japan, many times smaller than herself. She found herself in direct competition to Austria-Hungary over what was happening in the Balkans. She had also suffered a revolution in 1905 and many people in Russia were unhappy with the way they were ruled. At this time her main ally in Europe was France.

 Germany was arguably the most powerful country in Europe. Her armies were large and well equipped and she was building up her Navy. One problem was Germany lies between France and Russia. By 1914 these 2 countries had made an alliance – it might be that Germany would have to fight a war on 2 fronts. Germany’s main support at this time was Austria-Hungary, but Austria had her own problems!

France had a large Empire too and a big army. She had lost a war against Germany in 1870 and wanted revenge. By 1914 she was allied with Russia and was friendly with Britain. Close to Germany she was vulnerable to invasion. France is a large country and in 1914 was quite wealthy.

Austria-Hungary controlled a big empire in the centre of Europe. By 1914 many of her peoples were fighting to be free from her control. Serbia was proving to be a real threat to Austria, despite being many times smaller. Serbia had Russia on her side. There was a real danger that the Empire would start to fall apart.
By 1914 Austria was relying heavily on Germany to help her.

Other countries

The Turkish Empire still controlled quite a bit of Europe and vitally the access from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The Empire was weakening very quickly and was vulnerable to pressure from Russia who wanted her lands. Austria wanted to keep the Empire as strong as she could to stop Russia from getting more land and power. When war began in 1914 the Turkish Empire was neutral but soon joined Germany and Austria against Britain, France and Russia.

Serbia was the strongest of the new Balkan states by 1914. Her rulers were ambitious and wanted to take people and territory from Austria – in particular Bosnia-Herzegovina – where there was a large Serb population. With Russia as her ally Serbia was confident that she could beat Austria in a war.

 Alliances:
Triple Alliance = Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
Triple Entente = Britain, France and Russia.

Britain also had an old alliance with Belgium signed in 1838. However, the Germans hoped they would forget about this alliance.  Germany’s plan was to invade France through Belgium.  However, the British did remember their old alliance and entered into battle with the Germans in Belgium on the 4th of August 1914 after Germany had failed to back down.
Existence of alliances made it more likely that war would start; it also ensured that the war would spread quickly and everyone wanted to protect their allies.

 Personality of Kaiser Wilhelm II:
He wanted to be seen as a strong leader.  He was unstable and unpredictable.  He had always wanted to prove himself because of his disabilities.  He was a grandson of Queen Victoria of England and so was the cousin to George V (current King of England in 1914) and Nicholas II of Russia.  The Royal family got about a bit!  Germany had recently come into being as a new country after the Franco-Prussian war, and was keen to prove itself.  Wilhelm was also keen to represent the new Germany as a world power, not content with being the most powerful in Europe. For this he needed an Empire (lands outside Europe) and a big Navy (to challenge Great Britain).

What triggered it all …?
Spark!
Serbia had doubled its size in the Balkans thanks to help from Russia and wanted more land.  This posed a threat to Austria-Hungary.  On June 28th 1914 the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, paid a visit to Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia recently taken by Austria-Hungary as their own.  At 11 o’clock Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by a member of a Serbian group that wanted Austria-Hungary to withdraw from the Balkans.  Austria-Hungary ordered an investigation to be carried out by their police, but Serbian officials would not allow it.  Austria-Hungary threatened that if the Serbians did not allow the investigation, they would invade Serbia the following week. This was a very tough ultimatum on the part of the Austrian-Hungarian Prime Minister, Count Berchtold. Serbia still refused to cooperate and so Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.  Here the alliance system kicks into play.  Germany were the allies of Austria-Hungary and were only too happy to assist their allies and show their military strength.  Germany declared war on Russia on 1st August 1914, who as old friends of Serbia had begun to mobilise.  On the 3rd of August 1914 Germany declared war on France and decided to attack France through Belgium.  Britain entered the war to protect Belgium.  Germany was now at war on the western front and the eastern front.  Italy stepped in to help Germany.