Revision Session 4 The Road to War: The Alliance System

 First half of 19th Century Germany was made up of more than 30 small states  By Late 1860’s Prussia had absorbed nearly all of them  Prussia had defeated Austria in 1866 and established itself as the leading German-speaking state  By end of 1870 Prussia had forced all German states to accept its authority  The King of Prussia became the Kaiser of the new German Empire  This unification was achieved at the expense of France who was heavily defeated in the Franco-Prussian war  The BITTERNESS which followed was a long term cause of the First World War

The Alliance System  The unification created a new and very powerful country in Europe  It was a threat to the other Great Powers – particularly Britain  The DISTRUST and RIVALRY which followed were another long term cause of the war

The Alliance System  The driving force behind the unification was Chancellor Prince Otto Von Bismarck  He brought about war with Denmark in 1864 and war with Austria 1866 both of which were massive victories for the Prussians  Bismarck needed to find a way of getting the southern German states to join Prussia  The main obstacle was France as Napoleon III distrusted Bismarck and believed he was trying to dominate Europe

The Alliance System  Bismarck knew that Napoleon III would try and stop him if he tried to take the southern states  He believed it neccessary to defeat France before unification of Germany could take place

The Impact of the Franco-Prussian War  July 1870 Bismarck persuades France to declare war  Bismarck changes the wording of a telegram sent from King Wilhelm I to the French Ambassador  He made it appear insulting  The news leaked to the French press  France was horrified and demanded vengeance  The French government was forced to declare war

The Impact of the Franco-Prussian War  France was no match for the Prussians  The Prussian railway in the 1850’s and 1860’s had been massively improved  Troops could be moved around quickly and easily  200,000 French troops faced 380,000 Prussian troops  The Prussian Dreyse rifle was far better than the French rifle  The Prussian army had fought 2 wars in past 6 years and was more experienced

The Impact of the Franco-Prussian War  180,000 French troops were trapped in the fortress of Metz  An army sent in to help them was forced to surrender  Napoleon was taken prisoner  Metz surrended in October  The harsh terms of the peace treaty (Treaty of Frankfurt 1871) included – Giving the Prussians Alsace-Lorraine, paying an indemnity of 5,000,000,000 Francs, Germany occupying various parts of Northern France until the sum had been paid

The Impact of the Franco-Prussian War  Bismarck emerged as a hero  The South German states all agreed to join Prussia/ The German Empire  King Wilhelm I became Kaiser  Germany was the most powerful country in Europe  Economy dominated the continent

The Impact of the Franco-Prussian War  Bismarck realised this dominance needed to be handled carefully  He avoided offending other countries  He feared the French desire for revenge  His aim was to create alliances for Germany but ensure France was kept isolated  In France, the defeat was a humiliation  Napoleon left to live in exile  French politicians talked of revenge  Bismarck’s main task was to ensure France could not threaten Germany = The Alliance System

Relations between Germany and Russia  Bismarck wanted to prevent France from gaining allies in Europe  Wanted to avoid a war on two fronts  This meant isolating France and staying friendly with Russia  It also meant ensuring that France and Russia would NOT form an alliance

Relations between Germany and Russia  In 1873 the DreiKaiserBund was signed by the Emperors of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Tsar of Russia  The 3 powers agreed to crush subversive movements and to defend monarchy  It linked the 2 most powerful mainland European countries to Germany  It had WEAKNESSES the DKB was a vague agreement rather than a formal alliance and it also involved 2 countries who were rivals for power in the Balkans – Russia and Austria- Hungary

Relations between Germany and Russia  Bismarck wanted Russia and Austria-Hungary to be friendly with Germany but they were rivals  Russia had wanted to extend its Empire into the Mediterranean – this plan had largely failed – but its mission was still to protect Slavs and Orthodox Christians (this meant the Serbs) in the Balkans  Austria-Hungary wanted to extend its Empire and this meant occupying Bosinia-Herzegovina (where the majority of the population was Serb)

Relations between Germany and Russia  The DKB proved to be largely worthless  Russia declared war on Turkey in 1877  Russia tried to create a Big Bulgaria a the Treaty of San Stefano  Bismarck was going to have to do something if he wanted to keep the peace with Russia

The Congress of Berlin  Russia signed the Treaty of San Stefano (1878) with Turkey – where it tried to gain control over a Big Bulgaria  Bismarck stepped in to try and keep the peace between Russia and Austria and to make sure they both remained allies of Germany  Treaty of Berlin (1878) replaced the Treaty of San Stefano – here Russia was allowed southern Bessarabia, Austria retained control of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Big Bulgaria was split into 3 – southern part given to Turkey and the other two parts became independent

The Congress of Berlin  Treaty not popular in Russia  Bismarck had appeared to support Austria-Hungary rather than Russia  It didn’t help that in 1879 Germany signed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary (this gave Bismarck and Germany some security but isolated Russia)

The Second DreiKaiserBund  1881 – Attempt to bind the three Empires together  In case of one of the three powers being attacked by a fourth power the other two would remain neutral  Russia agreed to respect Austria-Hungary’s interests in the Balkans and Austria reserved the right to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina in the future  The DKB was renewed in 1884 but in 1887 Russia refused to sign it

The Mediterranean Agreements  Bismarck was faced with the possibility that Russia and France may join closer together.  He continued with his programme of isolating France and formed the first Mediterranean Agreement with Britain, Italy and Austria in 1887  The countries would not allow changes in the Mediterranean – Italy and Britain agreed to protect each other if attacked by France

The Reinsurance Treaty  At the same time as forming the First Mediterranean agreement Bismarck concluded a secret treaty with Russia – the Reinsurance Treaty (1887)  This was to prevent Russia from forming an alliance with France  In December there was a Second Mediterranean agreement formed this time Germany, Italy, Britain and Austria agreed to help Turkey if she was attacked by Russia  The complicated system of alliances shows how Bismarck was desparate to protect Germany  The Med Agreements are the only foreign involvement that Britain had in late 19th C – it actually committed itself to very little

The Creation of the Triple Alliance  In 1879 Bismarck had signed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary  In 1882 this was extended to become the Triple Alliance with Italy  Austria H and Germany promised to support Italy if it was attacked by France  If any two or more countries attacked one of the allies the others would support it  If any of the allies went to war with another country the other two would remain neutral  This alliance was renewed in 1887, 1891, 1902 and 1912

The Creation of the Triple Entente  In 1890 Bismarck was forced to resign when Kaiser Wilhelm II came to the throne  The Reinsurance Treaty with Russia lapsed – Wilhelm II refused to sign it  As a result, France and Russia grew closer and signed a military agreement in 1892  In 1894 they signed the Dual Entente

The Creation of the Triple Entente  Russia agreed to support France against attacks by Germany or Italy and Germany  France agreed to support Russia against attacks by Germany or Austria Hungary and Germany  If any of the Triple Alliance mobilised their troops so would the Dual Entente  It created a situation that Bismarck had tried for years to avoid – the war on two fronts

The Creation of the Triple Entente  In 1904 Britain and France signed The Entente Cordiale – this was developed after the king Edward VII visited Paris and settled territorial disputes with France (particularly in N.Africa)  The two navies agreed to divide up responsibility for European waters

The Creation of the Triple Entente  In 1907 Britain signed an Entente with Russia – this was not a formal alliance like the Dual Entente but was designed to settle territorial disputes e.g. in Persia and Afghanistan  Both of these ‘agreements’ drew Britain into the alliance system  And Britain’s agreements with Russia and France became known as the Triple Entente  Britain was not committed to helping the other two powers but it did make it MUCH more likely that Britain would support them  Europe was now officially made up of 2 armed and opposing camps