Europe prior to WWI-including part I of The Guns of August.

Edward VII First King of England in the 20th Century Died in 1910-his funeral opened The Guns of August Oldest son of Queen Victoria Married to Alexandra of Denmark Mostly peaceful reign (save the Boer Wars-in South Africa). Very focused on military and foreign affairs

Edward VII-Uncle to Europe The German Emperor Wilhelm II-nephew Tsar Nicholas II of Russia-nephew Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse-nephew Duke Charles Edward of Saxe-Coburg-nephew Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain-neice Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden-neice Crown Princess Marie of Romania-neice Crown Princess Sophia of Greece-neice Empress Alexandra of Russia-neice King Haakon VII of Norway was both his nephew by marriage and his son-in-law

Edward VII-Uncle to Europe Continued… King George I of Greece-brother-in law King Frederick VIII of Denmark-brother-in-law King Albert I of Belgium-cousin King Charles I and King Manuel II of Portugal- cousin Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria-cousin Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands-cousin Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick- cousin

Wilhelm II, German Emperor/King of Prussia Ruled from 1888 to 1918 Forced Otto van Bismarck to resign as Chancellor and also got rid of his foreign policies. Ultimate goal was to reclaim Germany’s “place in the sun”.

George V The “new” king of England Ruled from Collected stamps and smoked a lot WWI took a toll on his health

Tsar Nicholas II Last emperor of Russia Married to Alexandra, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Saw Germany as the main enemy-even though the Kaiser was his cousin  A series of telegrams were exchanged during the war: ”The Nicky-Willy telegrams” Forced to abdicate throne in 1917

King I Albert Ruled Belgium from Upheld neutrality during WWI, standing up to Germany’s ultimatum Held up Germany’s “plan” by resisting and giving France time to make military preparations

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Alfred von Schlieffen-author of the Schlieffen Plan

Helmuth von Moltke In charge with carrying out the Schlieffen Plan. He believed that once started, the plan could not and should not be motified

Joseph Joffre Commander in Chief of the French military during WWI. In charge of defending France against the Schlieffen Plan. Devised Plan 17, which contained no over- all objective and no explicit schedule for operations.

Franco-Prussian War Waged from July Feb Previously, Napoleon I had conquered German lands, in this battle, the roles would be reversed This was a rapid and overwhelming victory for Prussia This made a united German Empire possible and ended the Napoleonic Empire in France Germany becomes a major European power and takes the French territory of Alsace- Lorraine

Entangling Alliances Germany and France are bitter enemies Germany is afraid of both Britain and Russia Russia is weakened from it’s loss in the Russo-Japanese War Britain is divided over the impending war and the loss in the Boer War. Belgium is neutral-Britain has pledged alliance if Belgium is invaded France is allied with Russia, but Russia had also been previously allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary

Entangling Alliances Continued Italy enters into an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungry, pledging neutrality Serbia allies with Russia Austria-Hungary and Germany are allied and would come to include the crumbling Ottoman Empire (whose land was very appealing to Austria)

The Moroccan Crisis Morocco was given to France by Britain in Germany announces its support for Moroccan independence in Britain supports France and war is avoided by an international conference in France agreed to make Morocco a French protectorate.

The Moroccan Crisis II In 1911, Germany sent a warship to Morocco claiming that the French had violated international agreement. Britain again defends France and Germany backs off in exchange for part of the French controlled Congo.

Crisis in the Balkans In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed the territory of Bosnia (which had formally been a Turkish province) This threatened Serbia, which was also interested in this territory. War threatened between Serbia (allied with Russia) and Austria-Hungary (allied with Germany). War is avoided, but tensions are still high

The Balkan Wars of The Balkan states, including Serbia, fought the Turks and drove them back to Constantinople. The Balkans began to fight over the territory. Tensions increased again when Austria- Hungary forced Serbia to give up some of the lands gained. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the Austo-Hungarian empire) is assassinated in Sarajevo by the Serbian Nationalist group The Black Hand.

The Tuchman quote that has to be repeated (p. 133 in my book) “Europe was entering, Moltke wrote, the struggle that will decide the course of history for the next hundred years”.