The Path to War The Events That Led to the Beginning of the First World War.

Causes of the War  The rise of Germany as a great power changed the balance of power in Europe, the alliance systems that developed attempted to deal with this but turned Europe into two armed camps.  Nationalist unrest caused conflict and internal divisions.  Arms race contributed to tensions.

The Alliance Systems  The Three Emperors League – The key to German preeminence was keeping France isolated. – Bismarck negotiated an alliance in 1872 (Dreikaiserbund). – The alliance joined Germany, Austria, and Russia to cooperate to maintain peace and the status quo. Franz Josef

The Russo-Turkish War  After revolt in Turkish controlled Bulgaria in 1876, Russia went to war with the Ottomans.  The Treaty of San Stefano (1878) established Serbia, Montenegro and Rumania as states and autonomy to Bulgaria.  The increased influence of Russia in the Balkans and the Mediterranean threatened Austrian and British interests.

Congress of Berlin  Powers met to avoid war in Berlin in  The Treaty of Berlin reduced Russian influence in the region by giving Austria domination of Bosnia and the British control of Cyprus.  The compromise avoided war, but angered the Russians by reducing their war gains.

The Alliance Systems  The Dual Alliance – The Austro-Russian conflict ended the Three Emperors’ League. – Bismarck created an alliance with Austria in  Revival of the Three Emperors – Bismarck continued negotiations and revived the league in 1881, this again ended in 1887.

The Alliance Systems  The Triple Alliance (1882) – Italian anger over French control over Tunisia made them ally with Germany and Austria. – Germany’s alliances with Austria, Russia, Italy and good relations with UK isolated France.  Franco-Russian Alliance – With the dismissal of Bismarck, Germany did not renew its alliance with Russia. – In 1894, France negotiated and secret alliance with Russia, primarily aimed at Britain in the Med.

Anglo-German Relations  In the 1890s, relations between Germany and Britain began to deteriorate.  Germany’s support for the Boers in South Africa angered the British.  The development of a high seas fleet by Germans threatened British naval dominance.

The Alliance Systems  Anglo-French Entente – The French and British determined they each needed allies, especially in dealing with colonial matter (Fashoda Crisis, Boer War) – The Entente Cordiale was negotiated in 1904, leading to increased cooperation.  Italian-French Agreement – Italy and France came to an secret agreement on colonial policy in North Africa. – This further weakened Germany’s position.

The First Moroccan Crisis  Germany provoked a crisis with France over French protectorate in Morocco.  German calls for Moroccan independence were denied by Britain, Russia, and Italy at the Algeciras Conference in  Germany’s belligerent attitude brought France, Britain and Russia closer together.

The Alliance Systems  Anglo-Russian Entente – Britain and Russia came to an agreement on their spheres of control in Central Asia in 1907  Triple Entente – The agreement between Britain and Russia completed the process of alliances between the two nations and France. – The Triple Alliance now faced the Triple Entente, with the Entente being the more powerful.

The Bosnian Crisis  Austria wished to annex Bosnia and came to an agreement with Russia that gave them control of the Turkish straits in  The Austrians moved too fast and angered the Russians and the Serbians who hoped to annex Bosnia themselves.  Germany pledged to support Austria and Russia backed down in the spring of 1909.

The Second Moroccan Crisis  In 1911, Germany again opposed the creation of a French Moroccan protectorate.  The French and Germans came to a territorial agreement which eased tensions.  In 1912, the British began concentrating their navy in the North Sea and the French in the Mediterranean to deal with the German threat.

The First Balkan War  Italy’s defeat of Turkey in war in 1912 gave encouragement to Balkan states.  Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece formed the Balkan League and went to war with Turkey in  The 1913 Treaty of London had Turkey lose all of its European territory (except on the straits) and the creation of Albania (against Russian and Serbian objections).

The Second Balkan War  Arguments over territory led to war that had Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Rumania, and Turkey defeating Bulgaria.  The Treaty of Bucharest (Aug. 1913) had Bulgaria cede territory.  Russia continued to be frustrated at the situation and supported Serbia, while Germany supported Austria,

The Sarajevo Crisis  On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian nationalist group The Black Hand, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austrian throne) and his wife in Sarajevo.  Austria blamed Serbia for backing the murder (Serbia did not support it, but they did not stop it either). Franz Ferdinand

The Outbreak of War  Austria made diplomatic demands that the Serbs could not accept (though they were willing to negotiate).  Austria was determined to deal with Serbia and declared war on July 28,  Germany had given Austria a “blank check” of support in the matter and appeared ready to go to war.

The Outbreak of War  Russia was not going to let its ally in the Balkans, Serbia, be defeated. So Tsar Nicholas II began mobilizing on July 30.  Germany demanded the Russians halt. When they refused, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1.

The Outbreak of War  Germany asked France its intentions. The French said they would follow their interests.  On August 3 rd, Germany declared war on France.  The Germans, going by the Schlieffen Plan, invaded neutral Belgium to quickly defeat France before Russia could mobilize.  In response, Britain declared war on Germany on August 4 th.  So began the Great War.

Europe on the Eve of World War I