1. A heightened sense of international tension

2. A heightened sense of international tensions This source collection is made by Bob Stradling within the Innovating History Education for All project with the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and the Evens Foundation Painting by Albert Bettanier that was called “The Black Stain”. This referred to the loss of Alsace- Lorraine (the area marked in black on the school teacher’s map) to the German Empire in 1871. This blow to national pride was widely felt in France. (Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin, Public Domain) Historians point to a number of developments in the period before World War 1 that raised the level of tension in Europe. The desire of the newly unified states of Germany and Italy to become key players on the international scene. Germany’s fear of encirclement by potential enemies. The desire of many Italians to annex those lands to the north which were still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but where the majority spoke Italian. The dream of a Greater Serbia that as shared by many Serbs. Austria-Hungary’s fear of the growth of nationalist movements in the Balkans, supported by Russia. The Russian Empire’s fear of the growing power of Japan in the east. The widespread concern amongst the Great Powers about the waning power of the Ottoman Empire. Britain’s fear that the European continent might, once again, be dominated by a single power, as had been the case when Napoleon ruled in France. France’s desire to regain the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine that she had lost to Germany in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War. These were all sources of tension and rivalry between the European nations. But they did not suddenly emerge in the years immediately before the outbreak of war in 1914. These sources of potential conflict were already present in the final decades of the previous century.

3. During the sixteen years leading up to the start of World War 1 there were a number of crises that looked as though they might lead to armed conflict between two or more Great Powers. In each case the resulting international tension was reduced through international diplomacy. This has led some historians, particularly Margaret MacMillan, to suggest that perhaps a better question for historians to consider is not what caused the war but rather, why did the peace fail?

4. July 1898 Britain and France come close to war when colonial rivalry was inflamed by the Fashoda Incident, when Capt Marchand led a French force into Sudan. There were rumours that the French were considering making an alliance with Germany against Britain

5. May 1903 Britain’s relations with France were greatly improved by the success of King Edward VII’s state visit to Paris. This paved the way for the Anglo-French agreement of 1904 known as the Entente Cordiale.

6. February 1904 War began in the Far East between Japan and Russia, after Japan’s surprise attack on Port Arthur.

7. September 1905 The American President, Theodore Roosevelt, mediated between France and Russia at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ending the Russo-Japanese War.

8. October 1904 Fears were aroused of war between Britain and Russia after the Dogger Bank Incident, when British trawlers were sunk by Russian warships on their way to fight against Japan, Britain’s ally.

9. August 1907 Anglo-Russian Entente settled differences between the two powers and enabled the formation of the Triple Entente with France.

10. March 1905 Kaiser Wilhelm II’s provocative visit to Tangier led to the First Morocco Crisis. The French army was mobilised ready for war. France was supported by Britain.

11. April 1906 An international conference at Algeciras in Spain, attended by all the European powers, settled the First Morocco Crisis and reduced international tensions.

12. October 1908 There were renewed fears of war in the Balkans when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, leading to furious protests from Serbia, Croatia, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Austria was strongly supported by warlike statements by the German Kaiser.

13. March 1909 The Bosnian Crisis was ended by the decision of Serbia to accept the annexation of Bosnia after Russia backed down from open conflict with Germany.

14. July 1911 In May 1911 the French occupied Morocco on the pretext of suppressing a rebellion against the sultan. The decision of Germany to send a gunboat, Panther, to Agadir caused a second dangerous crisis over Morocco, with both France and Britain putting their navies on full alert ready for war.

15. November 1911 The Agadir Crisis was resolved by lengthy French-German negotiations to agree new borders.

16. October 1912 The Ottoman Empire was invaded by the forces of the Balkan League: Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece. There were fears that this First Balkan War might spill over into a general European war.

17. May 1913 After intensive mediation by the Great Powers, the First Balkan War was ended by the Treaty of London

18. June 1913 The peace terms of the Treaty of London led to conflict between Serbia and Bulgaria. Over control of Macedonia. This led to the Second Balkan War when Bulgaria invaded her former allies.

19. August 1913 Bulgaria’s lack of success against her former allies led to her accepting the offer of peace negotiations. The Second Balkan War was ended by the Treaty of Bucharest.

20. June 1914 The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb terrorists of the Black Hand movement. This led to a major international crisis as Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and threatened retaliation.

21. July 1914 It was widely expected that an international conference would be held, possibly in London, to resolve the tensions between Austria-Hungary, Serbia and Russia. Many leading statesmen decided to take their usual summer holidays. BUT….

22. All of these international crises threatened to drag the Great Powers into a European war and yet in each case diplomatic pressure dragged Europe back from the brink. Why then, did not the same diplomatic processes work in July 1914?

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