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The
outbreak of the An
exercise using events as evidence.
To gain a satisfactory answer three separate aspects need to be recognised and brought together: (1) Bismarck’s plan for the security of the newly united Germany and how it unravelled after 1890; (2) The reasons for growing tension between the Great Powers from c 1890; (3) The overlap of the problems in the Balkans, and Austria’s involvement there, with the events that triggered a general European war in 1914. That is, it is most important that you separate the reasons for the 1914 Austro-Serbian War (see chronology below) and, after years of tension, the reasons for the escalation of that war to a general European war some days later. TIMELINE 1. Significant, sometimes overlooked, events 1869 Opening of Suez Canal: the shortcut to India and the Empire beyond. Increased British interest in Eastern Mediterranean, the Straits and the Balkans 1889 Two power parity: Britain to make the Navy as strong as the 2nd and 3rd strongest navies combined 1890 Russian/German Reinsurance Treaty lapsed 1894 Franco-Russian alliance 1898 German Navy Law. Britain alarmed 1899 Attempted German/British alliance failed, and twice more before 1902 1904 Anglo French Entente 1905 First Dreadnought. German/British Navy race 1905 First Moroccan Crisis 1907 Anglo Russian Entente 1911 Second Moroccan Crisis (The Agadir affair) 1912 Lloyd George Mansion House speech. (Mentioned war with Germany considered: production of the ‘Yellow Book’ - plans for mobilisation) 1914
Anglo German agreement on minor colonial issues
Read timeline 1 carefully then answer these questions
TIMELINE
2. The Balkan background to the outbreak of 1875-8 Balkan Crisis: revolts in autonomous Turkish lands in Balkans 1877 Russia invaded, advanced to Constantinople 1878 Congress of Berlin: Russian influence reduced and Austria took over administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1885-7 Great Powers oppose, successfully, Russian influence in Bulgaria 1891-1902 Trans-Siberian Railway constructed: Russia focus on Far East 1904 Russo-Japanese War: after defeat Russia turns attention back to Balkans 1908 Young Turk revolt. Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina (in which there were many Serbs). Serbia, increasingly nationalist, outraged. Serbia looked to fellow-Slav state Russia for support. Great Powers oppose Russian call for a Balkan conference. 1912 Balkan League formed (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro) and First Balkan War: defeat of Turkey 1912-13 London Conference and Treaty. Serbia enlarged but denied outlet to sea when Albania created 1913 Second Balkan War started by Bulgaria. Boundaries left unchanged by Treaty of Bucharest Read timeline 2 carefully then answer these questions
28 June Assassination in Serajevo (in Bosnia) Franz Joseph wrote to Wilhelm II and Count Berchtold (Austria) wrote to Bethmann-Hollweg (German Chancellor) seeking support for war with Serbia: readily granted 23 July Austrian 48-hour ultimatum to Serbia. Nearly complete Serbian compliance 25 July Austria broke off diplomatic ties with Serbia 28
July Austria declared war on Serbia Austrian forces shell Serbian capital, Belgrade 29 July Russian mobilisation ordered, then withdrawn. Germany had demanded no Russian mobilisation 30 July Second Russian mobilisation order 31 July News of Russian mobilisation reached Berlin 1 Aug Germany mobilised. Declared war on Russia but Austria and Russia seemed ready to negotiate Germany enquired over French neutrality: no immediate reply 3 Aug Germany declared war on France 4 Aug Germany invaded Belgium en route to France (because of the Schlieffen plan) Britain declared war on Germany
Read timeline 3 carefully then answer these questions
Now check your answers here
When you have completed the answers to the three timelines, and checked them, complete this chart.
Responsibility for start of Austro-Serbian War.
Number the states according to their responsibility, with 1 to be the most responsible
The escalation of the Balkan crisis and the Austro-Serbian War into a general European war.
Number the states according to their responsibility, with 1 to be the most responsible
Now discuss you answer and compare it with the essay answer and the analysis chart accessed by links immediately below.
A measured exam-style answer on German responsibility, written by a teacher, is found in Essay example.
There is a helpful ‘factors and phases’ analysis chart on the 1914 events on page 4 of the History analysis chapter in the History study guide on this site at 06analysis.pdf, for which you need Acrobat reader software on your computer. If you do not have it go to the study guide contents page and download it by clicking on the Acrobat icon near the bottom of the page to down load it free of charge.
Taking your study further using resources on this site To gain more information on some of these issues check out these resources on this site: For Great Power background see Alliances and Ententes: European Diplomacy 1879-1907 by Dr Robert Pearce. A student considering the responsibility of Germany needs to beware of the work of Fritz Fischer whose book, Germany’s Aims in the First World War, was published in English in 1966. The Fischer controversy is considered by Professor Volker Berghahn in a nine-page chapter, ‘The Origins of the First World War’ in Essays on German History 1862-1939, Sempringham 1996. This book is available free (£1.50 needed for P & P) to users of history-ontheweb: go to order form. The same book has a helpful chapter on Kaiser Wilhelm II by Professor Richard J. Evans. The working of government in Wilhelm’s Germany is discussed by Dr Anika Mombauer in Wilhelm II and Political Decision-making in Imperial Germany. For background information on the Austrian Empire and its problems in 1914, and thus why war with Serbia was contemplated, have a quick scan of two interesting articles by John Garland ‘The Strength of Austria-Hungarian Empire in 1914’, Part I and Part II and (after July 2003) The Tragic Life of the Last Habsburg Emperor by Nick Pelling. The background to the First World War from the British perspective can be followed (after July 2003) from Professor John Charmley’s article British Foreign Policy, 1874-1914. See, also, William Simpson’s article, War Aims and Peace Initiatives in the First World War. The
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