Topic: The world at the beginning of the 20th century Notes Timeline: 1871: Germany wins the Franco-Prussian war, and takes the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. 1882: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy form an alliance called the ‘Triple Alliance’. 1889: ‘The second international’, an international congress meets in Paris. 1898: The Spanish-American war, the Philippines, Guam and Porto-Rico are transferred to the USA. 1899: Boer, settler’s rebel against British rule is South Africa. 1900: The boxer rebellion in China against foreign influence. 1901: President Mc Kindy is assassinated by an anarchist. 906: The British battleship the dreadnaught is launched, naval race with Germany begins. 1907: The triple Entente is formed between Britain, Russia and France. 1908: A commission uncovers abuses and maltreatment of tribe’s people in the Belgian Congo. 1910: Japan annexes Korea. 1914: 28th June: The heir to the Austro-Hungarian is assassinated. 28th July: Austria bombards Belgrade, with the opening shots of WW1. 4th August: All major European powers at war. Political Ideologies: Socialism: •Developed in the 19th century as a result of industrial revolution. Based on enlightenment assumptions: 1. Mankind was basically good. 2. Problems of society could be remedied. 3. A gov’t owes a duty to its citizens. •Marxism was the most important form of socialism •Means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government. Anarchism: •This is a radical form of socialism, developed in the 19th century. •Never very powerful, or popular. •Anarchism is based on three principals; 1. People are born good but corrupted by society. 2. All social institutions must be destroyed before a sound socialist system is to be developed. . Socialist society has no need for centralized governments or bureaucracy. Trade unionism: •Opposed by liberal ideology. •First legal trade unions in Britain in 1820’s. •Skilled labor was first to unionize successfully. •Unions banned in Russia and European colonies. •1900: Britain 2million, Germany 850,000, France 250000 unionists. Democracy: •Based on; 1. Political powers shared by all male citizens. 2. Votes for women not considered. 3. Citizens to vote for parliamentary representatives. 4. Parliament, a responsible and a legislative body. 5. All votes of equal value. 6.
Equal electorate districts. 7. No property qualifications for MP’s 8. Payment of members of parliament. 9. Secret ballot. •Powerful in Britain, Western Europe and the United States. •Supported by middle class. Liberalism: •Political philosophy of the middle classes. •Based on; 1. End of autocratic government. 2. Extension of political power to middle classes. 3. Freedom of the individual. 4. Civil liberties. 5. Elimination of aristocratic privilege. 6. Careers open to talent. 7. Opposition to democracy, socialism and trade unionism. Reasons for development of new ideologies: New classes demanded political changes; middle class, Liberalism; working class, Democracy; trade unions The Great Powers Britain: ?Separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel. ?Had been made wealthy in the 19th century by its factories. ?Ruled by a constitutional Monarch ?Controlled the world’s largest empire. France: ?One of the largest countries in Europe. ?Was party industrialized, party agriculture. ?France was a republic with a parliament and a large empire. Austro-Hungarian Empire: ?Located in central Europe. ?Ruled by an emperor who had more power in his country than any other onarch in Europe. ?The empire contained many ethnic groups; Germans, Slavs, and Magyars. ?Many of these ethnics were making claims for their own country. ?Austria was not industrialized. Russia: ?The largest land empire in the world. ?Ruled by an emperor, TSAR. ?Controlled by ethnic groups ?Most people lived in rural, poor areas. Germany: ?New nation formed in 1871. ?Although it had a parliament its Kaiser still had much power in government. ?Germany was industrialized, had a strong army. ?It was aware that France would want revenge for its defeat in 1871. Italy: ?Also a new nation formed in 1871. It had a king and a parliament. ?North was industrialized. ?South was agricultural. ?No overseas territory, but desperately wanted some. Ottoman Empire: ?Based on turkey. ?In decline and often called the sick man of Europe. The part of the empire in Europe was still in the Balkans. ?Many small nations, (Greece, Serbia) had already broken from the empire. The Balkans remained the most likely trouble spot. USA: ?19th century, USA forming itself into a nation ?Kept away from problems in Europe. ?1910 industrial giant. Japan: ?Last part if 19th century, Japan modernized. By 19th century, Japan was highly industrialized. ?Many Japanese wanted to form and empire and expand into Europe. The long term causes of WW1: From 1871 to 1914 there were no wars between the great powers of Europe. However, although the powers had solved their problems during that period without war, tension had been building up among them. Causes for this tension was primarily because of, nationalism, imperialism, militarism and the alliance system. Nationalism: Nationalism was a strong feeling of support for one’s own nation. It was a stronger allegiance than love towards your country.
Nationalists believed that the needs for their nation were more important than the needs for other nations. Nationalists were so proud of their country, they wanted it to be the richest and most important-and recognized as such. Imperialism: Imperialism was the ‘desire to own colonies and form an empire’. During 1870, European countries began colonizing countries, which they had previously thought was not worth colonizing. In the scramble to colonize, France and Germany and France and Britain almost went to war over land. Imperialism had an important side-effect, which explains why the ‘great war’ was a world war.
As each European country gained colonies, those colonies became committed to helping the ‘motherland’ in the event of a war. Imperialism in its worst form was seen by the Belgians on the country of Congo. Militarism: Militarism also added tension and fear among the Great powers of Europe. Militarists believed their country should be well armed and that military methods could be used to gain nationalists needs. At the beginning of the 20th century, militarism was a powerful force throughout Europe. The Great powers competed in building their armed forces and supplies of weapons.
This competition was known as the ‘arms race’ and in turn it added tension. Danger: By 1907 Europe was divided into two powerful alliances. They had formed to ensure defense against the other, but each had became increasingly hostile and well armed. The alliance system meant that any dispute involving one Great Power was likely to drag in the other great powers along with their empires. This would spread the war around the world. Alliances created fear and suspicion. The aim of alliances was to create a balance of power and increase strength. The Alliance System: The end of British Isolation:
In 1904, and entente cordial was drawn up between France and Britain. France said that Britain could have a free hand in Egypt. In return Britain gave France a free hand in Morocco. In itself, the entente cordial was nothing but a friendly understanding between the two nations. Britain had no wish to get into a continental war. However the Germans thought that it may have been an anti-Germany alliance. The first Moroccan Crisis, 1905; In 1905, the German Kaiser declared that Morocco should be independent of France. Germany thought that in the crisis that was sure to follow, Britain may back down and not support France.
For some time, it looked like Germany’s plan would succeed. However as time progressed, the German plan failed, and by Germany waging war at France, it pushed France and Germany even closer. Instead of collapsing, the entente cordial was harder than ever. Britain backed France, and Germany suffered a diplomatic defeat. The Balkan Powder Keg: The Balkans was referred to as the powder keg of Europe. This was because there was so much tension in the time, and any little spark was likely to explode into a war. Three empires, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey were all clashing there, while national groups were also forming.
Turkey was referred to as the sick man of Europe because it was struggling to defend its own empire. The reason as to why each empire wanted the land which belonged to he Ottoman Empire was; 1. Turkey: ?Turkey ruled in the Balkans for hundreds of years. ?Turkey was known as the sick man of Europe because it was having difficulty holding onto its territory. ?A nationalist group known as the ‘young Turks’, took over control in Turkey in 1908. ?Generally, Turkey wanted the area of the Balkans, because they possessed it, and it was their land. 2. Austria-Hungary: ?Austria-Hungary was comprised of many different nations. Of these nations, the south-Slavs were the most organized, and most restless. The Austrian-Hungarian Empire wanted the land of the Balkans, simply because of the notion of imperialism. 3. Russia: ?Resents Austro-Hungarian influence in the Balkans. ?Does not want foreign influence near the straits of Constantinople (due to trade). In fact Russia wants to control the Straits next to Constantinople. ?Sees itself as the champion of Slavic people, because they share the same ethnicity. 4. Serbia: ?Strongly resents Austro-Hungarian occupation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia wanted to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina. ?Serbia wanted to liberate and unite the Slavs into one great Slavic empire. Events of the Balkan powder Keg: Chronological order; I. Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina. II. Serbia wanted to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina. III. Therefore there was conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Russia promised to back Serbia, but said that they should settle the dispute in a diplomatic way. IV. Austria refuses to take part in a conference. V. Germany then promises to mobilize troops, if Russia backs Serbia. VI.
Russia backs down, and the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is accepted. VII. Turkey is compensated monetarily. VIII. Serbia is very upset with the result. Arms Race: The arms race was a race between Britain and Germany, to see who can build the largest and strongest military force and receive military supremacy. The race began because Germany felt threatened by Britain’s naval army, therefore as a result of Germany building a larger Navy, so did Britain. An important reason for the German naval initiative was to ‘challenge’ Britain, by becoming a major threat in the sea and on land.
The arms race began in the early 1900’s and lasted for 16 years. During the arms race, military spending from both nations increased by 300%. In order to receive a major advantage on land, conscription was adopted by all major powers in 1871. New explosives, better field artillery and more advanced technology, meant that they were heading for a new type of war. In this type of war, victory would go to the nation with the most shells, machine guns, barbed wire, locomotives, mines, grenades, mortars and howitzers. This was an industrial war. Analyzing Sources: T O M C A P
A source will always be useful. Generally speaking, sources will be useful primarily because they may reflect views of that era. However when determining whether a source is reliable or not is different. A source may not be reliable because it only shows one point of view, furthermore meaning that this source may be biased. The Agadir incident: Ever since the first Moroccan crisis in 1905, morocco had remained unstable. France had been granted the right to reorganize Morocco’s finances. Early in 1911, the sultan of Morocco called upon France to crush a revolt of rebel tribesmen.
The fact that France was called upon increased the French influence in Morocco. After Germany was certain that French help in Morocco would lead to a take-over, Germany sent the Gunboat Panther to the port of Agadir. This action known as Gunboat Diplomacy was followed by a German demand for compensation in the face of French gains. When the British became aware of the gunboat, they decided to join because “they could not sit back and let their allies be pushed around”. They decided to also intervene because if Germany secured the ports of Agadir, then it would damage trade routes for Britain.
The result of this is Germany suffered a diplomatic defeat. The First Balkan War: Wishing to destroy the ottoman influence in the region, the Balkan League consisting of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece formed the Balkan League and declared open war on Turkey From 1912-1913 the league won a series of battles and turkey was defeated. The great powers watched this victory with great anxiety. Austria wanted to stop Serbia from becoming too powerful. Thus the great powers intervened and imposed a treaty. A new state called Albania was established to stop Serbia from reaching its point. The second Balkan war:
Bulgaria felt short changed after dividing the spoils of war. The quarrel soon developed into war. In the second Balkan war, Bulgaria fought against Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Rumania. Bulgaria was soundly defeated. Consequences of the Balkan Wars: The consequences of the Balkan war directly led to the outbreak of the world war. 1. Serbia’s victory in the Balkan wars brought Austria to hate Serbia more. Serbia had grown in size and power, and was more determined to form a Slav empire. 2. Austria found that Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina grew increasingly troublesome. The will to make war: Literature:
War was presented as a quick and easy method of settling international disputes. At this period of time, literature was used to make people more patriotic towards their own nation. Treitschke preached Germany’s greatness based on her large army and that war was an institution ordained by god. For general Bernhardi the choices for Germany were either ‘world power or destruction. Press: The press was also used to make men patriotic towards their own nation, hence the introduction of sensationalism. Sensationalism was the act of ‘blowing something up’, or exaggeration. The press did much to prepare a mood for the war.
Patriotic education: Education was also a means of making children in particular nationalistic or patriotic. In the 1900’s education was seen as a very important facet. Both rich and poor were taught about their nations past. German children were said to have learnt the ‘hymn of hate’. We love as one, We hate as one, We have one foe and one alone England Literature, Press and education did much to prepare the public of Europe for a war which will soon be very destructive. Planning for victory: Why plan? In the years prior to WW1, all the great powers perceived planning as an essential tool for victory.
Troops had to be supplied with arms, food, shelter as well as clothing. They had to be transported to battle as quickly as possible (mobilization). Mobilization: •The ability of a country to ready an army for battle was known as mobilization. Mobilization was significant in the sense that the country which could ready its army first, would achieve victory. •They key to high speed mobilization was railways. •Every general was aware that Prussia’s victory over Austria and France in 1866 and 1870 were primarily because of the best railway system in Europe. •One disadvantage with railway systems was they were incredibly rigid. Between 1900 and 1914, Germany increased dramatically the number of railway systems to ensure swift mobilization of France. •France needed over 4000 trains to have an effect on its scheme. •Russia needed a whole new strategy to ensure defending her borders. The Schlieffen Plan: (German Plan) •The German plan was named after its designer count Von Schlieffen. Schlieffen believed that the German army was not strong enough to fight a war on two fronts (France and Russia). Schlieffen came up with the following. He thought it would take at least 6 weeks for Russia to mobilize their army.
Schlieffen worked out a plan to crush France before Russia could mobilize (6 weeks). •This plan had two giant flaws. Firstly, Germany would have to bring Russia into this, and Germany could not fight France by itself. The second flaw was, Germany would have to avoid any fortified borders, therefore it would have to travel through Belgium, and go into France, through Belgium’s border. (Belgium was a neutral state). The Moltke Plan: (German Plan) •The Moltke plan was a modification of the Schlieffen plan. This plan was more precise and straight to the point. Plan 17: (French Plan) General Joffre came up with a plan to quickly mobilize troops and attack the two provinces Alsace and Lorraine, in attempt to re-capture these two lost provinces. Sarajevo, 1914 •The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand led to the immediate outbreak to WW1. •28th June, Arch visits Bosnia. Was seen as an insult to the Serbs, date was so significant to them. •Archduke Ferdinand was killed by a 19 year old student- Gavrilo Princip. •Secret society Black Hand, helped kill the arch duke. •Dragutin Dimitrijevic leader of the ‘black hand’. •Princip died in 1917, after getting tuberculosis. Two other accessories also received 20 years and The July Crisis, 1914 The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, gave Austria a reason to move against Serbia. Timeline of events: 23rd July: An ultimatum to Serbia. (10 commands from Austria which made it virtually impossible for Serbia to accept. 25th July: Serbia replies to Ultimatum. They did not accept the ultimatum. 28th July: Austria declares war on Serbia. 29th July, Serbian capital Belgrade bombed. 30th July: Russian Mobilization. If Russia jumped in for Serbia, the alliance system would come into effect and a European war could follow.
TSAR ordered full mobilization. This act would provoke a German Response. 31st July and 1st August: Germany demanded Russia cease her mobilization within 24 hours. Germany declared war on Russia 1st August. 2nd and 3rd August: Germany waged war on France, and crossed the Belgium bored, thus affecting the neutrality of Belgium. August 4th: When the German army crossed the Belgium bored on the 3rd of August, Britain declares war on Germany. 6th August: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. 12th August: France and Britain declare war on Austria-Hungary.
