Origins of the First World War part 1.1

Alliances
1. The Triple Alliance
  1. Duel Alliance of 1879 between Germany and Austria-Hungary
    1. To strengthen Germany against France and Russia
  2. Italy joined in 1882 to form the Triple Alliance
    1. A defensive alliance
    2. all three agreed to support each other if one was attacked
2. The Triple Entente
  1. Franco-Russian Alliance
    1. 1894
    2. Both France and Russia felt isolated from Europe
  2. Entente Cordiale
    1. 1904
    2. Britain felt isolated in Europe
    3. Britain allowed France to take action in Morocco and France allowed Britain to make reforms in Egypt
    4. The Kaiser became suspicious
  3. Anglo-Russian Entente
    1. 1907
    2. Influenced by France
    3. Both countries were keen to settle areas of difference in the middle east and far east
The Moroccan Crises
1. The First Crisis 1905-06
  1. In 1905 the Kaiser made a speech in Tangiers declaring that Morocco should stay independent of France
    1. Supported by Britain, France refused to back down but agreed to a international conference discussing the future of Morocco
      1. The conference held in 1906 was a disaster for the Kaiser who had only the support of Austria-Hungary while France had the full support of Britain
        France was given a free hand in Morocco
        The Kaiser's attempts to break up the Entente Cordiale had backfired and had strengthened the alliance even further
        The Kaiser blamed the British for his humiliation which intensified Anglo-German rivalry
2. The second Crisis 1911
  1. In 1911 the Kaiser sent a gunboat called the Panther to the Moroccan port of Agadir to try and force France to agree to compensation
    1. Lloyd George, the British Chancellor made a speech directly warning the Germans that Britain would fully support France even if it meant war.
      1. Germany backed down so they wouldn't risk war
        The crisis greatly increased tension in Europe
        It strengthened Anglo-French relations further
        The Kaiser suffered another humiliating defeat
        It increased Anglo-German rivalry
    2. France and Britain both thought the Kaiser was trying to set up a German naval base in Morocco
The Bosnian Crisis 1908-09
1. In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia
  1. The Serbians were furious because they had hoped to make Bosnia part of Serbia
    1. They appealed to Russia for help whose answer was to call for an international conference
      1. A-H refused to attend the conference and was backed by Germany so Russia had little choice but to back down
        Serbia wanted revenge and the return of Bosnia
        Russia was humiliated and was now unlikely to back down in another crisis
        Germany was now fully committed to supporting Austro-Hungarian policy in the Balkans
The Arms Race
1. Military
  1. Every major power in Europe had introduced conscription which led to huge armies
  2. The armies could be mobilised at a moments notice
  3. it increased tension because as one power increased its army, another would follow suit
  4. it made war more likely because each country became more confident of success and more willing to test its armed forces
2. Naval
  1. Naval competition between Britain and Germany in the years 1900-14
  2. Britain launched the dreadnought in 1906 which was faster, bigger and had a bigger firing range than any existing battleship
    1. it made all previous battleships obsolete
    2. A race developed to see who could build the most and in 1909 Britain had 8 and Germany had 7

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Origins of the First World War part 1.1

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	Created by ernelson over 10 years ago