THE CAUSESOF WORLDWAR I
tkrm
krrk
Russia
fellow
Russiaalso had ambitions in the Balkans.First, the Russianssympathizedwith their
Balkans
the
Second,
people.
the
Slav
of
champion
the
Slavs;indeed, Russiasaw itself as
open to
was strategicallyimportant to Russia.The straits of Constantinople had to be kept
of
north
in
the
ports
Russian,hip, "r, route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.With
Russia'svast empire iced over for six months of the year' continued accessto warm-water
lrFthl
Ft*lrd
ilkur;
t'trrt;
*fi{kp
ports was vital.
.ir *tr
. {*},1,r
*{ruh
The fact that Turkey's power was so weak and could in fact collapseat any moment led
if and
the powersto talk of the'Easternquestion',i.e.what would happenin the Balkans
from
when this situation arose.Clearly,both Austria-Hungary and Russiahoped to benefit
Turkey's declining power.
t
ai4.tri*rr
, #.sl*i
Growingtensionin the Balkansafter 1900
?tiltlffl
the
In Iune 1903,the pro-Austrian King Alexander of Serbiawas murdered and replacedby
This
influence.
Austro-Hungarian
reduce
to
RussophileKing Peter,who was determined
uppoir.tm.rrt causedgreat anxiety in Austria-Hungar,v,which alreadyfearedthe influence
the
oi " *.orrg Serbiaon their multi-ethnic empire.A tariffwar beganin 1905-06'and
Serbsturned to Francefor arms and finance.Tensionincreasedwhen the uncompromising
Baron von Aehrenthal becameAustria'sforeign minister. He believedthat an aggressive
and
foreign policy would demonstratethat Austria was still a power to be reckonedwith
would stamp out Serbianaspirations.
lli* ra
*
li,4l
*
i . €F
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Short-termcauses:the crisisyears(1905-13)
not lead
Betweenthe years1905and 1913,therewereseveralcriseswhich, though they did
also
to war, neverthelessincreasedtension betweenthe two allianceblocs in Europe and
createdgreaterinstabilityin the Balkans.
Crisis(1905)
TheMoroccan
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Die franl6slsdt,engtisdteparlamentarier'Verbriidcrung
(Hrerr
und
CartoonanalYsis
to thlscartoonist?
according
Cordiale,
Whatisthe Germanviewof the Entente
Germany was worried by the new relationship between Britain and Franceand set out to
break up the ententeby attacking Francein Morocco. Germany'splan was to exposethe
weaknessof this new friendship. As part of the entente agreement,Britain supported a
French takeoverof Morocco in return for Francerecognizing Britain's position in Egypt.
Morocco was one of the few remaining areasof Africa not controlled by a European power.
The Germans thus announced that they would assistthe Sultan of Morocco to maintain his
independenceand demandedan international conferenceto discussthe situation.
An atmosphereof crisis and the threat of war was cultivated by the Germansthroughout
1905,until the Frenchgavein and agreedto a conferenceatAlgeciras,spain, in 1906.
Much tcl the surprise of Germany,the British decidedto back the French and their
rlcmandsfor influencein Morocco.The Germanshad little support at the conference,
and after severalweekshad to admit defeat.Their only gain was a guaranteeof their
commercialinterests.
The results of the first Moroccan Crisis were a disasterfor Germany:
I Germanyhad not gainednotableconcessions
in North Africa, which was a failure for
Weltpolitikand a blow fbr German pride.
r Germanl had not underminedthe EntenteCordiale- they had strengthenedit. Military
talksbetweenFranceand Britain were initiated in fanuary 1906.British foreign policy
was now directedto support Frenchinterests.
I Severalstateshad consideredwar as a possibleoutcomeof the crisis,thus signallingan
end to the relativelylong period of peacefulrelationsin Europe.
r Germanywas now seenas the key threatto British interests.
TheBosnian
Crisis(1908)
Followingthe first MoroccanCrisis,the Anglo-RussianEntenteof 1907was signed,thus
confirming to many Germansthe ideaof a conspiracyto encircleand contain them. This
fear of encirclementforcedGermanyinto a much closerrelationshipwith its Triple Alliance
partner,Austria-Hungary,a shift that wasto havean impact in both the BosnianCrisisof
1908and the later BalkanCrisisof 1914.
In 1908'an internal crisisin the Ottoman Empire causedby the YoungTurks revolution
againraisedthe issueof the EasternQuestion,and Austria-Hungarydecidedto act by
annexingthe two provincesof Bosniaand Herzegovinathat Austria-Hungaryhad occupied
since1878,but which werestill formally Turkish.The Austro-Hungarianannexationcaused
outragein Serbia,which had hoped that theseprovinceswould ultimately form part of a
GreaterSerbiaand provide accessto the sea.Russia'sForeignMinister,Alexanderpetrovich
Izvolsky,had earlier met with Aehrenthal and secretlygiven Russia'sacceptancefor this
move on the understandingthat Austria would support Russia's
demandsfor a revisionof
the treatiesgoverningthe closureof the Bosporusand Dardanelles.However,Aehrenthal
went aheadwith the annexation before lzvolsky had managedto gain any international
supPortfor his plan. In fact, not only did he encounterhostilereactionsin London and
Paris,but the RussianPrime Ministe6 Pyotr Stolypin,and the Tsarwereunenthusiastic
about any agreementgiving Austria control over fellow Slavs.
RelationsbetweenAustria-Hungary and,Russiabecamevery strained and there was talk
of war. It was at this point, in January1909,that Germanydecidedto stand'shoulder
to shoulder'with its ally. Germany reassuredAustria-Hungary that it would mobilize in
suPportif Austria-Hungarywent to war with Serbia.By contrast,Russiahad little support
from Britain or France.The Russians- weakenedby the 1904-05war with
Japan- had no
alternativebut to capitulateto the German'ultimatum'and recognizeAustro-Hungarian
EntenteColdiale
TheEntente
Cordiale
markedthe endof almost
a thousand
yearsof
periodicconflict between
BritainandFrance.
lt wasa
cleardemonstration
of the
re-alignment
betweenthe
powersin
old European
response
to the perceived
threatfromthe new
power,Germany.
European
Themostimportantof
thethreedocuments
that
madeup the Entente
Cordlale
wasanagreement
overEgyptandMorocco.
TheBritish
wereto allow
lrcnchinflucnccovcr
Morocco,
whilethe
Frenchrecognized
British
influencein Egypt.
There
wasalsoa guarantee
of
freepassage
throughthe
5uezCanal.
Theother
documents
recognized
eachothers'rights
in West
andCentralAfrica,
andin
Thailand,
Madagascar
and
the NewHebrides.
THECALjSESOF WORI.DWAR I
annexation of Bosnia.Serbia,facing the overwhelming military potential of AustriaHungary and Germany backeddown.
The results of the crisis were important in raising tension in the region, and betweenthe
allianceblocs:
o Russiahad sufferedanother international humiliation, following on from its defeatby
iapan. It was unlikely that Russiacould back down from another crisis situation and
retain international influence and political stability at home. Russianow embarked on a
massiverearmament programme.
Serbiawas enragedby the affair,and it led to an increasein nationalistfeeling.The
Austrian minister in Belgradereportedin 1909that'here all think of revenge,which is
only to be carried out with the help of the Russians.'
The alliancebetweenGermanyand Austria-Hungaryappearedstrongerthan the
commitmentsof the Triple Entente.
It endedthe era of cooperationin the BalkansbetweenRussiaand Austria-Hungary;the
situation in the Balkansbecamemuch more unstable.
Germanyhad opted to encourageAustro-Hungarianexpansionrather than actingto
restraintheir approachto the region.
(Agadir)
Crisis(1911)
TheSecondMoroccan
In May 19l l, Francesenttroopsto Fez,Morocco,on the requestof the Sultanto suppressa
revoltthat had brokenout. The Germanssawthis asthe beginningof a Frenchtakeoverof
Morocco and senta Germangunboat,the Pantherto Agadir,a small port on Morocco's
Atlantic coast,hoping to pressurizethe Frenchinto giving them somecompensationtbr such
an action.
The Germansweretoo ambitious in their claims,demandingthe whole of the French
waspopular with public opinion in Germany,but such'gunboat
Congo.This assertiveness
diplomacy'as it was calledby the British implied the threat of war. Britain, worried that
the Germansmight acquireAgadir as a navalbasethat would threatenits navalroutes
to Gibraltar,made its position clear.David Lloyd George(Britain'sChancellorof the
Exchequer)gavea speech- calledthe Mansion HouseSpeech- to warn Germanyoff.
He said that Britain would not standby and watchwhile'her interestswereafTected'.
This speechturned the Franco-Germancrisisinto an Anglo-Germanconfrontation.In
Novemberthe crisiswasfinally resolvedwhen Germanyacceptedfar lesscompensationtwo strips of territory in the FrenchCongo.
The resultsof this crisis,again,increasedtensionbetweenthe Europeanpowers:
o German public opinion was hostileto the settlementand critical of their government's
handling of the crisis,which was anotherfailure for the policy of Wehpolitik.
The ententebetweenBritain and Francewas againstrengthened.Navalnegotiations
betweenthe two beganin l9l2,and Britain agreeda commitment to the defenceof
Franceby 1913.
Therewas increasedtensionand hostility betweenGermanyand Britain.
mean war (and in
Thus, although imperial rivalriesin themselvesdid not necessarily
fact there had alsobeenmany agreementson colonialissuesin the yearsbeforethe war),
nevertheless
incidentssuchasthosein Morocco helpedto increasemutual suspicionand
hostility.
Document analysls
DocumentA
DocumentB
{ An ltalianphotofromthe
early1900s
showsthe
Kaiser
attemptingto eatthe
world.The
captionroughly
translates
as 'Theglutton
findsthisroo hardl
{ A G"r.nuncartoon:
'The
mailed
frstof Agadir'
c.1912.
THEOATJSES
OF WORLDWAR I
DocumentC
9 November1905- A leadingmemberof the Reichstag
wasapplauded
whenhe declared:
Nowweknowwhereourenemystands... TheGermanpeoplenow knowswhenit seeks
itsplace
in thesun,whenit seeks
theplaceallottedto it bydestiny. . . Whenthehourof decisioncomeswe
arepreparedfor socrifices,
bothof bloodand of treasure.
Origins
of theWarof | 9td Volume1,2005
Quotedin LuigiAlbertini,The
DocumentD
Cartoonin Punchmagazine, )
2August1911.
strengtl
that Ru
Europe
Sir Edn
andso,
Turkish
in conti
was pla
betweer
The I
Due to
in the E
territor
living ir
The Aur
this situ
War. Hr
supporl
Questlons
Whatarethe messages
of Documents
A,BandC regarding
the aimsandmethodsof
Germany
in itsquestfor colonies?
2
3
Whatsimilarities
aretherebetweenthe messages
of Documents
BandC?
,|91
Whatdo youthinkthecaptionof Document
D,a
I cartoon,
couldhavebeen?
Student review questlon3
1
WhyhadGermany
interfered
in Moroccoin 1905and 1911?
2
Forwhatreasons
did Germany
strengthen
itsalliance
with Austria-Hungary?
3
Whywerethe results
of the Moroccan
crisesdisappointing
for Germany?
4
TowhatextentwasGermanpolicy'miscalculated'?
5
Explain
why the Balkans
situationwasmoredangerous
asa resultof the annexation
of BosniaHerzegovina.
FirstBalkanWar(1912)
In I9I2, encouragedby the Russians,the Balkanstatesof Serbia,Greeceand Montenegro
formed a Balkan alliance.Their key objectivewas to force Turkey from the Balkansby
taking Macedonia and dividing it up betweenthemselves.Turkey was alreadyweakened
by a war with Italy over Tiipolitania the year before and they were almost completely
driven out of the Balkansin sevenweeks.Austria was horrified; it could nor acceDta
The Ser
to redre
the Tree
won in
for Eurr
prevent
r Serb
with
r Serb:
. Serb:
o Serb;
by itr
o Aust:
t Byas
now
r'trerrgthenedSerbiaand Austrian generalscalledfor war.Therewasa danger,however,
thrrtRussiawould support its ally,Serbia,and that eventscould spiral into a wider
r',ufopeanwar.
Sir lldward Grey,the British ForeignSecretary,
was anxiousto stop the war spreading,
,rrrtlso calleda peaceconferencein London. As a resultof this conference,the former
lirrl<ishlandswere divided up betweenthe Balkanstates.YetAustria-Hungarysucceeded
rrr containingSerbiaby getting the conferenceto agreeto the creationof Albania,which
rv;rsplacedbetweenSerbiaand the AdriaticSea.This rlqreemeut
causedllore reseurment
IrctweenSerbiaand Austria-Hungary.
the SecondBalkanWar(1913)
I )treto the disagrcernent
overthe spoilsof the FirstllalkanYtlar,
anothcrwar brokeout
irrthe Balkansin Jr"rly
1913.tltrlgarian()wweut to war againstSerbiairndGreece,
gvcr
tcrritorySerbial-racl
occttpiccl.'fhcllulgariansf-clttlrat thcrcwcreto()nranyllulgarirrns
livingin areasgivcnto serl'riaauclGreece,namelyMaccclonia
anclSakrnika.
'l'he
Austro-Huttgariatr
ForcisnMirristcr,OourrtLcopolclllcrchtold,ciidncltappnrach
tlrissituationwith thc satnccautiontlut lre hacltlisphyccltowarcls
thc I-irstllirlkan
War.He askedfirr (lcrnratrassistarrcc,
rrshc lrelicvccl
that thc llussians
woulclcr>nrc
in to
sLlpPort
the Scrbsthis tinrc.'l'hc(lcrnrln s()vcnrnrcnt,
lrowcvcr,
urgcclAustrianrcstraiut.
'I'he
S e r b sG, r e c l <i st r t c lt,r l t i r n a t c l y , ' l i r r ' l(<wchyi c l rh i r dj o i r r c cilr r t h e l i s h t i n i r ni r t t c r n p t
Io redresssomeof its losscsfionr thc prcviousycar'stighting)clcfbirtccl
llulgaria.At
theTreatyof Ruchrrrcst
signcclirr Auqust19 13, llu lgariit lost ncilf ly all tlrc lanclsit hatl
won in the first witr to ( )rcccclnd Scrbiir.'l'hc witr alsohaclfhr-rclchingc()nsequcllccs
lbr Europe.Althtltrgha gcnerirl war lrctwccntlrc liuropeirnpowcrshirclasirinlrccn
prevented,
thc csscntiirl
ciruscs
ol'tcnsionwcrccxaccrlrutccl:
Serbiawasitsilittsttcccsslirl.'l'his
llct cncouragctlthc rrlrclriystrousnrrtiouirlist
fi.cing
withinScrbil.
Serbiahlcl clou[rlcdin sizcirsa rcsultof thc two l]irll<rrrr
wirrs.
serbiahrrclpr.ved itsclf'rnilitarily,
arrcllrirdil'l il'r'ry .f 2(x),(xx)
nrcrr.
Serbia's
victoricswcrctliplontuticsttcccsscs
filr l{ussia,
irnclcrrcoumgcd
llussiato stapcl
by its ally.
Austria-Hungarywasnow corrvirrccd
that it rrecdcci
to crushSerbia.
By ass<lciatitltt,
tltc outcotncof tlrc tw()warswls ir clilrlonratic
clcfcatfirr (lcrlr:rpv.wl'ricl.r
now drew cvercloscrto Austria-Hunrary.
T h eE a l k a n1s 9
, 12
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
RUSSIA
)
' r s t R B (r .A'
\ l l ' ) . , r BUTCARIA
RUSSIA
(
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A U S T R I A - H U N G A R Y \\
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-_-l
(\ B O S N\I A ' . , 1R O M A N I A l l * rurkish
l'-'
|
,
l
T h eB a l k a n1s9, 1 3
I
rv0NTENtcR0/
ITALY
pos:cssrons
|
t
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\
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ITALY
rrro',lro\
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TURKEY
l l r t ' l i , r l l , r rl r, ,) ,1, . ,I { .
THECAUSES
OFWOFLD
WARI
7
Questlons
Explain
the position/feelings
of eachof the followingstatesfollowingthe SecondBalkan
War:
. Austria-Hungary
r Serbia
o Bulgaria
r Turkey
il : Resr
i Divic
' inWt
.. coun
, ' .t f f
'oLit
Forwhatreasons
hadthe Balkan
Warsof 1912and 1913not escalated
intoa general
Eurooean
War?
Theinternational
situation
by '19'13
The crisesof 1905-13 had seena marked deterioration in international relations.There
was increasingdivision betweenthe two alliancesystemsand an increasein the general
armaments race,alongsidethe naval racethat alreadyexistedbetweenGermany and
Britain. Nationalistfervour (seebelow) was rising in Europeancountries.Eachcrisishad
passedwithout a major Europeanwar, but every subsequentcrisis exacerbatedthe tension
and made a future conflict more likely. War was by no meansinevitable at this stage,
though. Clearly if there was to be another crisis,careful handling of the situation by the
Great Powerswould be vital.
Otherdevelopments,1900-13
Alongside the international crises,other developmentswere occurring in European
countries. Thesedevelopmentswere fed and encouragedby the actual eventsthat you have
alreadyreadabout.
Thewillto makewar
'.' Grou
:, shotl
i
Thear
The naval
military sp
European
introduce<
in armamt
at conferer
upon, alth
Germany
Italy
Britain
Literature, the pressand education did much to prepare the public of Europe for
war by portraying it as something that would be short and heroic. Nationalism had
also become a more aggressiveforce in many of the major states,and this trend was
encouragedby the popular press,which exaggeratedinternational incidents to inflame
public opinion, and by right-wing pressuregroups such asthe Pan-GermanLeagueand
Action Franqaise.
Austria-Hunga
...the reactionsof ordinary peoplein the crisisof 1914werethe result of the hktory they
had learnt at school,the storiesabout the national past which they had beentold as children
and an instinctivesenseof loyalty and solidarity with their neighboursand workmates.In
eachcountry, children were taught the dutiesof patriotism and theglory of past national
achievements...In eachcountry children werebeingtaught to takepride in their historical
tradition and to respectwhat wereregardedas characteristicnational virtues . .. [The]
reactionsin 1914. .. and thepatriotic languagewith which the war wasgreetedreJlectedthe
sentimentsof a national tradition absorbedover many years.
FromJamesJoll, The Originsof the FirstWorlil War,1992
I
France
'
Diso
How
betvu
Warpl,
Every Eurc
of the mos
the Great I
war plan. 1
and was in
fighting a t
Researchactivity
Dividetheclassintothefollowing
groups.
Eachgroupshouldresearch
thepromotion
of war
in worldwarI in theirareaof popularculture,
attempting
to findmaterial
fromat leasttwo
countries
in opposing
alliance
blocs.
r ThePress
r A r ta n dM u s i c
. Ltterature
r Education
Groups
couldthenreveal
theirresearch
findings
in briefclasspresentations.
Eachgroup
shouldprovide
therestof theclass
witha handoutsummarizinq
theirresearch.
fhe armsraceandmilitarism
'l'he
navalarms racewasactuallypart of a more generalarfits race.Betweenlg70 and
1914,
rnilitary spendingby the Europeanpowersincreasedby 300 per cent.The increase
in the
l:trropeanpopulation made it possibleto havelargestanding armies,ar.rd
conscription was
irltroducedin all continetrtalcountriesafter1871.in addition,therewas
a ffrasslve
rncrease
rrtarmaments.Although there weresomeattemptsto stop the arms builcl-upfor instance,
'rl conferences
at The Haguein 1899and 1907- no limits on arms production wereagreed
rrpon,although someagreementswere madeon restrictingwar practices.
Spendingon armaments1872-1912
r r{'ftldnY
liussia
lraly
llritain
Austria-Hungary
I iance
How could the growth in militaryspendingand armamentshaveaddedto
the tensron
betweenthe powersof Europebetween1900 and 1914?
Warplans
IrveryEuropeanpower made detailedplansregardingwhat to do should
war breakout. O'e
' rf the most important effectsof the alliancesystemsis that they
reducedthe flexibility of
the GreatPowers'resPonseto crises,and this issuecan be seenmost clearly
in the German
rvrtrplan. This plan was drawn up by German field marshal Count Alfred
von Schlieffen
Ittrdwas intendedto dealwith the implicationsof the Triple Ententeand
the difficglty of
lighting a two-front war. Knowing that it would take Russiasix weeks
to mobilize,Schlieffen
Sprrnding
on .trmaments,
187) 1()1)
THECAUSESOF WORLDWAR I
worked out a plan that would involve crushing Francefirst. He calculatedthat Germany
could invade Francethrough Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg (thereby bypassingthe
French defencesalong the German-French border) and then move down to encircle Paris.
With Paris captured, troops could be moved swiftly to meet the Russiantroops along the
C
V
c
EasternFront.
In 19I I , Schlieffens successor,Helmuth von Moltke, modified the plan by reducing the
amount of neutral territory that Germany would passthrough and by changing the
deployment of troops (seemap below). However,it still remained inflexible, and contained
miscalculationsregarding the impact of marching though Belgium, the amount of time
Russiawould take to mobilize, and Britain's effectivenessin coming to the aid of France.
All other countries had war plans aswell:
o France'sPlan 17 involved a high-speedmobilization of the majority of its forcesand a
swift attack to capture Alsaceand Lorraine before crossingthe Rhine into Germany.
o Russiahad a plan to attack Austria-Hungary and Germany.
o Austria-Hungary had two plans - Plan R and Plan B. The plans differed in the amount
of troops allocatedto lighting Russiaand Serbia.
WarI warplans.
Pre-World
ta
e
a
d
The
(1e1
>
Document analysis
Toaccess
worksheet
2.2
of World
on the causes
Warl, pleasevisitwww.
pearsonbacconli
ne.
com andfollowthe onscreeninstructions.
n
in
armies.These
armiesof coursewerenot maintained
Allthegreatpowershadvastconscript
plansdepended
peacetime.Theywerebroughttogetherbymobilisation.
on the
. . Allmobilisotion
demandtimetables.
At thattimetheautomobilewoshardlyused,andrailways
railways.
planshadbeentimedto theminute,monthsor evenyearsbeforeandthey
Allthemobilisation
wouldnotbechanged.
. . IAchange]in qnedirectionwouldruinthemin everyotherdirection.
instance
to mobilise
againstSerbiawouldmeanthqt theycould
for
bytheAustrians
Anyattempt
two lotsof trainswouldberunningogainsteoch
becouse
notthenmobiliseaswellogoinstRussia
planmeantnot a delayfor24hoursbut forot leastsix
other...Anyalterationin themobilisation
werereody.
monthsbeforethenextlot of timetobles
FromA.J.P.
Taylor,
HowWarsBegin,1979
The firs
Therev
a third
shootin
Archdu
his wife
was Ga,
Serbian
objectir
Serbia.'
to what
Hand n
The Aur
that an
-- Gt
Question
W h a tp o i n ti sA . J . T
Pa y l om
r a k i n ga b o u tt h e w a r p l a n s ?
Discussion question
What impactwould suchwar planshaveon any Europeanwar?Do you thinkthat they made
war more or lesslikely?
Review question
flistoriansgenerallyconsiderthat the forcesof imperialism,
militarism,
the alliancesystems
and nationalismhelpedto increase
the tensionsthat led to WorldWarl. Go backoverthe
eventsof this chapterand pull out exampiesrelatingto eachone of theseissues.
Do you
agreethat they areall equallyimportantin raisingtension?ls one more importanttnan the
others?Onceyou havereadthe next sectionon the JulyCrisis,
come backto this exercise
and
add any extrarelevantpoints.
ifre irnmediatecausesof the war: July Crisis
(1e14)
l l r t :A r <h d u k r F
, ranz
F t , r d i n a n ad r r dh i sw i t e
)()pnt(t.
f o a c tt ' s sw o r k s l r e e.t? . Io n
t h t ' a s s a s s i r r a t ioofr fr r a n z
I r , r r J i r r a r1r rl tl l, s t 'v i s i l
w w w p r r , , r r s o r rrlrt t, rtr cl i n t '
( O r l l( r r ( lk r l l o wf h t 0 r r 5 C r ( \ r fn s I I u ( t t o r ) s .
The first few r.nonthsof 1914werea relativelycaln.rperioclbetweenthe Europeanstates.
Therewasevenoptimisnrthat shouldanotherconflicterupt in the Balkansthis would,for
a third time in ils many years,be containedlocally.The ever.rt
that broke the calm wasthe
shootingdeadof the heir to the Austro-Hungarian
throne,and his wif-e,on 28 lune 1914.
ArchdukeFranz Ferdinirndwason an official visit to Sarajevo,the capitalof Bosnia,with
his wife when a 19-year-oldterrorist shot them both at point blank range.The assassin
wasGavrilo Princip. He had beenworking with a small group of terrorists,armed by the
SerbianBlack Hand lnovement.Their aim in the assassination
is not entirelyclear,but their
objectivewasthe unification of all Slavsfrom the Austro-HungarianEmpire into a Greater
Serbia.The Archdukewasclearlysyrnbolicof the Austro-Hungarianregime.It was unclear
to what degreethe Serbiangovernmentwasinvolvedwith the group - the headof the Black
Hand wasa colonelin the SerbianGeneralStaff.
The Austrian governmentsawits chanceto crush Serbia,but initially hesitated.They knew
that an attackon Serbiawould bring in the Russians,
so they neededassurances
from their
K i n gP e t e ro f S e r b i a .
THE CAUSESOF WORLDWAR I
ally Germany that they would support them. On 5 July 1914,the Kaiser and his chancellor,
Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, issuedAustria a blank cheque'.The blank chequewas
the German guaranteeof unconditional support. Thus, the Germanswere not exercising
their power to restrain Austria-Hungary, as they had the previous year.
Document analysi*:
theyu
Germ,
Belgiu
an old
Germ,
Britair
The E
The Kaise/s'blankchequdto Austria
Thefollowingisa reportof a famousconversation
betweenWilhelmll andthe Austrian
in whichthe Kaiser
ambassador
in Berlin;
CountSzogyeny,
seemedto promisehissupportfor
Austria:Hungary
underanyconditions.
Berlin5 Julyl914
tel.237StrictlyConfidentiaI
. . .theKaiser
authorized
meto informourgracious
majestythatwemightin thiscase,asin all
others,relyuponGermany\fullsuppott. . . hedid notdoubtin theleastthot HerrvonEethmonn
Hollwegwouldagreewith him.Especiolly
asfar asouroctionogainstSerbiawasconcerned.
But
it woshis[Koiser
Wilhelm's]
opinionthat thisactionmustnotbedelayed.
Russia's
attitudewillno
doubtbehostile,
but to thishehosforyearsbeenprepared,
andshoulda warbetween
AustriaHungaryandRussia
beunavoidable,we
mightbeconvinced
thatGermany,
ouroldfaithfulally,
wouldstandot ourside.Russia
ot thepraent timewasin no wayprepared
forwanandwould
thinktwicebeforeit appealedto arms. . . if wehadreallyrecognizedthe necessity
of warlikeaction
againstSerbia,he[KaiserWilhelm]wouldregretit if wedid not makeuseof thepresentmoment,
whichisatl in our fovour.. .
(ed),Juty l914:TheOutbreakof
Fromlmmanuel
GeisE
theFirstWorldWarSetected
Documents,1967
Question
Howusefulisthisdocumentfor historians
studyingthe immediate
causes
of the GreatWar?
Had the Austro-Hungarianresponse,and its bombardmentof Sarajavo,been
immediate, it might haveavertedthe escalationof eventsthat followed. Despite the
blank cheque,however,their responseto the crisistook nearlya whole month to
manifest itself. Berchtold wanted an ultimatum sent to the Serb government,but he
alsointendedthat the demandsof the ultimatum be so severethat the Serbsovereign
government could never agreeto them. The drawing up of the ultimatum took until
mid fuly, and this delay meant they could no longer presenttheir responseas a shock
reactionto the assassination;
rather,they would appearfar more calculating.
Then therewasa further delay.The FrenchPresidentwas in Russiauntil 23 fuly and the
Austriansdid not want the Russiansto be ableto liaisedirectly with their ally France
concerningthe demands.So finally,on 23 July,the ultimatum wassent,and a response
from Serbiawasrequiredwithin 48 hours.
The Russianswere shockedwhen they reviewedthe terms on 24 July.Yet the Serb
responsewas conciliatory, and most Europeanpowers thought that this might end the
crisis.Suchwasnot to be the case.Although the Kaisersuggested
that the Serbresponse
removed the'cause for war', the Austro-Hungarians claimed it was too late to change
their minds - they declaredwar on Serbiaand bombarded Belgrade.
The Russians,determined to take a firm stancethis time in the Balkans,ordered general
mobilization on 30 July.Thus, the Third BalkanWar had begun - Serbiaand Russia
againstAustria-Hungary. Germany then declaredwar on Russiaand beganmobilization
on I August. Due to the demandsof the SchlieffenPlan, Germany sent an ultimatum to
Francedemanding guaranteesof Frenchneutrality.'vVhenFrancerespondedby declaring
Wh
Eur
out
Ger
The K
in the
war, n
Germr
togeth
Kaiser
Hung:
Never'
motiv
o Ith
o Ith
o Rur
mo
o Get
go.
tltcy would follow their'own interests',Germany declaredwar on Franceon 3 August.
t icrmany'splan to take out Franceswiftly meant that its forceswere to march through
llclgium to avoid France'sheavily fortified border defences.Britain, choosing to uphold
,rrrold treatyagreementwith Belgium from 1839,threatenedto defendBelgiumif
( iermany did not respectits neutrality. When there was no responsefrom Germany,
llritain declaredwar on 4 August 1914.
'l'lre
Europeanpowers,with their vast empires,were at war. The GreatWar had begun.
Reviewactlvity
" Createyourown timelineof WorldWarl.Youshoulddividethetimelineinto long-term,
shofttermandimmediate
causes.
Alternatively,
listallthe factors(people,
events,underlying
forces)thatyouthinkcontributed
' to the outbreakof warandtry
to createa flow diagramor a mindmapto showhowthese
tactorsarelinkedand how theyledto the outbreakof a oeneralwarin i 914.
IBLPlink
At the beginningof thisbook,on p.x,you havea copyof the IBLearner
Profile,
whichoutlines
promotedbythe lBto'develop
thekeyattributes
internationally
mindedpeoplewho,recognizing
theircommonhumanity
guardianship
andshared
of the planethelpto createa betterandmore
peaceful
worldjlBlearners
shouldattemptto livetheIBLP
Consider
theapproach
anddecisions
madebythe European
governments
andstatesmen
andattemptto identifiT
whentheywere
actinglikelBlearners,
andwhentheywerenot.Tryto givespecific
examples,
e.g.whichof the
leaders
andstatesmen
was'knowledgeable'
in theirdecision-making?
In pairsreflecton the waysin whichthe process
of crisismanagement,
andthefinaldescentinto
a generalEuropean
war,might havebeendifferentif the leadersof the GreatPowershadbeen
lBlearners.
Whatwas the contributionof each of the
EuropeanPowersduringthe July Crisisto the
outbreakof war?
Germany
The Kaiserhad encouragedthe Austro-Hungariansto seizethe opportunity to attackSerbia
in the 5 July blank cheque.However,Germany may have been predicting another Balkans
war,not the spreadof war generallyacrossEurope.Evenaslate as l8 |uly 1914,many in
Germany'sgovernment believedthat a united front of Germany and Austria-Hungary,
together with a swift response,would keep the Russiansfrom involving themselves.The
Kaiserwent off on a cruise, and on his return declaredthat the Serb responseto the AustroHungarian ultimatum removed the rationale for a war.
Nevertheless,Germany was risking drawing the powers into a generalwar. What was the
motive?
a It had to support its ally,Austria-Hungary
a It had to prevent itself and Austria-Hungary being crushed by the ententepowers
a Russia'smilitary modernizations were increasingthe country's potential for
mobilization, and this could undermine the SchlieffenPlan
German generals,e.g.von Moltke, believedthat it was a favourabletime for Germany to
go to war with its enemies
A
German
Chancellor
Bethmann-Hollweg
wARI
oFwoRLD
rHE.AUSES
7
o War would provide a good distraction, and uniffing effect,to overcomerising domestic
problems in Germany
o War could improve the popularity of the Kaiser.
Once the Russiansordered mobilization, the SchlieffenPlan meant that Germany would
have to draw in the French.
positivelydesireda major war. Mobilizationfor them
. ..it seemsvery unlikely that the Russians
meantpreparationfor a possiblewar. The Germans,howeveriinterpretedmobilizationas the
virtual equivalentto a declarationof war, and Germany\ Schliffin PIan meant that the German
army would have to attack and defeatFrancebeforemoving eastwardsto combat Russianforces.
187(119142OO1
FromRobertPearce
andJohhLowe,RivalryandAccord:InternationalRelations,
Thus Germany'sresponsiblity for the beginning of war was:
o Urging Austria-Hungary on with the'blank cheque'
r Declaring war on Russiaon I August
. \'iolating Bclgianncutrality
o Invading France
o Bringing Britain into the conflict.
Austria-Hungary
It is clear that Austria-Hungary was determined to respond to the Sarajevoincident, seeing
it as an opportunity'to eliminateSerbiaasa political factor in the Balkans'.
The contribution of Austria-Hungary to the outbreak of war was that it:
r Exaggeratedthe potential threat of Serbiaand was determined to make war
o Delayedresponding to the assassination,which contributed to the developmentof the
fuly Crisis
o Declaredwar on Serbiaon 28 Iuly, only five daysafter the delivery of the ultimatum
(which in any casehad a time limit of only 48 hours)
r Refusedto halt its military actions eventhough negotiationswith Russiawere scheduled
for 30Iuly.
The respo
Crisis.
Britain
Britain wa
Grey, wan
the July Cr
that it wor
GermansI
make his tr
The violat
Germany,
war. The r
position c.
Iohn Lowt
-tl"^*t
convinced
Grey'sfakt
eyesin the
From Robel
Histor
I
Russia
The RussianForeignMinister sawin the ultimatum to Serbiaa'EuropeanWar'.Sergei
Sazonovwas determined to take a firm stand, ashe believedthat the Germanshad seen
weaknessin Russia'sprevious responsesto Balkan crises.Although the Tsarwas in favour of
partial mobilization, his generalsordered generalmobilization on 30 fuly.
The contribution of Russiato the beginning of the war was that it:
o Did not try to restrain Serb nationalism, eventhough it was likely to lead to instability in
the Balkans
o Supported Serbia,which deepenedthe conflict and possibly causedSerbiato reject the
ultimatum
o Mobilized, thus triggering a generalEuropeanwar.
France
France'sgovernment was hesitant about getting involved in a war, and, after the
ignominious defeatof 1871,it did not want to provoke a generalwar. France'sally Russia
mobilized without consulting the French,and then the Germansdeclaredwar on Franceon
3 August. Francehad not decidedto go to war; it was swept into it.
Cart,
What
Gern
'I'ltc
responsibilityof Francewasthat it gaveRussiaassurances
of support beforethe |uly
( )risis.
Britain
Itritain wasdivided over whether to fight Germanyor not. The ForeignSecretary,
Edward
t irey,wantedto, and there hasbeencriticism of his and Britain'sambiguousposition in
tlrc July Crisis.Somehistoriansarguethat Britain should havemade it clearto Germany
tlrat it would stand'shoulderto shoulder'with the French,and this might havedeterredthe
( iermansfrom pursuing the SchlieffenPlan.YetGrey himself did not havea mandateto
rnirkehis position clear,due to the mixed opinions of parliament.
'I'he
violation of the neutrality of Belgium led to somepopular demandsfor war with
( iermany,and gavethe British governmentgrounds,basedon the treatyof 1839,to declare
lvitr.The responsibilityof Britain for the start of the war wasthat it should havemirdeits
positionclearerduring the fuly Crisis.
Iohn Lowe also makesthe following point:
...themostseriouschargeagainstBritain, however,is that her naval talkswith Russiain 1914
tonvincedthe Germanchancellorthat the ring oJencirclement
aroundher was now complete.
{)rey!fake denialoJ'thesesecrettalksalsodestroyedhiscredibilityas a mediatorin German
cyesin theJuly crisis.
lrrom Robert Pearce and fohn Lowe, Rivalry and Accord: lnternational
Relations 187(I-l9I42OOl
Historiography:
the causesof the GreatWar
{
1'lll: l lill )ll'll r)l
('l l,lltriil.l
Cartoonanalysis
Whatlsthe message
of thiscartoon,
whichwaspublished
on 26August1914,
following
Germany's
invasion
of Belgium?
'TheTriumph
ot Culturei
a
(-,.rrtoon
tromPunch.