The Causes of International tension before WW1
Alliances
- Doc 1, Doc 2
Ethnic and political tension in the Balkans
- Doc 3, Doc 4, Doc 6
Germany and the blanque check
- Doc 9,8
- Discuss the reasons which led to the rising international tensions that sparked World War I.
The Great War or World War I was the bloodiest war Europe had seen to date and involved all the great power of Europe. Before the outbreak of war an underlying tension had been brewing in Europe between many of the great and small powers. This tension was political and ethnic and posed a constant threat of war to all in Europe. When Gavrillo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand he became the catalyst for the greatest war the world had ever seen, however the greatest cause of WWI was not ethnic tensions in the Balkans or hasty alliances but the support given to Austria Hungary by Germany to invade Serbia.
The Alliances of Europe were not often made because the 2 countries had good relations, but more often because having an alliance would be strategically, economically or militarily advantageous to both parties involved. The Alliances of WWI had been formed in the spirit of Realpolitik. In document 1 we see the terms for the alliance between Germany and Austria Hungary, the alliance was mainly formed to protect both countries from a Russian attack, if one was to fight a war the other would be dragged in as well. “Should… one of the two Empires be attacked by Russia the High Contracting Parties are bound to come to the assistance one of the other with the whole war strength of their Empires” (Doc1). This scenario was repeated throughout Europe among the great powers, France was allied with Russia and England as we can see in document 2 and if “If one, or two, of the High Contracting Parties, without direct provocation on their part, should chance to be attacked”(Doc 2) the others would be forced to fight. These alliances would be the undoing of many Empires in the years to come.
Tensions in the Balkans had been escalating over the years before World War I, with the withdrawal of the Ottoman Turks from the Balkans and Greece a power sink had been created in the area, powers like Austria-Hungary and Russia were vying for influence in the area. A smaller nation Serbia wanted to unite all the Slavic people together into one country and Russia supported this in order to gain influence in the Balkans. However, this south Slavic nation would be impossible because many slavs lived within the confines of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. There they were treated as second class citizens by the majority Germanic and Hungarian population. At this time in Europe Racism was rife among the citizens of all countries. Houston Stewart Chamberlain said” the Germanic races belong to the most highly gifted group.”(Doc 3) The slavs of Austria Hungary were treated with disrespect and disdain. This ethnic tension became a major cause for the war because of the patriotic fervor that the Slavs felt to their races belittlement. Roland N. Stomberg wrote that “1914 was to prove that the masses as well as the classes were militantly patriotic when they thought their country was being attacked.”(Doc5) One young patriot of Serbia Gabrillo Princip was to take his patriotism out on the to be monarch of Austria Franz Ferdinand and begin the longest and bloodiest war Europe had ever fought.
Whereas the Alliances among the great nations and the tension in the Balkans were major causes of the War in 1914 the greatest cause was probably the support Germany gave to Austria Hungary in their decision to attack Serbia. Without German support Austria would not have been able to attack for fear of a Russian attack on their flank. Kaiser Wilhelm stated his support for Austria in a letter to the his Russian Monarch cousin Nicholas II in which he stated that, “Doubtless You will agree with me that both of us, You as well as I, and all other sovereigns, have a common interest to insist that all those who are responsible for this horrible murder shall suffer their deserved punishment…”(Doc8) With the support of the Germans Austria became confident in their attack upon Serbia and doubted Russian intervention strongly. However the Russians decided to side with Serbia, in a reply to Wilhelm Nicholas wrote,” An ignominious war has been declared against a weak country …I shall be unable to resist the pressure exercised upon me and that I shall be forced to take measures which will lead to war.”(Doc8) The Russian army is mobilized in preparation and because of this the Germans are forced to launch the Schlieffen plan because France was allied with Russia. World War I had begun. The Germans excuse for war was “Russia, without waiting for any result, preceded to a general mobilization of her forces both on land and sea.”(Doc9)
The outbreak of World War I was caused by many factors including ethnic and political tension in the Balkans and a chain of hast alliances among the great powers. However, the greatest cause was the support Germany gave to Austria Hungary which plunged Europe into bloody war.
