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International Relations1900–1939

Increasing Tension 1900–1914

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Learning objectives

What we will learn in this presentation:


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How imperialism led to increasing tension.

The tension caused by the arms race and especially the naval rivalry between Britain and Germany.

The causes and consequences of the Morocco crises of 1905 and 1911.

The causes and consequences of the Balkan Crisis of 1908–09.

The causes and consequences of the Balkan Wars of 1912–13.


Definitions


A place in the sun

In 1900, Britain had a huge empire.


A place in the sun

How might this lead to world conflict?

By 1914, Britain had the biggest empire in history, giving it vast wealth and global power.

Germany wanted an empire too, but with much of the world already claimed and many European nations vying for colonies in Africa and across the world, Germany would have to fight to get one.

The German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, also wanted Germany to become a powerful force in world politics, able to influence and command other countries as Britain and France did.

If Germany were to fulfil its imperial and global ambitions, it would need to develop a strong military.


An arms race is when two nations (or groups of nations) compete to develop the best military technology or the largest armed forces.

The arms race

The ‘race’ is driven by fear that the other country will establish military superiority, and therefore become dominant.

Images courtesy of The World War I Document Archive.


The naval arms race

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany wanted Germany to have an empire of her own. He was closely related to the British royal family and admired Britain’s empire and powerful navy.

It was felt that in order to compete, Germany needed to develop its navy.

Which country do you think would feel most threatened if Germany built up its navy?

In my view, Germany will, in the coming century, rapidly drop from her position as a great power

unless we begin to develop our maritime interests energetically, systematically and without delay.

Admiral Tirpitz, 1895 Images courtesy of The World War I

Document Archive.


The naval arms race

The Dreadnought worried the

Germans and fuelled the developing arms

race between Germany and

Britain.

For a long time, Britannia had ruled the waves.

Britain had spent a great deal of time and money building a strong navy to protect its trade routes and overseas empire. Britain did not want other nations rivalling its dominance at sea.

In 1906, the Royal Navy launched HMS Dreadnought. It was a new style of battleship that was faster and more heavily armoured than any previous warship.


The naval arms race

Germany decided that it too needed to build Dreadnought-style battleships. It aimed to build them at the same rate as Britain or, if possible, faster.

From 1889 Britain had followed a policy of ensuring that its navy was at least as big as its two nearest rivals combined. This policy was known as the “two power standard.”

As Germany built Dreadnought-style ships to compete with Britain, Britain felt obliged to build as many, or more, ships to stay ahead.

This created a naval arms race – a race to build the most warships!


The naval arms race

It was not just the British and German governments that got involved in the naval arms race.

Public opinion in both countries demanded that they outstrip the other in producing ships.

Over one million Germans joined the German Fleet Association – an organization that promoted the navy and tried to persuade the government to increase naval spending.

This caused the British public to become increasingly anti-German and the German public to become increasingly anti-British. Many people thought that a war between the two countries would happen sooner or later.

Image courtesy of The World War I

Document Archive.


The naval arms race


European naval strength in 1914

Type France Britain RussiaAustria-Hungary

Germany Italy

Dreadnoughts 14 24 4 3 13 1

Battleships 9 38 7 12 30 17

Battle Cruisers

0 10 1 0 6 0

Cruisers 25 108 13 7 49 11

Destroyers 81 228 106 18 152 33

Submarines 67 76 36 14 30 20

Who won the naval arms race?

Which of the two great alliances had the best chance of winning a war at sea?


The arms race

As one country built up its armed forces, what do you think its rivals did?

Such militarism could only lead to increased tensions in Europe,

making war more likely.

It was not just at sea that increasing militarism was evident.

The major European powers had vast land armies (with the exception of Britain and Italy). Between 1890 and 1913, military spending in Britain and France increased by 100% and in Germany by 150%.


The arms race

Country Army size in 1914

Britain 430,000

France 970,000

Russia 1,500,000

Germany 760,000

Austria-Hungary 480,000

On paper, which alliance

had more soldiers?

Increased militarism was not just a matter of more soldiers. The early years of the 20th Century saw a surge of popular nationalism across Europe.

There were strong right-wing groups in Britain, Germany and France that encouraged military spending and saw any diplomatic climb-down as a blow to the pride of the nation.


Britain vs. Germany


International crises

The alliance system, the arms race and increasing militarism in Europe created a tense international climate in the years leading up to the First World War.

This tension was worsened by a series of international crises that caused major war scares.

Furious diplomacy averted conflict between the great powers, but the crises led to increasing hostility and mistrust.

The Morocco Crisis of 1905

The Morocco Crisis of 1911

The Bosnian Crisis 1908

The Balkan Wars 1912–13


Morocco Crisis of 1905

As part of its alliance with France, Great Britain recognized France’s colonial claim to Morocco. In 1905, France took advantage of this to extend its influence in the country.

The Germans did not want the French to gain control over Morocco and were upset that they had not been consulted. Germany tried to stir up an anti-French independence movement in Morocco.



The Kaiser visited the Moroccan port of Agadir and gave a speech denouncing French influence, and encouraging Moroccans to strive for independence.

The aim was to humiliate France and put strain on the alliance between France and Britain.

A conference was held to discuss the matter. Britain stood firm with France and rather than breaking apart their alliance, the crisis actually strengthened it.

Germany was forced to accept France’s dominant influence in Morocco.

Image courtesy of The World War I Document Archive.



In 1911, a number of Moroccans started a rebellion calling for independence. The Sultan of Morocco asked the French to step in and restore order.

The Germans were unhappy that France was just being allowed to gain another colony. They sent a warship called The Panther to Agadir.

They claimed this was to protect German businesses in Morocco, but the real aim was to place pressure on the French. The Germans demanded that France give them some other African territory in exchange for their acceptance of French control of Morocco.



Lengthy talks followed between the Germans and French. Meanwhile, the French and British made detailed plans for joint military action should the talks fail.

The crisis was eventually resolved with the signing of the Treaty of Berlin. The Germans accepted French control of Morocco in exchange for some territory in the Middle Congo as compensation.

During this time it was reported that the German fleet had sailed and was somewhere in the North Sea. This led to a major war scare. The Royal Navy was put on alert and made fully battle-ready.


Trouble in the Balkans

In the early twentieth century, the Balkans was a very unstable area of Europe.

The area had traditionally been controlled by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.

However by the start of the twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire had weakened to such an extent that dissatisfied ethnic groups in the Balkans, such as the Serbs, were seeking independence.


Trouble in the Balkans

Independence movements in the Balkans were encouraged by the Russians.

Many of the Slavic people in the Balkans saw Russia as their natural ally against the Turks and the Austrians.

In 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Empire took control of an area of the Balkans called Bosnia-Herzegovina which contained a lot of Serbian Slavs. This angered both the Serbs and the Russians.

War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, supported by Russia, seemed imminent.

Russian flag

Austro-Hungarian flag


The Bosnian Crisis of 1908

Has this made war in Europe more or less likely?

With war seemingly close, it was only Germany’s support for Austria that stopped a European war. The Russians were not prepared to take on both Austria-Hungary and Germany at the same time.

However, the results were significant. The crisis sparked greater nationalism in Serbia, and prompted Russia to start modernizing its armed forces.

The next time Russia got involved in the Balkans, it would not back down so easily.


The Balkan Wars of 1912–13

The 1912–13 Balkan Wars were a series of small-scale conflicts resulting from the disintegration of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.

Serbia wanted to use the power vacuum left by the Ottomans to create a “Greater Serbia”.

In the First Balkan War, a number of Balkan nations united (under Russian influence) to form the Balkans League and managed to expel the Turks from the region.

Austria-Hungary was afraid of Serbia becoming too powerful. They interfered at the peace talks, resulting in Serbia gaining less territory than they thought they deserved.



The Second Balkan War followed almost immediately when Serbia demanded land from Bulgaria.

The Serbs managed to win a lot of territory for themselves and now became the dominant power in the Balkans.



Which do you think was more important in raising tensions, the Bosnian Crisis or the Balkan Wars?

Victory led to increasing Serbian nationalism.

This was directed especially against Austria-Hungary which was seen as the main obstacle to the dream of a united Slavic nation.

In addition, Austria-Hungary became extremely worried about the growing power of Serbia. They were determined to crush the Serbs at the next opportunity.


Increasing tension


Political tension

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