December, 2020Established 1990 Price: Free

WHY WAR?CAUSES

➢ Alliance system

➢ Weltpolitik –

Germany and

Wilhelm II

➢ Imperialism

➢ Nationalism

➢ Militarism and arms

race

➢ International

economy

➢ Increasing domestic

tension due to

growing social and

economic

indifferences

CAUSES

➢ Franco-Prussian

War 1870-71

➢ War between Russia

and the Ottoman

Empire 1877-78

➢ First Moroccan

Crisis 1905

➢ Bosnian Crisis 1908

➢ Second Moroccan

Crisis 1911

➢ First Balkan War

1912

➢ Second Balkan War

1913

CAUSES

➢ Assassination of

Archduke Franz

Ferdinand and

his wife Sophie

in Sarajevo

➢ The July Crisis

➢ Mobilization

➢ War Plans

IB History

This presentation is an attempt to

increase your historical knowledge!

…

CAUSES OF WORLD WAR ONE

WORLD WAR ONE - PRESENTATION

TRIPLE

ALLIANCE➢ Germany

➢ Austria-Hungary

➢ Italy (declared

neutrality 1914 –

entered the war 1915 –

as an ally to the

Entente)

TRIPLE

ENTENTE➢ France

➢ Great Britain

➢ Russia (up to 1917)

SOME

NEUTRAL

NATIONS•Italy (up to 1915)

•USA (up to April 1917)

•Netherlands

•Spain

•Switzerland

•Sweden

•Norway

•Denmark

THE WAR

BREAKS OUT

Austria-Hungary declared

war against Serbia July

20th 1914. A week later

Germany had declared

war against both Russia

and France and Great

Britain had declared war

against Germany.

WORLD WAR ONE

had started!

ALLIES

•Bulgaria

•Ottoman Empire

(Turkey)

EUROPE YEAR 1914

ALLIES

•Serbia

•Belgium

•Greece

•Romania

•Portugal

•Montenegro

•Japan

•China

•Italy (1915)

•USA (1917)

FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 1870-71

Napoleon III and Otto von Bismarck

PROPAGANDA FOR A FRENCH

ALSACE-LORRAINE AFTER 1871

BISMARCK’S

ALLIANCE SYSTEM

He wanted to protect the unified Germany! How?

1. Isolate France!

2. Power balance – at least to Great Powers should be allied to

Germany

3. The alliance between Russia and Austria-Hungary should not

be too strained or too ”friendly”…

BISMARCK’S MOST IMPORTANT ALLIANCES

• 1873 Dreikaiserbund (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia). This alliance collapsed at the

Congress of Berlin 1878!

• 1879 Double Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary)

• 1882 Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy)

• 1887 Reinsurance Treaty - secret! (Germany, Russia)

…and then came Wilhelm II and ”WELTPOLITIK”

WELTPOLITIK

Colonies

and

the Navy

MILITARISM & ARMS RACE

Year 1900 France Germany

Austria-

Hungary Great Britain Russia Italy

Population 38.6 mill. 56.4 mill. 45 mill. 41.6 mill. 133 mill. 32.5 mill.

Army 589 541 589 266 397 316 280 000 860 000 261 728

First-class

battleships 13 14 0 38 13 9

Second-class

battleships 10 0 6 11 10 5

Merchant fleet 1 037 720 ton 1 941 645 ton 313 689 ton 9 304 108 ton 633 820 ton 945 000 ton

• Weltpolitik meant an increase of the German Navy

• Great Britain felt threatened and started to increase

its Navy as well – Naval race!

• 1906 HMS Dreadnought - Great Britain

• After 1906 both Great Britain and Germany

concentrated their resources on the construction of

new and heavier battleships

• The Naval race influenced the rest of Europe

• Between 1908 och 1913 we see a general increase

of the military spending with 50%!

ALLIANCE SYSTEM AFTER BISMARCK1892 French-Russian military convention (France, Russia) 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance (France, Russia)

1902 British-Japanese Alliance (Great Britain, Japan) 1904 Entente Cordiale (France, Great Britain)

1907 Triple Entente (France, Russia, Great Britain) 1914 TRIPLE ENTENTE against TRIPLE ALLIANCE

…and in 1914 two big alliances faced each other…

THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM

TRIPLE ALLIANCE 1882

Germany – Authoritarian constitutional

monarchy. Industrialized and strong

economy! Strong military nation!

Alliance system and Weltpolitik (after

1890) – Colonies

Double Monarchy Austria-Hungary –

Authoritarian rule under the Emperor.

Slow economic development.

Nationalism was a huge problem –

Splitting Nationalism!

Italy – Authoritarian constitutional

monarchy. Slow economic development.

Big differences between the north and

south. Caused tension! Weak alliance

partner…

TRIPLE ENTENTE 1907

France – Republic. Slow economic

development but still a wealthy nation.

Politically unstable – many governments,

weak coalitions. Imperialism – Big

Empire outside France

Great Britain – Constitutional

monarchy. Industrialized and strong

economy (but a bit in decline).

Imperialism – the biggest colonial Empire

in the World! Big Navy but a small army.

Russia– Autocratic! Started the

industrialization late. Poor and backward

economy. Huge foreign debts. Politically

unstable – huge social, economic and

political problems!

THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM

…so what was the basic purpose behind the creation of alliances?

Captain Blackadder explains the purpose of the alliance system to Baldrick:

Captain Blackadder: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war in Europe, two

superblocks developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side, and the Germans

and Austria-Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast opposing armies, each

acting as the other’s deterrent. That way there could never be a war.

Baldrick: But this is sort of a war, isn’t it, sir?

Captain Blackadder: Yes, that’s right. You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan.

Baldrick: What was that, sir?

Captain Blackadder: It was bollocks!

WILHELM II

ECONOMY THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Poor environment, child

labor, long hours, poverty…

HUGE

SOCIAL

PROBLEMS

ECONOMY THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

…but some people saw

prosperity– there were

big social differences

in the society before WWI

IMPERIALISM

European colonies year 1900!

IMPERIALISMFIRST MOROCCAN CRISIS 1905 SECOND MOROCCAN CRISIS 1911

• German Weltpolitik

• Wilhelm II visits Morocco 1905

• Great Britain and France reacts to the

German aggression

• Conference 1906 in Algeciras

• Fiasco for Wilhelm II and Germany…

• French occupation of Fez

• Germany sends the gunboat

Panther to Agadir

• German Weltpolitik – again!

• Great Britain reacts strongly!

• Franco-British Navy Alliance 1912

NATIONALISMUniting nationalism Splitting nationalism

…and of course the Ottoman Empire!

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

The Ottoman Empire ”Sick man of Europe”

WAR RUSSIA –

OTTOMAN

EMPIRE

o San Stefano

o Congress of

Berlin

BOSNIAN

CRISIS

o Blank check

from Germany

o Bosnia-

Herzegovina

FIRST

BALKAN WAR

o Balkan League

o Albania

SECOND

BALKAN WAR

o Bulgaria

frustrated

o Albania

JULY CRISISo Sarajevo June

24th 1914

o July Crisis

o Austria-

Hungary

declares war!

19081878 1912 1913 1914

THE BALKAN REGION

THE BALKAN REGION 1815

THE BALKAN REGION 1878

THE BALKAN REGION 1908

THE BALKAN REGION 1911

THE BALKAN REGION 1912

THE BALKAN REGION 1913

SARAJEVO 28/6 1914

JULY CRISIS 1914

EUROPE

MOBILIZE

After the

assassination

in Sarajevo…

WAR!