War and Revolution

CH. 16

The Road to World War I

Sec 1

• Beginning of 1900s–Peace and harmony in Europe–Darker side• Developments would propel Europe into

War

Rising Tensions in Europe

• Unifying force• Cause intense competition between nations– Seek to overpower each other

• Rivalries develop– Great Powers• Germany, Austria-Hungary, GB, Russia, Italy,

France

The Rise of Nationalism

• Causes of rivalries–Competition for materials and markets– Territorial disputes– Ethnic groups demand independence

• Europeans compete over Africa and Asia• Quest for colonies pushed nations to

brink of war• Competition leads to sense of rivalry and

mistrust

Imperialism

• Arms race developed in Europe– To be great, countries need to have powerful army– 1914 – all Great Powers, except GB have large

standing army– Experts stress importance of quick mobilization• Ability to get troops ready for war

Growth of Militarism

• Militarism– Policy of glorifying military power– Keeping army prepared for war– Large and strong army made citizens feel patriotic• Frightens some

• Rivalries and mistrust led to creation of alliances– Great Powers form military alliances

• Alliance system designed to keep peace develops– Helped cause a war

Tangled Alliances

• Bismarck Forges Early Pacts– Saw France as biggest threat • Thought they wanted revenge for losing Franco-

Prussian War• Goal was to isolate France

• 1879 – Dual Alliance– Germany and Austria Hungary

• Triple Alliance - 1882– Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

• 1881 – treaty w/ Russia

• 1890 – Kaiser Wilhelm II forces Bismarck to resign–Didn’t want to share power– Eager to show power of

Germany

Shifting Alliances Threaten Peace

• Wilhelm does things differently– Treaty w/Russia ends in 1890• Russia forms alliance w/France – 1892

and 1894–War w/France or Russia would make

Germany enemy of both• Could be forced to fight two-front war

• Began massive shipbuilding program–Make German navy equal to GB

• Moves alarm GB–1904 – forms alliance w/France

Wilhelm decides to challenge GB

• Triple Entente–1907–Russia, France, GB–Did not bind GB to fight w/France and

Russia– Ensured GB would not fight against them

• Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance–Conflict could draw entire continent into war

• “Powder Keg of Europe”– Mountainous peninsula in southeastern Europe– Home to assortment of ethnic groups• Long history of nationalist uprisings and ethnic

conflict

Crisis in the Balkans

• Ottoman Empire in rapid decline– New nations formed• Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia

– Nationalism is powerful force• Groups want to grow in size

A Restless Region

• Serbia– Large Slavic population• Wanted to absorb all Slavs on Balkan peninsula

– Russia and Austria-Hungary in direct conflict• Russia – supports Slavic nationalism• Austria – threatened by growth