Short Essays

The French Campaign in Egypt & Italy

Introduction

• Napoleon: formidable general, key campaigns (leading to ascent)

Body 1

Italian Campaigns (1796 - 1797)

• Irrelevant scene to the world

• Victories: Lodi, Arcole, Rivoli = brilliance

• Austria = peace negotiations

Body 2

Egyptian Campaigns (1798 - 1801)

• threaten British access to India + expand influence (East)

• Battle of Pyramids 1798= land success

• Battle of the Nile 1798; Admiral Nelson = naval loss

• Napoleon returned, saved face and maintained heroic image

The Battle of Austerlitz

Introduction

• aggressive foreign policy

• territorial ambitions

Body 1

• Third Coalition (1805); Britain, Russia, Austria

• launched attack = mobilization of Grand Army

• Battle of Three Emperors: Austria-Russian: Russia’s Alexander I + Mikhail Kutuzov

• “Center-peel” = weak center, strong flanks

Body 2

• Francis II = Treaty of Pressburg

• HRE GONE

• Confederation of the Rhine: French client states

The Peace of Tilsit

Introduction

• Napoleon: aggressive foreign policy, balance of power

• Napoleonic Wars 1803 - 1815

• Fourth Coalition: (1806-1807): Russia, Britain, Prussia

  • Defeat at Jena-Auerstedt & Friedland

  • Peace of Tilsit, July 1807

Body1

• Alexander I & Napoleon

• alliance: Continental Block & Ottoman Empire (diplomatic support)

• King Frederick William III: Prussia lost territory

Body2

• Prussia

  • losing west of Elbe & parts of Poland = weaken

  • Kingdom of Westphalia

  • Duchy of Warsaw

  • Free City of Danzig

Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia

Introduction

• Peace of Tilsit: Alexander I & Napoleon; Continental System

• WITHDREW 1811 —> reasserting dominance

• Grand Armee (~700,000), 24 June 1812, Duchy of Warsaw

Body1

• Scorched-earth strategy

• Extreme heart

• August —> Moscow

• Battle of Borodino (September 1812) - Moscow was deserted

Body2

• Retreat

  • extreme winter

  • critical miscalculation

  • set the stage for Waterloo 1815

The Quadruple Alliance

Introduction

• Napoleon vs. Coalitions; 1813: alliance for defeat

• Treaty of Paris 1815 formalized it —> prevent future aggression

Body 1

• Diplomatic mechanism: Concert of Europe, stability

• 1815 renewed; peace settlement, Congress of Vienna meet regularly; preserve

Body 2

• 1820s Britain = isolationist

• undercut Klemens von Metternich

• Future

  • 1818 Aix-la-Chapelle, France = Quintuple

  • Reaffirming the Quadruple to guard

The Carlsbad Decrees

1. Origins

   • Napoleon: liberalism, political change

   • Constitutional government, civil liberties, elected parliament

   • von Matternich resisted; existential threats, power of aristocracy

2. Why?

   • 1819 murder of August von Kotzebue

   • Convened German Confederation, Decrees 1819

3. Restrictions

   • Burschenschaften DIMISSED, state supervisions, banned of spreading ideas

   • Investigative Commission in Mainz

   • coordinated effort to preserve conservative control

   • status-quo

The Monroe Doctrine

1. Origins

   • James Monroe, 1823

   • opposition to European interference of the West

   • Old World vs. New, colonization + intervention = threat

   • US won’t, so Europe don’t

2. Origins

   • Britain & U.S = Spain (w/ France) regain control in Latin America

   • Britain & US together? = NAH

   • John Quincy Adams was line = EXCLUSIVE = unilateral assertion

   • limited immediate impact BUT foundation + emerging power

The Greek War of Independence (1821 - 1829)

Introduction

• ideological roots (late 18th)

• Rigas Feraios: spreading enlightenment/liberation; executed 1789

• Philiki Etaireia; Society of Friends 1814

Body 1

• 1821 Alexandros Ypsilantis; ex Russia-officer; Moldavia; ill-faited; no support

• Peloponnese 1822

Body 2

• internal revolt; civil war 1823-1825

• Ottomans + Egyptians (Ibrahim Pasha)

• Europeans (lest Russians get straits & Greece): Battle of Navarino in 1827 crippled ‘enemy’

• London Protocol 1830; sovereign

Revolution in France in 1830

Introduction

• July Revolutions; Les Trois Glorieuses

• FALL of Charles X Burbon → July Monarchy, Louis Philipe, Duke of Orleans

Body 1

• July Ordinances (1830) — Suspended press, dissolved Chamber of Deputies, restricted suffrage

• violated Charter of 1814

Body 2

• July 27-29; affected took streets

• “Three Glorious Days”; abdication + exile; “King of the French” August 9th, 1830

• Divine rights → popular sovereignty

• Bourgeois revolt; urban middle class secured greater political influence

• July Monarchy: property-based suffrage —> break from absolutism

The Birth of Belgium (1830-1831)

Introduction

• Congress of Vienna 1815: Austrian Netherlands + Dutch Republic = United Kingdom of the Netherlands; King William I

• Buffer against French expansion

Body1

• Southern: French-speaking + Catholics vs. Northern: Dutch-speaking + Protestants

• 1830; La Muette de Portici —> riots in Brussels

• King William I; military force BUT support = expulsion

Body2

• Provisional govt.; independence

• National Congress 1831; adopting a liberal constitution + constitutional monarchy

• London Conference 1830-31; formal recognition

• Leopold of Saxe-Coburg — I of Belgium ; inaugurated

Congress Poland and Tsar Nicholas I

Introduction

• Congress of Vienna 1815; semi-autonomous polity; constitutional monarchy + union of the Russia crown

• Replaced Duchy of Warsaw

• Liberal Constitution: civil liberties, army, Sejm; undermined by Russia

Body1

• Tsar Nicholas I — King of Poland (1825) —> autocratic control

• Official Nationality; suppress identity, integrate through Russification

• November Uprising 1830-31 FAILED

• 1831; Sejm deposed Tsar BUT was met with military campaign

Body 2

• Tsar abolished constitution — 1833; Organic Statute; Congress + Empire

• Sejm + army DISSOLVED

• Military dictatorship

The Mexican Adventure (1861-1867)

Introduction

• Napoleon III failed attempt: monarchy under Maximilian

• President Benito's suspension of repayments, 1861; civil war, Liberals vs. Conservatives

• France, Britain & Spain: left after though; France wanted to impose regime

Body1

• Imperial ambition — desire to expand influence

• Mexico City captured (1863) — Maximilian installed (1864)

• Lacked broad support; resistance by Republicans (Juarez)

Body2

• Us: Civil War; 1865 pressured under Monroe Doctrine

• Costs + Opposition: 1866 withdrawal

• 1867 Maximilian is executed; Mexican Republic under Juarez

The League of the Three Emperors (1873)

Introduction

• Conservative diplomatic alliance: Emperor Wilhelm I, Emperor Francis Joseph I, Alexander I

• German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck; after unification 1871

• Aim: stabilize; status quo; isolate France; Balkan question

Body1

• Holy Alliance; BUT pragmatic; balance of power + status quo

• Berlin 1872 formalized; mutual commitment to consult in case of external threats

Body2

• Fragile, deep-seated Austro-Russia rivalry

• Great Eastern Crisis 1875-1878; cleavages

• League dissolution 1878; Bismarck & Austria-Hungary

The Birth of Greater Bulgaria (1885)

Introduction

• Eastern Rumelia + Principality of Bulgaria (under Ottoman suzerainty)

• post-1878 Congress of Berlin; reversed Treaty of Stefano (= large Bulgarian state under Russians)

• SPLIT: territories to contain Russian ambitions
  

Body1

• Movement grew: Eastern Rumelia + Principality of Bulgaria

• September 1885; Plodiv coup

• Prince Alexander of Battenberg

Body2

• Russia + Serbs == victory; Battle of Slivnitsa

• fait accompli: 1886; Prince Alexander as governor general of Eastern-Rumelia

• Future Balkan tensions

The Fashoda Incident (1898)

Introduction

• 1898: Sudanese town —> France under Major Jean-Baptiste Marchand; territory + block British expansion

• British under General Horatio Kitchener; Battle of Omdurman; reconquest of Sudan —> Anglo-Egyptian control in Nile Valley

Body1

• Fashoda meeting point (claimed sovereingty) —> not direct conflict (avoiding military intervention)

• Diplomatic crisis: Britain: north-south axis (Cairo-Cape Town)

• France: (east-west: Dakar-Djibouti)

Body2

• Britain: Sudan was Egyptian protectorate, reconquering the country for Khedive

• France: British failed “effective occupation of Upper-Nile region

• Diplomacy prevailed; France backed down 1898

• improved Anglo-French relations - diplomacy!!!

The Scramble for Africa: The Colonization of Africa at the Turn of the Century

Introduction

• What? colonization of Africa, late 19th, early 20th; 1880s-1914

• Why? economic interests, national prestige, strategic concerns; aspirations to build an empire; growth of industrial system = raw materials; profit surplus = investment outlets

• Who? Britain France; largest + Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal

Body1

• rush to grab (+war) was avoided by German Chancellor Otto van Bismarck

• Berlin Conference 1884-1885; regulations regarding imperial competitions; effective occupation

• no African territory, or people were present

• entire continent colonized, except Ethiopia and Liberia

Body2

• Britain: Egypt + southern/eastern Africa

• France: west & north-central regions

• Belgium: Congo Free State; brutal regime; King Leopold II

• Germany: German East Africa & South West Africa

• Violence, Coercive Labor systems, resistance by local populations

Inventions Revolutionizing International Relations at the Turn of the Century

Introduction

• 20th century; nature of IR, diplomacy & warfare

• Coordinate foreign policy, military operations, diplomatic exchanges, quicker responses

Body1

• Telegraph: diplomatic comm., extensive global networks 1870s/80s

  • Instructions to colonial officials, control of overseas territories

• Steamship (commercially dominant 1870s)

  • mobility, faster deployment, imperial expansion; Scramble for Africa (1880s-1900s)

• Machine gun (Maxim Gun (1884)

  • modern artillery, decisive tech. advantage —> industrial power = geopolitical dominance

• Barber Wire (1884, Joseph Glidden), chemical weapons, tanks, submarines etc.

Body2

• intensified imperial competition,

• mechanized/connected world order

• rapid diplomacy, industrialized warfare, global strategic thinking

The Russo Japanese War (1905)

Introduction

• 1904-1905

• Imperial Ambitions: Manchuria & Korean Peninsula

• Tsar Nicholas II: public opinion — Minister of Interior: Vyacheslav von Plehve

Body1

• Port Arthur — surprise attack: February 1904

• Efficiency, Trans-Siberian incomplete, leadership,

Body2

• Battle of Tsushima 1905

• 1905 Revolution + Asian power

• Shift of ambition to Balkans

The Moroccan Crises

Introduction

• First Moroccan Crisis (1905-1906)

• France sought control; no opposition (Britain)

• Kaiser Wilhelm; Tangier support (sovereignty)

• Challenged Théophile Delcasse

• Algeciras Conference — France & Spain Moroccan control & Germany’s economic rights upheld

Body 2

• Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)

• Internal Revolt: Fez; crushed by French

• Gunboat “Panther” at Agadir

• France: protectorship, Germany: 2 strips of French Congo

The Balkan Wars

• First Balkan War (1912-1913)

• Ottomans vs. Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro)

• Treaty of London (1912-13); loss Macedonia, Albania

• Serbia DOUBLES —> Albania created + Bulgaria enraged

• Second Balkan War (1913); Ferdinand I wanted more for Bulgaria

The Birth of Albania

Introduction

• First Balkan War (1912-1913)

• Serbia DOUBLES —> alarms AH & Albania + B(B2)

Body1

• Increasing Russian influence = Negative

• Geopolitical tool: Serbia: Adriatic, Russia: Mediterranean

Body2

• London Conference (1912-1913); strategic geopolitical buffer

The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand & the Role of Serbia

Introduction

• June 28th, 1914; Franz Ferdinand + Sophie Chotek = Gavrilo Princip

• Sarajevo, Bosnia visit; inspect AH army

• Earlier attempt; but finishing the trip == Crna Ruka, Narodna Odbrana

• Serbia/Russia: financial support but no direct involvement = INDIRECT

Body2

• Foreign Minister Berchtold & Emperor Franz Josef (July 23rd 1914) = DIRECT

• Threaten sovereignty = REJECTED

The Battle of Verdun (1916)

Introduction

• 21 February - 18 December 1916; longest engagements in WW1

• German Chief of Staff: Erich von Falkenhayn

• victory on Western front + bleed France white: deplete them of resources, incur casualties

• Verdun: historical/national significance; holy spot

Body1

• French: General Joffree appointed - General Philippe Petain; rotated troops through “Voie Sacree” - ‘sacred way’ - constant reinforcements, securing supply lines

• Aristide Briand; Minister of War & PM: political role, govt. backing

• THEN General Robert Neville; limited counterattacks that slowly reclaimed territory

Body2

• Evidence to suggest that Joffree wanted to abandon Verdun, BUT refused by Briand: need to win the election

• more than 300,000 casualties on BOTH ends

How did Power Relations Change in the Middle East in the Wake of World War I?

Introduction

• decline of Ottoman Empire; imperialist interests of Europe (“sphere of influence”)

• “sick man of Europe”: Balkans, North Africa

• Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912): internal weaknesses
  
  

Body1

• undermined authority: regional nationalist movements.

• Arab provinces seeking autonomy - rise to new nation-states (Iraq, Syria, Jordan etc.)

• Britain, France, Russia (strategic interests in the region)

• Britain: Egypt (occupied since 1882); Suez Canal

• Russia: southward towards Caucasus

Body2

• Germany: ties; Berlin-Baghdad railway; threat to Brits & Russia

• Middle East: intersection of global imperial competition

• 1914: Ottomans & Central Powers — mahor front

• Pre-war: groundwork for strategic significance and postwar re-ordering

Territorial Changes in Germany after WW1

Introduction

• Treaty of Versailles (1919) - prevent & weaken

• Alsace-Lorraine: returned to France (1871 annexation by Germany)

• east; Poland; West Prussia, Posen, parts of Upper Silesia; Polish Corridor

Body1

• Danzig: free city under League of Nations (Memel); international control (Lithuania 1923)

• North: Northern Schleswig ceded to Denmark; after plebiscite

• Germany: lost overseas colonies; LON mandate

Body2

• Saar Basin: French administration + LON: coal mines under France

• Rhineland demilitarized, limiting German military presence

• Fueled nationalist sentiments in Germany; instability of Weimar republic

What was the Little Entente?

Introduction

• Mutual defense alliance: 1920s; Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia + backing of France

• post WW1: prevent revision of the Treaty of Trianon; resurgence of Hungarian/Habsburg domination —- territorial integrity

Body1

• Composed of several treaties; initial bilateral agreement; C + Yugoslavia 1920, Romania 1921; coordinated w/ French diplomatic support

• collective security in Eastern Europe + surrounding Germany

Body2

• counterbalance to Hungarian irredentism / German/Austrian destabilization

• lack strong central command; diverging national interests; French support (point of alliance) FAILED

• 1937 lost political significance; denying full military aid in case of member aggression (C was like help, Y + R were like no)

The Locarno Treaties

Introduction

• signed; October 1925, ratified; 1926

• series of agreement; Germany & Allied Powers (normalize relations; WW1 + Treaty of Versailles)

• Locarno, Switzerland; mutual guarantee treaty

Body1

• Germany, Belgium, France; western borders FIXED (Germany)

• renouncing use of force/invasion; except in self-defense

• Britain/Italy; guarantors

• arbitration conventions; Germany & Poland/Czechoslovakia;

Body2

• Shift; reconciliation, collective security

• League of Nations 1926

• diplomatic triumph; German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann: ensure prosperity therefore co-operation

• French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand; Nobel Peace Price

• Imbalance; Germany’s eastern borders = vulnerable

• optimism —> short-lived; German remilitarization of the RHINELAND

The Treaty of Rapallo

Introduction

• signed; April 19, 1922; bilateral agreement; Weimar Germany & Soviet Russia; Genoa Conferences

• politically isolated; economically damaged; break diplomatic deadlock

• German Foreign Minister; Walther Rathenau + Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Georgy Chicherin

• renounced territorial/financial claims + relations

Body1

• Economic cooperation/secret military collaboration; Germany was in deadlock from disarmament clause of Treaty of Versailles

• ALARM western powers: France/Britain; revisionist alignement?

• strategic move; establishing on international stage; bypassing postwar settlement

Body2

• forming “pariah alliance”

• not a formal military pact

• groundwork: deeper covert cooperation; challenge to postwar international order

What were the Key Characteristics of Hitler’s Diplomacy?

Introduction

• Opportunism/Deception + dismantling post WW1 order

• legalistic + moderate measures; achieve radical goals; mask aggressive measures w/ diplomatic assurances

Body1

• LON withdrawal 1933; Non-Aggression Pact w/Poland 1934; reassuring while rearming Germany

• Lebenstraum; expansionism, uniting all German-speaking people

• Remilitarization of Rhineland (1936), Anschluss w Austria (1938), dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, Munich Agreement (1938)

Body2

• exploiting divisions among powers; appeasement policies to delay conflict

• Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939, invade Poland w/out Soviet intervention

• strategic patience w/ ideological aggression; manipulation and timing to achieve goals w/out immediate confrontation

• building/maintaining alliances

The Relevance of the Anschluss

Introduction

• March 1938: annexation of Austria

• expansionist aims + dismantling post-WW1 order

• PROHIBITED: Treaty of Versailles & Saint-Germain (1919); NOT met with military confrontation

Body1

• Gross Deutschland

• Passivity = green light; appeasement

• Benefit: key resources, southern flank —> Czechoslovakia

Body2

• dominant power

• symbolic + practical victory

The Munich Agreenment

Introduction

• 30th September, 1938; France, Britain, Germany, Italy

• appeasement policy

• impact of territorial integrity (Czechoslovakia)

Body1

• Libenstraum: cession of Sudetenland (German-speaking)

• PM Neville Chamberlain, “peace for our time”, PM Edouard Daladier

• BUT emboldening Hitler

Body2

• Czechoslovak government WEAK

• FAILED to prevent future aggression: occupation 1939

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Introduction

• Nazi-Soviet Pact; 1939

• FM Joachim von Ribbentrop & FM Vyacheslav Molotov

• ideological opposition = weird AF

Body1

• neutral if war involvement — Eastern Europe (spheres of influence)

• Poland ½ ; Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Bessarabia (Soviet)

• diplomatic cover for Polish invasion: 1 September 1939

• Eastern Poland 17 September; Sovet Union

Body2

• Stalin: territorial gain, preparation time

• Hitler: neutralized threat of two-front war

• FAILED: Hitler; Operation Barbarrosa June 1941

The Atlantic Charter

Introduction

• August 14, 1941

• U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt, PM Winston Churchill: post-war

• secret meeting: coast of Newfoundland

Body 1

• Renunciation of territorial expansion, affirmation of self-determination, free trade, economic cooperation, disarmament of aggressor nations

• US foreign policy: more involvement

• United Nations Charter (1945); decolonization movements

Body2

• Anglo-America alliance; Allies’ war effort against Axis

• Ideological tool: post-war int. order

The Tehran Summit in 1943

Introduction

• Tehran Summit — November 28 - December 1, 1943

• Wartime Conference — “Big Three” — military strategy, postwar order

• Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill — opening a 2nd front in Europe — relive pressure on Eastern Front

Body1

• Operation Overlord — invasion of Nazi-occupied France — spring 1944

• Stalin: promised to join war against Japan after Germany’s defeat

• Others topics: future of Germany, Poland’s borders, Eastern-European security

Body2

• Tension: Western & Eastern aims

• Iran’s territorial integrity — independence

• Tehran Summit — further negotiation: Yalta & Potsdam summit

The Yalta Summit in 1945

Introduction

• February 4 - 11, 1945: pivotal wartime conference — “Big Three”

• Crimean Resort — Yalta

Body1

• reorganization of post-war Europe + defeat of Nazi Germany

• Division — 4 occupation zones + disarmament & denazification

• United Nations — San Francisco in April 1945

Body2

• Eastern Europe question — Poland: free elections BUT Pro-Soviet government

• Stalin: agreeing to enter war against Japan — territorial concessions in Asia

• IDEOLOGICAL DIVISIONS — Cold War

The Potsdam Summit in 1945

Introduction

• July 17 - August 2, 1945

• Allied Powers: Joseph Stalin, Harry S. Truman, Churchill — Clement Attlee

• AFTER Germany’s surrender BUT before Japan’s

Body1

• Potsdam Declaration (July 26) — Japan’s unconditional surrender — “prompt and utter destruction”

• Germany: demilitarize, denazify, democratize, decentralize BUT reparations, Eastern European question?

• Poland’s borders — Soviets & communism, Poland’s western border: Oder-Neisse Line — de facto acceptance

Body2

• Truman — test of atomic bomb — firmer stance w/ Stalin = mistrust

• Wartime alliance — postwar rivalry ==> Cold War