WWI Causes IDs #24-32

Kruger Telegram (1896)

Kruger Telegram (1896)

Message sent by Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II to Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, the president of the Transvaal Republic (South Africa), on January 3, 1896. The Kaiser congratulated Kruger on repelling the Jameson Raid, a sortie by 600 British irregulars from Cape Colony into the Transvaal under the command of Leander Starr Jameson. The raid was intended to trigger an anti-government uprising by the primarily British expatriate miners, but was a fiasco with 65 of the raiders killed to only one Boer commando, and the rest surrendering. The telegram caused huge indignation in the UK, and led to a further inflammation of tensions between Britain and Germany.

Social Darwinism

Theories of society that emerged in the United States and Europe in the 1870s, and which sought to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology and politics. Believers in this philosophy generally argue that the strong should see their wealth and power increase while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease.

Franco-Russian Alliance (1894)

Military alliance of France and Russia from 1894 to 1917. The alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of Germany in Europe.

Anglo - Japanese Alliance (1902)

Alliance between Britain and Japan in 1902. Britain committed to an arms race with Germany; both countries had a rival in Russia over China; Britain needed an ally in East Asia; the alliance allowed Britain to bring many of its warships back to Europe to counterbalance Germany's naval buildup

Anglo - Russian Entente (1907)

Situation in 1907 when Britain & Russia reached an agreement over Persia, Tibet & Afghanistan. It reduced British fears about Russian encroachment on India.

Triple Entente (1907)

Britain, France, Russia
-Did not require each country to go to war on behalf of the others, but stated that they had a 'moral obligation' to support each other
-All three had been in competition for colonies in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. But all were united in their suspicions of German plans to dominate Europe
-created to balance the growing power of Germany by being more powerful itself.

naval race

Arms race between Britain and Germany in the early 20th century that preceded and was one of the several intertwined causes for the First World War. Germany was threatening Britain's military domination of the seas which sparked a British buildup in response. There were also other arms races in several other countries which were emerging as great powers, such as the United States and Japan, and in South America.

HMS Dreadnought (1906)

Battleship of the Royal Navy that revolutionized naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships. These ships, as well as the class of ships named after her made an entire generation of ships produced before to become obsolete.

Tirpitz's Risk Theory

Military philosophy of German admiral Alfred von Tirpitz who oriented his naval strategy toward the major sea power of his period, Britain. He expected that Germany would not need to out build the Royal Navy in order to pose a threat to Britain, since British sea power was committed worldwide. If the Royal Navy accepted a battle with a numerically inferior but modern German fleet, it would probably win, but it would suffer such heavy losses that another sea power -- presumably an ally of Germany or a rival of Britain -- would then be able to destroy the victorious British fleet. Thus Britain would run a risk if it went to war with Germany, and its diplomacy would have to take a more supportive attitude toward German colonial aims. A comparatively small but efficient German battle fleet concentrated in the North Sea would represent a diplomatic lever and deterrent. He assumed that the German ships would be superior to the British vessels and that their crews would be better trained.