Origins and Course of the WW1 Part 1

naval race

• B — massive navy (protect econ interests)

• G — naval aspirations

  • 1898-1900 — 2 Naval Laws (16—>46 battleships + 60 cruisers)

  • Admiral Tirpitz: Naval League — tours and lectures

• B — not happy

  • 1906 — HMS Dreadnought battleship

• G

  • Rheinland (G Dreadnought)

• B

  • Admiral Fisher — HMS Neptune (Super-Dreadnought)

• B 29 Dreadnought, G 17 Rheinlands

• both train sailors

features of Dreadnought

• revolutionary design:

  • faster

  • heavier armoured

  • fights at distance

  • 800 sailors

  • 22 knots

  • guns

  • fire from 32km

armies

• Russia

  • big, unequipped

  • defeated in Russo-Japanese war —> new organization, planning, recruitment, planning

• Austria-Hungary

  • secretly makes cannons in Skoda works

• Britain

  • Expeditionary Force — 144 000 soldiers (could immediately support France)

  • volunteers

Schlieffen Plan

• by Count Alfred von Schlieffen

• to avoid 2 fronts: Russian and French

• “Russia will take longer to mobilise” (poor infrastructure, 6 weeks)

• attack and defeat France

• through Belgium, NE France and onto Paris, then onto Russia

Plan 17

• by French army chief General Joffre

• reclaim Alsace-Lorraine

• cross Rhine into Germany, onto Berlin

Triple Alliance

1882

• Germany

  • new (1871)

  • had Alsace-Lorraine (industrial)

• Austria-Hungary

  • empire

  • multi-national (11) —> hard to keep together

  • many Serbs wanting to join Serbia (supported by Russia)

• Italy

  • new (1861)

  • industry and military weak

Triple Entente

1904 — Entente Cordiale

• France

  • doesn’t want to be attacked by G

  • needs Alsace-Lorraine back

• Britain

  • 19th century — not involved in Europe

  • navy —> overseas empire

  • threatened by G ambitions

1907 — Triple Entente

• Russia

  • largest

  • least developed

  • concerned about G expansion (AH attack Slavs)

imperialism

• GB

  • small island, but 1905 — 25% of world

  • need for trade links (cotton from India) —> navy

• F

  • 2nd largest (West Africa)

  • fights in Asia

  • lost Alsace, don’t want to lose more

• G

  • ambitious —> colonialism —> navy

imperialism inland

• R

  • wants to expand within Europe

  • East — into Manchuria (ice free ports)

  • West — into Balkans (Mediterranean + Atlantic)

• AU

  • wants to control 11 nationalities

  • fear of Serbs leaving

nationalism

• too strong —> aggressive

• build up in 1914 —> ready for war —> inspired youth

economies

• B

  • 19th — richest

• G (after unification)

  • industrialises quickly (used B machinery) —> more efficient

  • merchant ships competed with B

  • 1914 — more steel, iron, coal, cars than B —> strongest economically

• G+AH

  • markets in Balkans

• R

  • 1888 — build railway in Balkans —> threat to G+AH

First Moroccan Crisis: background

• 1905-1906

• pre 1905 — I and B accept F control in Morocco (minerals), for Egypt

First Moroccan Crisis: action

• Mar 31 — Kaiser in Tangier; dedicated support to Sultan and independence of Morocco

• Jan-April 1906 — Algeciras Conference

  • 12 European countries + USA

  • AH only one supporting G

  • —> F controls M, but others can trade

• Entente Cordiale strong, Kaiser embarrassed —> 2nd Moroccan

interests in Balkans

• AH — control Serbia + land along coastline

• R — extend power and influence + wanted Dardanelles (access to Mediterranean)

• G — oil fields in Iraq → want railway Berlin-Baghdad

Bosnian Crisis

• 1908-09

• 1908 — revolution in Turkey (shifted focus from borders) —> AH annexed provinces of Bosnia (many Serbs)

• S — unhappy, provinces should be Serbian —> formal protest to AH

• R — supports S

• G — stepped in to defend AH

• S + R eventually stepped down, as afraid of war by G (but R ⬆ army)

• AH kept Bosnia

Second Moroccan Crisis

• 1911-12

• Mar 1911 — rebels in Morocco challenging Sultan; surround Fez; Sultan asks F and S for help

• May 1911 — F and S sent soldiers (to protect their citizens)

• 1 Jul 1911 — G sent SMS Panther to Agadir (protect their citizens?) —> F sent more troops (B tried to stop them)

• financial crisis in G

• Nov 1911 — Treaty of Fez: F took Morocco, G - Congo

• naval agreement btn F and B

Balkan Wars: background

• revolution in Turkey → Bulgarian ruler crowned himself as king + declared independence of Bulgaria

• kings of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia —> Balkan League — to force Turkey out of Europe

Balkan War 1

• Oct 1912 - May 1913 (half a year)

• short and bloody

• Turkish army couldn’t compete with combined —> surrendered after 50 days

• peace conference in London — T gives up all land in Europe —> shared btn Balkan League

Balkan War 2

• June-Aug 1913 (summer)

• Bulgaria not happy with land shared

• month after conference entered Greece and Serbia

• G + S armies (+ Romanian, Turkish) enter B

• B overwhelmed —> ask for Armistice

• B lost some land gained in Balkan 1 to S

• T gained some land

Balkan Wars: aftermath

• S doubled in size + grew more aggressive

• Serbs in Bosnia want to join S

• AH worried about revolt, determined to control S

• Bulgaria wants revenge on S

nationalism in Balkans

• 22 May 1911 in Serbia, Belgrade — secret society ‘Unity of Death”

  • aim: unite all Serbs outside S (Ah or Ottoman Empire)

  • using terrorism

  • symbol — black hand —> ‘Black Hand’

  • 2500 members (mainly police officers

  • propaganda campaigns

  • guarded border btn S and Bosnia —> could plant bombs, cut telegraph wires, carry out assassinations

assassination: background

• Franz Ferdinand — heir to the throne of AH, head of army

• why was he in Sarajevo

  • AH upset by Black Hand

  • FF proposed a quick war (to put Serbs in place)

  • came with wife to watch army preparations

  • 28 June — national day of Serbs + anniversary of FF marriage

assassination: Black Hand

• well published trip

• not immediate success:

  • 1 assassin couldn’t get revolver out

  • 2 felt sorry for FF’s wife —> went home

  • 3 threw a bomb and missed

assassination: final

• FF upset —> cancelled the ton hall trip and visit

• on way back chauffeur took wrong turn, stopped car

• Gavrilo Princip shoot FF and wife

• AH outraged, thought Serbia supported Black Hand

July days (1914)

• 5 — G agrees to support AH, if R supports S

• 23 — AH sends demands to S (no proof of S involvement)

  • S agreed to all, but AH sending officials to S to remove Black Hand

• 28 — AH declared war on S, bombed Belgrade from Bosnia

• 29 — R supported S (wanted to protect access to Mediterranean), Tsar mobilises army

• 30-1 Aug — Kaiser sent ultimatum to Tsar Nicholas: stop mobilisation —> R refused —> G declare war on R; F mobilised

• 2 — G began Schlieffen Plan (head for Belgium border)

• 3 — G invade Belgium —> Treaty of London (1893, guarantee of protection of Belgium from B) —> telegram to Kaiser to call army back, need to reply till midnight 4

• 4 — G continued invasion, no reply —> B at war

• 5 — Triple Entente VS Triple Alliance

Schlieffen Plan: failure

all about speed

• G — slower than expected

  • west slowed by Belgians

  • east by R

  • BEF (B expeditionary force) helped slow G down (Battle of Mons)

• R — faster —> G fought 2 fronts

• G had to avoid Paris, met B and F troops at battle of Marne)

  • stopped G advance

  • set up defensive positions along river Aisne —> stalemate

trenches: why

• tanks and plane undeveloped

• Schlieffen failed —> G dig

• are difficult to attack

• mud

• old tactics

trenches: features

• F/B shallower than G

• front line trenches (fighting here)

• behind, communication, reserve, support trenches (kitchens, lavatories, hospitals, battalion headquarters)

• top protected by sandbags

• barbed wire

• dug outs = sleeping place

• Z pattern (can’t fire straight down trenches if captured)

trenches: life

• for B: front line (4 days), support (4 days), reserve (8 days), rest (14 days)

• during battle all fight

• mud —> ‘trench foot’ —> gangrenous feet —> amputated (1914-15, 20 000 B men)

• food: bully beef, biscuits, margarine, jam (cheese, bacon); tea + condensed milk

• body lice, rats, flies (horse manure)

• boredom

trenches: how died

• sniper, ‘over the top’, raids,

• could be sent to hospitals, or first aid then fight

• infections, as no antibiotics (til 1930s)

• shell shock (psychological condition)

• desertion —> caught killed by firing squad (346 B)

aircraft

• new, eyes, successful (scores)

• limited, low t, unreliable engines, no parachutes, brief training (3 weeks alive)

machine guns

• standart, lighter, reliable, variety, shoot far

• useful when “over the top”, no side had advantage

larger artillery

• B: shells exploding parallel to ground, accurate

• heavy, didn’t always break barbed wire, mud

gas

• fear, deterrent, effective, chlorine/mustard, suffocation, blindness

• unreliable (wet—>knee height), wind (gas yourself),gas alarms, masks

tanks

• moves across difficult ground, smashed through trenches

• og not success (G refused to use them, but took B)

Somme: when, where, why

• July-Nov 1916

• River Somme

• Allies wanted to break through G lines + draw G troops away from Verdun

Somme: casualties

• A: 620 000

• G: 450 000

Somme: features

• General Joffe (F) + General Haig (B)

• both sides planned to attack same area (A - Somme river summer, G - Verdun Feb)

• many F killed, can’t help in offensive

• 24 Jun — Somme offensive

• G saw guns, artillery, roads. railways —> prepped —> retreat to build trenches

• 1.7 mil shells at empty trenches

• 1 July — stopped firing —> B over no-mans (200 000 men), G to front-line trenches —> many B killed (57 470 VS 8000 G)

• Haig wouldn’t change plan —> attack after attack —> tanks (29/50 broke down before reaching battlefield), stuck in the mud

• 15 km advancement along WF

Passchendaele: when, where, why

• 22 Jul-Nov 1917

• Passchendaele (village)

• Haig wanted to break through G lines (at Flanders) aim for coast + capture naval bases

• B politicians worried about Haig and casualties again, G were in well-constructed trenches, Haig won though

Passchendaele: casualties

• B: 240 000

• G: 220 000

Passchendaele: features

• General Haig from Allies

• Canadian-B initiative

• 4 mil shells —> mud

• B troops ordered to advance

• mud —> slow progress —> men + horses sank —> smell

• Nov — Allies captured Passchendaele

• 800 m of mud gained by B

General Haig

• B commander on WF for most of WW1

• “butcher of Somme”

• blamed for losses

• strategy of attrition — successful but at cost of lives

• victories: Verdun, Ludendorff