World War 1 and 2 Historical Figures

Kaiser Wilhelm 2

German emperor who oversaw the breakdown of Bismark’s alliance system, authorized the blank cheque to Austria-Hungary, and called the War Council of 1912

Otto von Bismark

The chancellor who sought to maintain the European status quo through a complex network of allinances before being dismissed by Wilhelm 2

Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg

The German Chancellor during the July Crisis who practiced brinksmanship but ultimately attempted last-minute mediation to restrain Austria once British intervention seemed certain

Prince Lichnowsky

The German ambassador to London who warned Berlin that Britain would not remain neutral and later argued that German peace efforts arrived too late.

Gottlieb von Jagow

A German leader who argued that Russia’s military growth necessitated a preventive war in the near future while Germany still had a chance of victory.

General Alfred von Schlieffen

The architect of the Schlieffen Plan, which designed the German strategy for a two-front war.

General Helmuth von Moltke

Schlieffen’s successor who modified the plan and famously declared at the 1912 War Council that war was unavoidable and the sooner the better.

Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz

The Architect of the German naval expansion who argued for postponing war in 1912 until naval infrastructure like the Kiel Canal was completed.

General Joffre and MArshall Foch

French military leaders who championed the cult of the offensive, Foch famously remarked on the Treaty of Versailles being a twenty-year armistice.

Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf

The Austrian general who welcomed the assassination of the Archduke as an excuse for war with Serbia.

Erich von Manstein

Mentioned in the context of the development and adoption of Blitzkrieg during World War II.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne whose assassination in Sarajevo served as the trigger for the July Crisis.

Sir Edward Grey

The British Foreign Secretary who attempted to mediate the July Crisis through the "Halt in Belgrade" proposal.

Foreign Minister Sazanov

The Russian diplomat who feared that allowing Serbia to be defeated would lead to a "death-warrant" for Russian interests in the Balkans.

Annika Mombauer

A historian who analyzes the long-term and short-term causes of the war.

Stephen Van Evera

A political scientist who categorizes different types of Realism and explores how the "cult of the offensive" contributed to the war.

Immanuel Geiss

A historian who argues that the 1912 War Council proves German leaders had a premeditated plan for a general European war.

Holger Herwig

Mentioned in relation to the historical interpretation of how "Clio was deceived" regarding World War I and II.

General Von Brauchitsch

German general disturbed by the nature of the Blitzkrieg proposal

General Halder

German general badly shaken by the proposal of Blitzkrieg

Erich von Manstein

German Chief of Staff of Army Group A

Advocated for the Blitzkrieg plan and for shifting the main weight of the German attack to the Ardennes, which the allies thought was impossible to pass because of mountains and forests

Habsburgs

Autocratic empire in Austria-Hungary that fell as a result of WW1 leaving a power vacuum

Hohenzollerns

Autocratic empire in Germany that fell as a result of WW1 leaving a power vacuum

Romanovs

Autocratic empire in Russia that fell as a result of WW1 leaving a power vacuum

Historian Fritz Fischer

Argued that the strategic goals of the Kaiser’s Germany - such as predominance over eastern europe, the union with austria, and the colonization of territory by german populations - were essentially the same objectives that hitler later pursued with greater radicalism