IB History WW1 Exam Study Guide

Militarism

Militarism

A political, diplomatic and social emphasis on

military matters.

Characteristics:

• Increased military spending

• Development of military technology

• A general support for the goals and plans of a nation’s military

• Influence of military leaders on political decisions

• Late 19th c. – early 20th c. trend: growing, massive armies

Deterrence: actions or policies designed to discourage an attack by making the consequences of an attack prohibitive

As armies grew, this did not work. Instead, rivalries were worsened.

Conscription: “the draft”. This was a feature of all European powers except Great Britain (until 1916).

Industrialization

Industrial production not uniform. Disparities would cause competitive tension between European powers.

Neo-mercantilism: European powers placed an emphasis on decreasing imports and moving toward self-sufficiency.

• Required colonies to supply raw materials and provide markets for finished goods (neo-imperialism)

• Trade increases

• The connection between economic and military rivalry

Technologies

Industrialization 🡪 development of modern artillery and naval technology

Anglo-German naval race:

• An arms race between Great Britain and Germany

Second Naval Law of 1900 –

• Germany expressed a desire for a navy to rival Britain’s

HMS Dreadnought launched in 1906 – marked the start of a new era of naval tech. Made every other battleship obsolete.

Alliances

In 1914, Europe was split into two rival alliances (connected by other treaties and agreements).

Unification of Germany 1871

• Otto von Bismarck – 1st chancellor of the German Empire

• To preserve the new unified Germany, Bismarck created an intricate set of alliances as part of a policy of deterrence.

Alliances

Franco-Russian Alliance 1894

• After Germany failed to renew

• Reassurance Treaty with Russia

• France + Russia

Entente Cordiale 1904

France and Britain (friendly agreement)

Triple Entente 1907

France, Britain, and Russia

Scramble for Africa(imperialism)

1870s race between European powers to claim their own colonies in Africa

Berlin Conference

1885

• hosted by Otto Von Bismarck

• European powers decided on rules for claiming and exploiting the continent of Africa

Weltpolitik

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany demanded Germany have her “place in the sun”.

Weltpolitik - (world policy) foreign policy with the aim of asserting German influence around the world

First Moroccan Crisis, 1905 Aim: block French control of Morocco and restrict French power

Wilhelm II made a statement of support for Moroccan independence

Algeciras Conference – upheld French claims

Second Moroccan Crisis, 1911 A German gunboat arrived in Agadir - France and Britain saw this as a challenge; began preparing for war

The incident left Germany isolated

The Balkans(nationalism)

The Balkans were populated by a number of ethnic groups broadly referred to as Slavs.

Pan-Slavism: the belief that Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe should have their nation.

It had been part of the Ottoman Empire, but the region had broken away and established independent states.

States were unstable because not all members of the same national group were included in the new states.

Austria-Hungary and Russia had competing interests in the region

The Bosnian Crisis (1908)

Background: Austria-Hungary and Russia had an agreement that Austria would annex the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina (populated by Serbs). In return, Austria would allow Russia access to warm-water ports.

Crisis: Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, without holding up their end of the bargain.

Russia backed Serbian protests against annexation.

Germany backed Austria, encouraging Austria and humiliating Russia.

The Balkan Wars

First Balkan War (1912): The Balkan League tried to drive the Turks out of Europe. This was successful, especially for Serbia, the most powerful of the Balkan states.

Second Balkan War (1913): Unhappy with the settlement at the end of the first war, Bulgaria turned on the other Balkan states. Resulted in Serbian victory, but Austria forced Serbia to give up some of its territorial claims to create Albania.

Significance:

• Austria saw Serbia as a threat & sought support from Germany

• Russia had to stay on Serbia’s good side to maintain influence in the Balkans

• Serbian nationalism grew

The Central Powers

• Germany

• Austria-Hungary

• Ottoman Empire

• Bulgaria

The Allies

• France

• Russia

• Great Britain

• Italy

• Japan

• US

The Great War Begins…

Following the declarations of war in July and August 1914, governments made their opening moves: Austria-Hungary opened fire on Serbia, Russia mobilized its troops, Britain prepared the British Expeditionary Force (the BEF), and Germany put its Schlieffen Plan into action.

Failure of French War Plans

French Plan XVII – rapidly concentrate troops on border w/ Germany, quickly take over Alsace-Lorraine

• Based on assumption that offensive would result in quick victory

élan vital – belief that the “will to win” was more powerful than weaponry

“Why? I don’t know. Because of my men, because I had a will. And then – God was there.”- French general Ferdinand Foch, when asked why he chose an offensive strategy at the Battle of the Marne

First Battle of the Marne

First Battle of the Marne: September 6 – 12, 1914; Allied victory

Marks the failure of the Schlieffen Plan; ensured war would not be short

Followed by:

• The “Race to the Sea” – each side tried to outflank the other, resulting in the building of a continuous series of trenches stretching from the Alps to the Channel coast

• Entrenchment – systems of trenches were dug by troops to protect against enemy fire. Trench warfare would characterize war on the Western Front.

• Failure to break through

• Stalemate by the end of 1914