2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Part 3 Depth Study: History AQA A level Revision.

First and Second Balkan War.

The First Balkan War (1912-1913) and the Second Balkan War (1913), also called the Balkan Crisis, were a series of wars over the autonomy and nationality of different ethnic groups in the Balkans.

The First and Second Balkan Wars: causes; attempts by the Great Powers to impose peace on the region; the impact of the Balkan Wars on the Great Powers and Serbia.

The First Balkan War saw all Balkan ethnic groups on the peninsula, represented by the Balkan League, fight against the oppression of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled this area for five centuries. In 1912, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro fought and defeated the Ottoman forces, forcing them to agree to an armistice and cede territories that were once part of the Balkans.

In the Second Balkan War, the Bulgarians fought against the Greeks and Serbs around Macedonia, and the Ottoman Empire and Romania also stepped in against the Bulgarians. Bulgaria lost, but the Balkan wars contributed to Austria-Hungary and Germany deciding that, at some point, a war with the Serbs would be necessary to strengthen Austria-Hungary's position.

How did the Balkan wars affect the Ottoman Empire?

The Ottoman Empire officially disintegrated in 1922, but this was largely due to the First Balkan War, which weakened it. Then factions appeared in the Ottoman Empire, which weakened economically and politically and lost its power worldwide.

The outbreak of war in the Balkans and the July Crisis.

After Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia in 1908 and after the Bosnian Crisis began as one of the forms of resistance to the Austro-Hungarian government over Bosnia and Herzegovina, the revolutionary movement Young Bosnia was born. On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Serb from Bosnia and one of the members of Young Bosnia, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand.

The period between the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on June 28, 1914, and the outbreak of World War I on July 28, 1914, is called the July Crisis. The exchange of messages between European governments marked the July crisis. It was already known who would be on whose side and who was supporting whom; obviously, war was imminent.

The outbreak of war in the Balkans and the July Crisis: Austria-Hungary’s and Germany’s response to the assassination in Sarajevo.

Austria-Hungary and Germany formed the Triple Pact in 1882. The assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne caused the July crisis, and states began to take sides. Germany promised Austria full support in the war against Serbia. They knew that Russia would certainly support Serbia, and they were ready to go to war with Russia as well.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, and the First World War began.

The outbreak of war in the Balkans and the July Crisis: Russia's response to Austria-Hungary’s demands on Serbia.

During the July crisis, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia. It demanded that all anti-Austrian propaganda within Serbia be suppressed and that Austria-Hungary conduct its investigation into the Archduke's murder. Serbia accepted almost all of Austria's demands, but Austria was unsatisfied.

Russia was an ally and supporter of Serbia in the Balkans. She supported Serbia by starting the mobilisation of her army against Austria. Russia, which had allied with France and Britain since 1907 and was known as the Triple Alliance, decided to support Serbia. France and Britain knew that if Russia sided with the Allies, they would have to support it because they had allied.

The outbreak of war in the Balkans and the July Crisis: the bombardment of Belgrade.

After declaring war on Serbia, Austria-Hungary began bombing Belgrade on the night of July 28, 1914. This was the first military action in the First World War.

Most of the civilian population fled, but the Austro-Hungarians destroyed Belgrade.

General war in Europe: mobilisation of German and Russian forces.

Before the war started, during the July Crisis, Germany and Russia decided to mobilise their army. Unlike Germany, which was an industrially strong country, Russia was industrially less developed and economically weak. Its population resented Russia's participation in the First World War, so it rebelled in 1917 when the November Revolution began.

Nevertheless, Russia ordered its forces to prepare for war on July 30, and Germany demanded Russia's demobilisation because they viewed Russia's mobilisation as an aggressive act against Austria-Hungary. Germany ordered the mobilisation of its army on August 3 and declared war on Russia.

Schlieffen Plan.

The Schlieffen Plan was named after German Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen, who devised Germany's two-front war strategy in 1905. Because the Russian-French alliance already existed at the time, the German General Staff predicted that it would have to fight on two fronts: against Russia in the east and France in the west, which proved to be correct.

This plan was implemented at the very beginning of the First World War (1914-1918).

General war in Europe: the implementation of the Schlieffen Plan and the invasion of Belgium.

According to Schlieffen's Plan, deeming France an inferior opponent, the German army was expected to assault France with all its might through Belgium and crush France in a lightning war in 40 days. Then, Germany would launch a full-scale invasion of Russia.

Immediately after that, Germany mobilised its army and attacked and declared war on Russia, Luxembourg, and France. After Belgium refused the German request to cross its territory, Germany declared war on Belgium and launched an invasion of Belgium on August 4, 1914.

General war in Europe: Britain’s declaration of war.

Britain declared war on Germany due to Germany's disrespect for Belgium's neutrality. Britain's entry into the war turned this small conflict in the Balkans into a major global war lasting until 1918.

General war in Europe: The key decision makers and their motives.

These were the leaders: Austro-Hungarian King Franz Joseph I, German Emperor Wilhelm II, French Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré, English King George V, and Russian Tsar Nicholas II Romanov.

Their motives were to defeat their enemies and maintain their status as a superpower in the world.

From European to World War: the escalation of the conflict; Italy’s motives for wa.

The escalation of the conflict unfolded as you can conclude from the previous cards. Countries mobilised and defended each other, depending on which alliance they belonged to: the Triple Pact or the Triple Attack.

As for Italy, even though Italy allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century, it did not side with them during the First World War. Italy fought on the side of the Allies after the Treaty of London in 1915. Italy entered the war only in May 1915, before that it pursued a policy of neutrality. Many battles were fought in Italy during the First World War.

From European to World War: reasons for the entry of the USA.

The United States of America maintained a neutral posture until 1917. Before America formally joined the Allies, the German Navy sank several American ships destined for Britain. One of the most well-known and frequently quoted events is the sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915.

On April 2, 1917, after receiving a telegraph notifying him of a potential coalition between Germany and Mexico against America, President Woodrow Wilson requested that Congress declare war on Germany. Wilson cited another violation of Germany's vow to end submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean as a cause for entering the war. The United States formally entered the war on April 6, 1917.