increasing tension
by 1914, Britain had the biggest empire in history which provided it with its vast wealth and global power
Germany also wanted an empire, but with most of the world already claimed and many European nations vying for colonies in Africa and across, Germany would have to fight for one
The German Kaiser also wanted Germany to become a powerful force in world politics and able to influence and command other countries like France and Britain
To do this, Germany would need to develop a strong military
arms race
this is when two nations compete to develop the best military technology or largest armed forces
it is driven by dear that the other country will establish military superiority, and as a result become dominant
naval arms race
The kaiser wanted Germany to have an empire of its own, as he was closely related to the British royal family and admired their empire and powerful navy
Admiral Tirpitz said ‘ in my view, Germany will, in the coming century, rapidly drop from her position as a great power unless we begin to develop our maritime interests energetically, systematically and without delay’
For a long time, Britain spent a great deal of time and money building a strong navy to protect its trade routs and overseas empire
They did not want other carrying to rival its dominance at sea
in 1906, the royal navy launched HMS Dreadnought
It was a new style of battle ship that was faster and more armoured than previous warships
this worried the Germans and fuelled the arms race between Germany and Britain
Germany decided that it needed to build battleships similar to the Dreadnought at the same rate as Britain or, if possible, faster
From 1889, Britain followed a policy ensuring that its navy was at least as big as its two nearest rivals combined
this was known as the ‘two power standard’
As Germany built dreadnought-style ships to compete, Britain felt obliged to build as many, or more, ships to stay ahead
this created the naval arms race
Other governments got involved in the arms race
public opinion in both countries demanded that they outstrip the other in producing ships
Over one million Germans joined the German Fleet Association - an organisation that promoted the navy and tried persuade the government to increase naval spending
this caused British public to become anti-German and vice-versa, causing people to believe a war would ensue sooner or later
it was not just at sea that increasing militarism was evident
Major European powers has vast land armies
Between 1890 and 1913, military spending in Britain and France increased by 100% and in Germany by 150%
this made war more likely
the countries increased the army size as well
Britain - 430,000
France - 970,000
Russia - 1,500,000
Germany - 760,000
Austria-Hungary - 480,000
increased militarism was not just a matter of more soldiers as the early years of the 20th century saw a surge of popular nationalism across Europe
There were a strong right-wing groups in Britain, Germany and France that encouraged military spending
They saw any diplomatic climb-down as a blow to the pride of the nations
international crisis
all the events in Europe created a tense international climate in the years leading up to world war I
this tension worsened by a series of international crises that caused major war scares:
the morocco crisis in 1905
the Bosnian crisis in 1908
the morocco crisis of 1911
the Balkan wars 1912-13
furious diplomacy averted conflict between the great powers, but the crises led to increasing hostility and mistrust
morocco crisis of 1905
as part of its alliance with France, Britain recognised France’s colonial claim to morocco
France took advantage of this to extend its influence in the country
The Germans did not want the French to gain control over Morocco and were upset that they had not been consulted
Germany tried to stir up an anti-French independence movement in Morocco
The Kaiser visited the Moroccan port of Agadir and gave a speech denouncing French influence, and encouraging Moroccans to strive for independence
The aim was to humiliate France and put strain on the alliance between France and Britain
A conference was held to discuss the matter
Britain stood firm with France and rather than breaking apart their alliance, the crisis actually strengthened it
Germany was forced to accept France’s dominant influence in Morocco
Morocco crisis in 1911
in 1911, a number of Moroccans started a rebellion calling for independence
The sultan of morocco asked the French to step in and restore order
The Germans were unhappy that France was just being allowed to gain another colony
They sent a war ship called SMS Panther to Agadir
They claimed this was to protect German businesses in Morocco, but the real aim was to place pressure on the French
The Germans demanded that France give them some other African territory in exchange for their acceptance of French control of Morocco
Lengthy talks followed between the Germans and French
Meanwhile, the French and British made detailed plans for joint military action should the talks fail
During this time, it was reported that the German fleet had sailed and was somewhere in the North Sea
This led to a major war scare
The royal navy was put on alert and made fully battle-ready
The crisis was eventually resolved with the signing of the Treaty of Berlin
The Germans accepted French control of Morocco in exchange for some territory in the Middle Congo as compensation
trouble in the balkans
in the early 20th century, the balkans was a very unstable area of Europe
the area had traditionally been controlled by the Ottoman empire (Turkish)
By the start of the 20th century, the ottoman empire had weakened to such an extent that dissatisfied ethnic groups in the balkans
this included the Serbs, who were seeking independence
independence movements in the balkans were encouraged by the Russians
Many of the Slavic people in the balkans saw Russia as their natural ally against the Turks and the Austrians
in 1908, the Austro-Hungarian empire took control of an area of the balkans called Bosnia-Herzegovina which contained a lot of Serbian Slavs
This angered both the Serbs and the Russians
War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, supported by Russia, seemed imminent
the Bosnian crisis of 1908
with war seemingly close, it was only Germany’s support for Austria that stopped a European war
The Russians were not prepared to take on both Austria-Hungary and Germany at the same time
However, the results were insignificant
The crisis sparked greater nationalism in Serbia, and prompted Russia to start modernising its armed forces
the next time Russia became involved in the Balkans, it would not back down so easily
the balkan wars of 1912-13
the second balkan war followed almost immediately when Serbia demanded land from Bulgaria
The Serbs managed to win a lot of territory for themselves and became the dominant power in the Balkans
victory led to increasing Serbian nationalism
This was directed especially against Austria-Hungary which was seen as the main obstacle to the dream of a united Slavic nation
In addition, Austria-Hungary became extremely worried about the growing power of Serbia
They were determined to crush the Serbs at the next opportunity