WWI and Russian Revolution
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WWI and Russian Revolution -World War I marked the height of European power on the planet, but also its decline -Results of the war -empires fell: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman -others declined in power and influence: France and Britain -new countries arise: Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland -triumph of communism in Russia -fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany -drain of European resources made U.S. world’s leading creditor and producer -led to WWII -Long-term causes of the war -Rival alliances -a large, powerful German Empire upset the balance of power -Austria was weakened by nationalism and disintegration -French power and prestige had been damaged by their loss in the Franco-Prussian War -French were afraid of their new neighbor, Germany -Germany wanted to isolate France to prevent France and any other European power (especially A-H or Russia) from aligning -Germany wanted to avoid a 2-front war -Bismarck’s first move was to establish the Three Emperors’ League in 1873 (Germany, Austria, Russia) -mutual defense pact -fell apart, though, b/c of… -Russo-Turkish War 1877 -Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovina were revolting against Turkish rule -Serbia and Montenegro came to the aid of their fellow Slavs, encouraged by the weakness of the Ottoman Empire -Russians hoped to exploit this by pursuing expansion into Ottoman territory, so they felt the need to free their fellow Slavs -Russians wanted control of Istanbul -Russia also felt they were the protectors of all Slavs -ended in the Treaty of San Stefano 1878 -Russian triumph -Slavic states in the Balkans were freed from Ottoman control -Austria was alarmed that the Slavic victory and the increase of Russian interest in the Balkans would threaten them -Britain was concerned about Russia dominating the Mediterranean and threatening their control of the Suez Canal -Britain and Austria forced Russia into meeting in Berlin 1878 under the direction of Bismarck (Treaty of Berlin) -Bismarck wanted to prevent war between Russia and Austria, which he feared Germany would be drawn in -Russia lost a chunk of Bulgaria, as well as their claim as protector of all Slavs and Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire -stated that the Ottoman government had to give legal protection to the Christian Armenians -A-H was given Bosnia and Herzegovina to “occupy and administer”, although they formally remained under Ottoman rule -Serbia resented this -Kingdom of Serbia allowed to stay independent -Britain received Cyprus -France was told they could occupy Tunisia -created tensions between Germany and Russia (killed the Three Emperor’s League) -1879 Dual Alliance (Germany and Austria) -they would come to each other’s aid if Russia attacked either of them -if another country attacked either of them, they promised to remain neutral -was for 5 years, but was renewed regularly until 1918 -isolated Russia -in 1881 Bismarck thought that this would frighten Russia, and he was right -1881 Three Emperor’s League renewed -promised to be neutral in case a 4 th power attacked any of them -included the right of Austria to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina whenever it wished -also closed off the Black Sea to all nations in case of war -calmed German fears of a Russia-France alliance -calmed Russian fears of Britain’s fleet sailing into the Black Sea, as well as calming a hostile combination of Germany and Austria -1881 Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy) -Italy was asked to join the Dual Alliance with Germany and Austria) -Germany asked Britain to join, too, but Britain maintained its “splendid isolation” -defensive agreement directed towards France -left France isolated and no threat -1887 Russian-German Reinsurance Treaty -in 1886, the Three Emperor’s League wasn’t renewed, but Bismarck still wanted Russia on its side -both states promised neutrality if the other was attacked -after Bismarck was dismissed by William II, his successor as Chancellor, General Leo von Caprivi refused the Russian request to renew the treaty in 1892 -Russian-French Alliance in 1894 -political isolation and the need for foreign capital drove the Russians toward France -the French encouraged their investors to pour capital into Russia b/c it would provide security against Germany -defensive alliance against Germany -1904 Entente Cordiale -Britain and France alliance -not a formal treaty, no military provisions, but it settled all colonial disputes between the two -Britain gave France a free hand in Morocco in return for French recognition of British control in Egypt -1907 France, Russia and Britain form Triple Entente -entente – friendly understanding -added Russia to the Entente Cordiale -informal, but powerful association -wanted to check German naval power and colonial strength -Triple Alliance (G, A-H, I) vs. Triple Entente (F, B, R) -Anglo-German rivalry -starting in 1890 Germany became a very serious rival to Britain in manufacturing and overseas trade -from 1890-1914 the German economy surpassed Britain’s -from 1871-1912 the transport capacity of German merchant shipping on the world’s ocean’s increased 10-fold -in 1900, Wilhem issued plans to double the size of its naval fleet in an effort to compete with Britain -Britain’s was seriously concerned about this -in Africa, Germans blocked British attempts to build a railroad from the Capetown to Cairo -Germans also supported the Boers (S. African farmers of European descent) in the Boer War in S. Africa (1899-1902) in their effort to resist British expansion -1898 Kaiser Wilhelm II initiates expansion of German navy to protect growing international trade and colonialism -architect of the German Navy was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who openly proclaimed that Germany’s naval policy was aimed at Britain -naval race between Britain and Germany begins -1902 Germany started to build Berlin to Baghdad railroad -Britain scared because they could secure the Suez Canal and sea routes to India, so they sought influence in Middle East as well -if the Ottomans were to get in the war on Germany’s side, the British were willing to arm and support an Arab revolt against the Ottoman rulers -Imperialism -First Moroccan Crisis… -1905 Germany’s William II made a speech in Morocco in favor of Moroccan independence -implied that Germany should have the right to participate in Morocco’s future -was a direct challenge to France, who had occupied Morocco since the Congress of Berlin in 1878 -led to a 1906 international conference in Spain to discuss it -Austria sided with Germany -Spain sided with Italy, Russia, and the US b/c of their claims in Morocco -France ended up winning out -German bullying drove France towards Britain -Second Moroccan Crisis… -1911 France sent an army to Morocco -Germany responded by sending a gunboat of theirs, the Panther , to the Moroccan port of Agadir to “protect German interests” -British took this as a threat -ended when France conceded parts of the Congo and Germany then recognized the French protectorate over Morocco -Nationalism -Slavic nationalism disrupted the unity to two empires: Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian -Pan-Slavism – nationalist movement to unite all south Slavic peoples (Serbs, Bosnians, Slovenes, Croats) to seek a single political entity in southern Europe known as Yugoslavia (land of the south Slavs) -Slavic separatist movement -turned to Russia for support as fellow Slavs, as well as independent Kingdom of Serbia -Serbia had won independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878 (Kingdom of Serbia) -Serbia felt it was their duty to free all Slavic peoples since they had their independence -similar to Piedmont uniting the Italians and Prussia uniting Germany -A-H included Croatia, Slovenia, and “occupied and administered” since 1878 Bosnia and Herzegovina -1908 Russia agreed to support Austro-Hungary annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina into their empire in return for Austria backing Russia putting warships in the Dardanelles (a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, which then connects to the Black Sea) -Austria declared the annexation before the Russians could act, though -the British and French refused to agree to the opening of the Dardanelles for Russian warships -Kingdom of Serbia was furious -Defense of the People forms, a secret society of Bosnian Serbs, for the cause of creating a break with A-H -Unification or Death, a Bosnian Serb terrorist group also known as the Black Hand, forms out of the Defense of the People -group of 35 Bosnian Serb men -call for terrorism for a Greater Serbia -“we were extremists” -1912-13 Balkan Wars -Serbia defeated the Turks -gains territory of Kosovo and Macedonia, which both contained large non-Serbian majorities, as well as Albania -Serbia changed from an ethnically homogeneous state into one where Serbs made up less than 2/3 of the population -expansion proved to be an obstacle to its development -but Serbs still wanted to expand westward and northward, but Austria-Hungary, which included Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia stood in the way -Ilija Garasanin in the late 1800s said that Serbia’s plan “to absorb all the Serbian peoples around her” meant a conflict with Austria: “Austria must always be the eternal enemy of a Serbian state” -Austria stepped in and forced Serbia to give up in 1913 -aroused Slavic nationalism -Pan-Turkism – nationalist movement to make Turkey for the Turks alone (no Arabs or Armenians or Greeks or Christians or Kurds) -military generals rule since 1908, known as the Committee of Union and Progress, nicknamed the Young Turks -in Ottoman Empire, attacks on all non-Muslims increase, especially Greeks and Armenians -Ottomans hated Russians b/c they were Christians and kept trying to fight them, so they teamed up with Germany -1915-1923 Amenian Genocide -1915 genocide where 1.6 million of Armenians were massacred by Ottoman Turks -mostly Christians living in a Muslim empire -first modern genocide -not recognized by U.S.