Origins of the First World

ORIGINS OF THE SECTION I FIRST WORLD WA R The war of 1914–18 was not known, until later, as included in the glossary of terms at the end of the the First World War. When it happened, it quickly resource guide. became known simply as the “Great War.” The world had seen nothing like it since the wars following the Impact of WWI—The Watershed French Revolution that ended in 1815 and had no Event of the Twentieth Century? reason to expect a war like it when it broke out on In this section of the resource guide, we will begin by August 1, 1914. Many historians consider World War considering a brief overview of the major impacts of I to be the watershed moment of the twentieth cen- the First World War. Following this, we will analyze tury. By the time the war came to a formal end at 11 the origins and the causes of the war. AM on November 11, 1918,1 it had not only devastated Europe, but had also transformed the way states Total Casualties operated. World War I was an event that ushered in monumental changes, destroyed tens of millions of It is difficult to comprehend the cost of World War I lives, brought about the end of the great continental from the vantage point of the United States, which European empires, ushered in new technologies, and suffered “only” 117,000 killed in the war (0.13 per- 2 transformed the global balance of power. cent of the population). For the U.S., World War II was a much greater, i.e., more devastating, war—the The Central Powers included the German Empire U.S. suffered more than three times as many people (also known as the Hohenzollern Empire, or sim- killed in World War II (418,000). But, for many coun- ply Germany), Austria-Hungary (also known as the tries in Europe, World War I was every bit as deadly Habsburg Empire, or simply Austria), and from as World War II. In all, approximately 9 million people October 28, 1914, the Ottoman Empire (also simply died as a direct result of World War I. (This does not called Turkey). Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in include as many as six million civilians who died as October 1915. The Entente (also referred to as the an indirect result of the war.) France and Germany Allies) included the Russian Empire (also known as both lost more than 3 percent of their entire popula- the Romanov Empire), the French Empire, the British tion in the war. If the United States had lost the same Empire, Serbia, Belgium, Japan, and Greece. Although percentage as France, it would have seen 4 million Italy had been in formal alliance with Germany and dead and 10 million injured.3 Some countries suf- Austria-Hungary prior to the war, the country ended fered even more: 5.6 percent of the entire Serbian up joining the Entente on May 23, 1915. Portugal, population and 3.8 percent of the Ottoman Empire’s Brazil, and Romania joined the Entente in 1916. You population died in the war. The bloodshed was par- should be aware that in this resource guide, we ticularly intense for some groups. For example, 26 will sometimes use the shorthand of “Germany” to percent of the 558,000 Scots who enlisted to fight in refer to the German Empire, “Turkey” to refer to the the war were killed.4 Ottoman Empire, etc. Also, throughout the resource guide you will notice that some terms have been The term “casualties” refers to the total of those boldfaced and others have been both boldfaced and killed, seriously injured, and prisoners of war. underlined. Boldface indicates a key term or phrase. Approximately 15 million people were seriously Terms that are underlined as well as boldfaced are injured, and roughly 7 million were taken as prison- 4 ACADEMIC DECATHLON ® SOCIAL SCIENCE RESOURCE GUIDE *REVISED PAGE 2013–2014 tension among the Great Powers as they jockeyed peace treaty forced France to recognize German for the most advantageous position to benefit from unification and to cede two regions of mixed French the Ottoman Empire’s weakness. It also proved to be and German population (Alsace and Lorraine) to an important reason why Turkey entered the war on Germany. The desire to recover these territories the side of the Central Powers on October 28, 1914.16 was a constant concern for France. By the late 1880s, it became apparent to France and Russia Many German-speaking princedoms and states unit- that Germany’s industrial and military strength was ed to form a single, powerful German state in 1871. outpacing that of either country. Neither France nor By that time, Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia stood a chance alone in a fight with Germany. and Portugal had built large overseas empires over Russia probably had more to fear than France, given the preceding centuries. When Britain and France the widely discussed designs that Germany had on became the primary competitors in a race for addi- conquering territories within the Russian Empire. tional colonies in the 1880s, Germany lacked the Moreover, in early 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary, naval power and existing overseas empire to join the and Italy signed the Triple Alliance, pledging mutual competition in a major way, but it did acquire several support in the event of an attack on any of the three colonies in Africa and in the Pacific during the 1880s. countries. In the three decades prior to 1914, Germany’s industrial economy and population both grew rapidly, Russia and France signed the Franco-Russian and Germany increasingly became the most power- Alliance in 1892, despite huge differences between ful economy in Europe. Vocal nationalist groups in them—Russia was an absolute monarchy and France Germany complained that it was unfair that such a was a democratic republic. The alliance obligated powerful country had such a relatively small over- each power to go to war if attacked by a member of seas empire. Powerful lobbies such as the German the Triple Alliance. Its aim was to create a balance Naval League and elected officials in the Reichstag of power sufficient to deter Germany from attacking (parliament) pushed the government to build a navy either France or Russia. A key provision of the alli- that could compete with Britain and enable Germany ance required both France and Russia to mobilize to become more of a global imperial power. The their armies and reserves as rapidly as possible and emperor and government’s focus on a naval buildup deploy them immediately in order to force Germany created sharp tensions with Great Britain, though to fight a two-front war. Germany’s efforts were not enough to really chal- These alliances created a rough balance of power in lenge British naval dominance. Realizing that the continental Europe. The one Great Power that could race for colonies was already over and that the path tip the balance was Great Britain. A long history of to empire overseas was unrealistic, German strate- tensions with France and Russia over imperial ques- gists and publicists who wanted Germany to become tions ranging from Egypt to the Russian Far East a greater empire concluded that the better path to and Central Asia kept Germany hopeful that Britain foreign conquest was by land.17 would either join the Triple Alliance or would at least The German right wrote about building a great land remain neutral during a war. But Britain resolved empire by conquering Slavic lands to the East. The many of its outstanding differences over colonial “Pan-German League” published many pamphlets issues with France and signed the Entente Cordiale and articles claiming that there were substantial of 1904. This was not a firm alliance, but it greatly numbers of Germans living in Poland, Ukraine, and improved relations with France. Only two years Russia and that the Slavic peoples of those regions later, military staff from France and Great Britain could be conquered and pushed further to the East began to meet to discuss potential strategies for to create living space for the growing German popu- cooperation in case of war. British suspicion of alli- lation. Such views were far from universally held in ance with autocratic Russia was tempered when Germany. Many of the mainstream parties opposed Russia’s 1905 Revolution brought about Russia’s first the idea of a war of conquest. But expansionist views elected national parliament (the Duma) and intro- were loudly supported in some of the popular press, duced many elements of the rule of law. In August and the basic idea that Germany’s path to imperial 1907, Britain and Russia signed an agreement settling conquest and world power status lay in the conquest the most hotly disputed issues of contention on the of Slavic lands in Europe strongly influenced German borders of their two empires in Afghanistan, Persia, and Tibet.19 strategic thinkers.18 While relations improved markedly between Britain THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM AND MILITARY STRATEGY and the Entente, British relations with Germany Germany’s potential expansion also influenced other deteriorated. Germany chose to continue building Great Powers in Europe. France tried to stop German up its navy and used it twice to challenge France in unification in 1870, but was soundly defeated by a Morocco, spurring the Moroccan Crises of 1905 and combined German force under Prussian leadership 1911. Britain read this increasing assertiveness and in a quick war that lasted only seven weeks. The naval build-up as evidence that Germany was becom- 16 ACADEMIC DECATHLON ® SOCIAL SCIENCE RESOURCE GUIDE *REVISED PAGE 2013–2014 Germany demanded better rations and a conclusion majority said they would not follow the Kaiser if he of the war in the East.

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