First world war
Modern Warfare and the concept of Total War
● Post 1789: general military conscription replacing private paid armies
○ Bigger and cheaper army
● Total war: complete mobilisation of means such as armed forces, money and industry
○ Mobilisation of entire society for war effort (every aspect of society is involved and
affected by the war)
Causes of WWI
● Concert of europe: meeting between big powers to decide how to form a new european rule after
Napoleonic era
○ Power struggle between Russia, Prussia, Austria-Hungary, GB, Italy, Netherlands
● 1815-1871: collaboration of european powers to maintain a certain balance of power within
europe but:
○ Crimean war 1854-56: weakened both russia and austria hungary
○ Unification of germany and italy made germany the largest power in europe
○ GB came out stronger after the two unifications as it was not connected to the continent,
and so isolated from problems there
● Imperialism made things more problematic for the concert of europe and division of power
○ Congress of berlin put different powers straight across each other
Bismarck’s system
● After congress of berlin 1878: bismarck created many alliances and treaties to consolidate german
power in europe, as well as isolate france
● Franco Prussian war 1870: france lost eastern territory to german
● 1879: zweibund alliance with austria hungary
○ 1881: dreikaiserbund with russia and austria hungary
○ Deibund with italy and austria hungary to support each other against other two great
powers
● Secret treaties against russia to prevent war on eastern and western fronts
● Power realism: every country had only a focus on its own safety and interests - distrust between
european powers
Great Britain
● Isolated and therefore not involved in conflicts in the continent
○ Empire in relative decline - more jingoism
● Created the navy league and two power standard
○ Navy always had to be twice as big and as strong as the two powers in second and third
○ Great britain tariff reform league: protest against unfair foreign imports and to advocate
imperial preference to protect british industry from foreign competition
● France as an adversary - after Fashoda incident 1898
, ○ Climax of imperial territorial disputes between britain and france in eastern africa, GB
won
● Russia as an adversary
○ But now more germany
● 1904: alliance with france (Entente cordiale)
○ Two would help each other if one was attacked
France
● Humiliated after loss of french german war
● Rise of chauvinism and revancism under french population and in government
● Domestic unrest due to Boulangism incident 1886-91 and Dreyfus-Affair 1894-1899
Austria Hungary
● Government and emperor with very conservative views
● Growing movement of pro separatism, wanting serbia to be independent of the rest of the empire
● Empire fixated on balkans and demise of ottoman empire
● Far behind economically and in political reform
○ Industrialisation not widespread or advanced
● Looked for support in germany and russia
Russia
● Far behind in modernisation (political and economic)
● Conservatives and pan-slavists dominating political landscape - wanted separation of slavish
states from russia
● Looked for support from france - triple entente 1907 GB france russia
Germany
● Focused on becoming a world power through imperialism and colonialism
○ Weltpolitik
● Flottenverein plan to expand and strengthen navy to the level of british navy
● Bund der Landwirte - pressure and interest group for agricultural sector
● Focused on dreibund
● Wanted to start the war with military leadership - Von Schlieffen plan
○ Attacking france through belgium from north to crush the enemy before there is a threat
and opportunity of mobilisation
Great war: summer 1914
● 28 June: murder of franz ferdinand in saravejo
○ Murdered by a member of the blackhand - separatist group of serbia
● 28 july: austria hungary declares war on serbia
● Russia mobilises troops to support serbia and help them against the attacks of the austrian
hungarian empire
, ● Germany responded to action of russia by declaring war on russia
● 3 august: germany declares war on france
● 4 august: britain declares war on germany (alliance to france)
1917 as a turning point:
● A lot of political consequences from attrition warfare
○ Military strategy consisting of belligerent attempts to win a war by wearing down the
enemy to the point of collapse through continuous loss in personnel and material (so war
is usually won by the side with more resources)
● 31 january: unlimited submarine warfare and america joins war to protect trade
● Throughout: 2 russian revolutions - bolsheviks win and retreat from WW1
● September onwards military dictatorship in germany - von Hindenburg
● French mutiny until arrival of le tigre in november
Treaty of Versaille and Wilson’s 14 points
14 points
● New diplomacy rules between countries - no more secret treaties
● Freedom of sea for trade
● Some autonomy in colonies
● Right to self determination in europe - right to vote
● NATO
Treaty of Versailles
● Completed in 3 months: germany seen as starter of war and had to pay massive reparations but
german power not destroyed
● Recognition of national self determination in europe
● Left europe weak due to rise of american government
Tragedy of Weimar & Great Depression
Historiography
● Stillborn thesis:
○ Structuralist and deterministic
○ Republic is doomed from the start
○ Clear cut with empire never made and conservative group remains too influential
(Hindenburg)
○ Republic without republicans
● Murder thesis:
○ Elitist
○ Deliberate plan of old imperial elite that never wanted a democratic state and therefore
waited for the right time to finish off
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