Causes of World War One

The Alliance System

Focus Point 1: Did the alliance system make war more likely or less likely?
An alliance is a friendship or union by treaty for a common purpose. The system of alliances
was initiated by Otto von Bismarck who was the Chancellor of Germany from 1871 to 1890
following the defeat of France by Germany in the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war. Bismarck was
determined to:
- prevent any attempts by the French to regain the mineral rich provinces of Alsace-Lorraine -
to isolate France so that she cold not get allies in Europe who would be prepared to assist her
in a war of revenge

The Dual Alliance1879

Germany and Austria-Hungary

Terms of this treaty

The two countries promised mutual aid if one of them was attacked by Russia or any power
assisted by Russia.
They promised each other aid if either of them were attacked by two or more powers.
They promised each other neutrality in the case of an attack by any other country, for
example, France.

The Triple Alliance [1882]

It was signed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. It was an enlargement of the 1879 Dual
Alliance to include Italy. Italy joined because she resented French expansion in North Africa.
Bismarck secretly encouraged French ambitions in North Africa, mainly to divert her from
scheming to recover Alsace –Lorraine and to bring France into collision with Italy, who had
ambitions and some 20 000 settlers in Tunis area. In 1881 the French reluctant to see an Italian
colony established on the borders of French Algeria, took Bismarck’s hint and occupied Tunis.
This threw Italy into the arms of Germany and the following year [1882] Italy joined the two
powers of the 1879 Dual Alliance to form the Triple Alliance.

Terms of this Treaty

Germany and Austria-Hungary agreed to help Italy if she were attacked by France.
-Italy agreed to help Germany if she were attacked by France.
-Each of these powers agreed to help if either of the powers were attacked by any two or more
powers.
-In case of any war that involved Britain, Italy was to remain neutral
The Franco-Russian Agreement/ Dual Alliance 1894

It was signed by Russia and France. France was without an ally but by 1890 she felt she needed
one, partly because of her weakness in relation to Germany and partly because she was
increasingly coming into conflict with Great Britain and Italy over colonial matters. Russia had

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a tradition of alliance with Germany but she had come to realise that whenever Austrian and
Russian interests clashed in the Balkans, Germany was likely to support Austria. Russia signed
the Dual Alliance with France because since 1888 Russia was being given French loans, which
greatly helped her to finance her industrial progress.

Terms of this Treaty

-If France was attacked by Germany alone or by Germany and Italy, Russia would help her.
-If Russia was attacked by Germany alone or by Germany and Austria-Hungary, France would
help her.
-The alliance was to continue as long as the triple alliance was in force[a clear indication that
they were geared towards a war].
-If the members of the triple alliance mobilised, France and Russia were to mobilise
immediately.

The Anglo- Japanese Alliance 1902

It was signed by Britain and Japan. Britain approached Japan in 1902 because she wanted an
ally who could check Russian and German expansionist ambitions in the Far East especially
China. The alliance was meant to guard against the movement of Russia in the Far East, that
is, in Manchuria and Korea. Japan also wanted an ally who could help her plan for a war against
Russia[Russo-Japanese war 1904].This alliance was the first step which Britain took to end her
isolation.
Terms
-Britain was to support Japan in the Far East if Japan was in a war with two other powers.
-If either of them was to wage war against two powers, her ally was bound to join her.
-Britain recognised Japan’s interests in Korea.

Why Britain abandoned the policy of splendid isolation/Why Britain looked for allies
-All the major powers had aligned themselves, for example, the dual alliance of 1879,the
Franco-Russian alliance of 1893-4 and the Triple alliance and so on.
-Britain had the desire to control Russian expansion in the Balkans.
-Arms race with Germany and other powers.
-Division of Europe into two hostile camps hinted the vulnerability of Britain.
-The Fashoda incident of 1898
-The congratulatory message of Kaiser William to Paul Kruger in 1896 after the Jameson raid
failure.
-The Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902. In this war the Kaiser gave the Boers food supplies.
-The Kaiser’s proclaimed Weltipolitik threatened British supremacy
-Britain’s naval superiority was being challenged by USA, Japan and Germany
-Germany looked for colonies next to British ones

The Entente Cordiale/Anglo-French-Entente/ Anglo-French agreement [1904]

An entente is an agreement to settle areas of dispute. This agreement was mainly concerned
with colonial matters. It was not directed against specific enemies. It was not a military alliance.
It was aimed at fostering co-operation between Britain and France, especially in settling

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disputes concerning overseas territories. The two were drawn together by the common fear of
Germany’s intentions. To Kaiser William and the rest of the world, it showed that Britain
preferred France to Germany. This alliance made France to work hard to draw her two friends
[Russia and Britain] together.
Terms
-Britain promised France a free hand in Morocco whilst Britain’s occupation of Egypt was not
to be opposed.
-Thus they recognised each other’s interests in Africa.
-The two agreed to work together in the event of a conflict.

Anglo-Russian Agreement [1907]

It was signed by Britain and Russia. It was signed in St Petersburg in Russia. It was also known
as the Anglo-Russian agreement. The fear of a Franco-Russian drive against India forced
Britain to oppose the extension of Russian influence. At the end of the nineteenth century
Russia’s position was growing progressively stronger than Britain. Russia conquered most of
Central Asia and extended her influence to Manchuria and Korea, posing a threat to British
interests in China. It was not a military alliance and not necessarily anti German. The agreement
led to the formation of the triple entente.

Terms of this Treaty

-Britain and Russia settled their colonial disputes in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet and
differences over India.
-Tibet which was of interest to both was declared to be neutral.
-The treaty recognised Britain’s influence over Afghanistan
-Russia gained control over Northern Persia.
-Britain gained control of South East and the Persian Gulf.
The Triple Entente [1907
It was signed by Britain, France and Russia. France brought her two friends together. Britain
and Russia ironed out their differences .The support given by Russia to France and Britain at
Algeciras Conference in 1906 drew them together. This alliance was described as the anti-
German club of Britain, Russia and France. This alliance was meant to counter the triple
alliance
Terms of this Treaty
-They agreed to divide Persia [Iran] into three spheres of influence.
-The Northern sphere including Tehran was to be under Russian influence.
-The Southern sphere was to be under British influence.
-Tibet which was of interest to both was declared to be neutral.
-China’s sovereignty was to be recognised.
-A complete balance of power was struck

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Contribution of the Alliance System to the outbreak of WW1
-It called for the inconvenience of many countries because of the feeling of insecurity.
-Bismarck’s alliances helped to increase the fears of other nations especially France, which
began a frantic search for allies to counter the Triple Alliance.
-It led to the division of Europe into two armed and equally opposing camps, that is, Triple
Alliance and Triple Entente.
-The two camps increased strength year after year.
-The relations between the two camps worsened.
-The alliances operated to convert a local quarrel into a general war.
-These two camps were the ones that fought the war of 1914.
-The armies ready for war on the continent were the largest ever formed in Europe in time of
peace.

Naval Rivalry

Since the beginning of the 19th century Britain had maintained the biggest and strongest navy
and ruled the seas without challenge. Because of the desire to make the German empire a
viable world power, the Kaiser William II expanded his navy in 1898 and referred to himself
as “the Admiral of the Atlantic.” This was a direct challenge to the British. The British had
established the principle that in order to maintain naval superiority in the event of a war, she
would have a navy two and a half times as large as the second largest navy in Europe. As
Germany began to build not only more ships, but bigger ships in 1906, Britain became alarmed
and felt threatened. Britain replied by launching the Dreadnought, a new design and the
heaviest ever.
The Dreadnought made all previous battle ships obsolete. The Dreadnought was bigger, faster
and had greater firing range( over ten miles). Germany followed suit and Britain determined
to remain ahead, she build twice as many as Germany built. A potential enemy like Germany
was therefore, brought to terror and trailed behind. The Dreadnought was a reminder to
Germany of Britain’s industrial might and superiority hence Germany’s bitterness. The
Dreadnought was built in one year yet battle ships took several years to build. By 1914, Britain
had 29 Dreadnoughts and Germany 17. Popular enthusiasm and media coverage of fleet
reviews and ship launches in both countries caused the naval race to increase tension between
Britain and Germany. This created an atmosphere of hostility and mutual distrust. At the end,
Germany conceded defeat and backed down.

Militarism/ arms race

The policy of glorifying military power and keeping large standing armies that are prepared for
war. Armies grew larger allegedly for the purpose of security. By the 1880s, all the Great
Powers were preparing for a large-scale war, although none expected one.
Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and other smaller countries introduced
compulsory military service. All young men were conscripted to serve in the army from one to
three years.

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 Each country drew a plan to mobilise the reserves quickly and sent them to key points by rail.
Complex military plans were updated and expanded every year. The various war plans had
been perfected by 1914 and assumed that victory would be achieved after a short period.
Each country built a large stock of arms and supplies that ran into millions. In 1874, Germany
had a regular army of 420,000 soldiers and 1.3 million reserve soldiers. This was increased to
545,000 regular soldiers and 3.4 million reserve soldiers by 1897.
The defence budgets of countries like Italy, Russia and Germany are estimated to have trebled
in the 25 years before the outbreak of war in 1914.
The arms race as a cause of the First World War
-It increased the chances of war because many countries began to view the use of force instead
of diplomacy as a solution to their problems.
-The military became more influential in making decisions between states. For example,
German military strategists argued that war should come in 1914 when the German army was
at its strongest and France and Russia was still weak. Germans came to see war as a means to
survival from threat by the Russian army and the British navy.
-The race contributed to the sense that war was bound to come and soon.

War plans
Germany had the Schlieffen plan based on the belief that if war broke out, they would have to
fight both France and Russia at the same time.
Russia’s plan was to attack only Austria and to carry out a defensive war against Germany
France had plan 17 which was to make Germany fight a war on two fronts from the beginning
Austria-Hungary relied on the success of the Schlieffen plan. She hoped the plan would
quickly defeat France and she was confident of German support.

COLONIAL RIVALRY
Focus Point 2: How far did colonial problems create tensions between the great powers?
First Moroccan Crisis/Tangier Crisis 1905-6

It was sparked by Germany which wanted to test the recently signed entente cordiale between
Britain and France. On this agreement French claims on Morocco were recognised by Britain
while France accepted British control over Egypt. Morocco had been regarded by Europe as
officially independent and under joint supervision by all powers since 1900. In 1905 On 31
March 1905, France proposed to proclaim Morocco as her protectorate. Germany had
economic and trading interests in Morocco and therefore could not accept the take over of
Morocco by France. The Kaiser William II of Germany landed at the port of Tangier in
Morocco. He announced that he would assist the Moroccan Sultan to maintain the country’s
independence. He demanded that the status of Morocco be settled by an international
conference to be held at Algeciras in Spain.
The Algeciras conference
When the conference was eventually held in 1906, Spain, Italy, Russia, Britain and the USA
supported French rights over Morocco. The following resolutions were reached.

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The policing of Morocco was given to France and Spain but the Bank of Morocco was to be
controlled by France, Spain, Britain and Germany
(i) Germany got trade rights in Morocco
(ii) France was allowed peaceful penetration of Morocco
(iii) The independence of the Sultan of Morocco was recognised
Results
Germany was humiliated and left the conference dissatisfied and convinced that international
conferences were useless as means of solving disputes. All the other countries supported
French rights in Morocco and France had made some inroads which were unchecked.
- Britain and Russia resolved their differences over Persia and signed the Anglo-Russian
Agreement of 1907 followed by the Triple Entente.

The Second Moroccan Crisis/ Agadir Crisis 1911

In 1908, the French secured the election of a new Sultan of, Morocco because the previous one
was against the French policy in Morocco. -In 1911, a rising occurred against this new Sultan
and in order to suppress it the French forces occupied the Moroccan capital, Fez. -The French
claimed that the French citizens were in danger. -The Kaiser sensing danger of total control of
Morocco by France sent a German gunboat called the Panther, to the west coast port of
Morocco at Agadir claiming to protect Germans who lived there but there were none. -The real
reasons were:
a) to frighten France into giving her some colonial territory in compensation for the likely
occupation of the whole of Morocco by France.
b) Germany also wanted to test the strength of the Anglo-French Entente of 1904.

The Germany action excited British opinion as Agadir was close to Gibraltar, a British territory
in the Mediterranean. -The British and French suspected that the Kaiser wanted to establish a
naval base at Agadir which would threaten Britain’s trade routes.
-They also suspected that Germany wanted to destroy the Anglo-French Entente or the Triple
Entente. -This resulted in the British standing firmly behind France and it was indicated that
Britain would not accept German bullying.
-The British fleet was prepared for action. -For some weeks tension was high and there was the
danger of an armed collision. -The three countries [Britain, France and Germany] made
preparation for war.
-Tension was only eased when France decided to give part of French Congo [100 000 square
miles] to Germany.
-However Germany had demanded the whole of French Congo. In return Germany recognised
the French occupation of Morocco and withdrew the Panther.
-The crisis ended without a war.
Contribution of the Second Moroccan Crisis to the outbreak of World War One
-It made Germany to speed up her war preparations.
-Although war was averted it was only a matter of postponement.
-French hopes of a better relationship with Germany were wrecked.
-It led to further division of Europe into two hostile camps.

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 -The relationship between Britain and France was further strengthened. Britain and France
signed a naval agreement in 1912.
-The British and French realised that they had to take a firm stand against the Kaiser’s bullying
tactics.
-It increased opposition against Germany in Europe.

NATIONALISM
It is the wish of people with a common origin to be united or to form an independent country.
nNationalism inspired subject nations to fight for their self rule and to desire to be united
especially for those of the same blood and language who were scattered under foreign rule.
Nationalism led to many crises in the Balkans such as the Bosnian Crisis in 1908, the two
Balkan Wars and the Sarajevo Assassination which sparked WW1.

Focus Point 3: Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the great powers to
solve?

The name ‘Balkans’ referred to a large peninsular sand witched between 4 seas, The Black
Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea and the Agean Sea. It took its name from the Balkan
Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Bosnia
Herzegovina, and Serbia.
-Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian empire and the Balkans were restless. Those in Austria-
Hungary wanted a re-union in their own state and those in the Balkans wanted a national and
sovereign state.
-Turkey also controlled most of the Balkan states and the Europeans hated their Turkish
overlords because they were Muslims. The Turks also discriminated and persecuted their
Christian subjects. When there was unrest, the Sultan would massacre all enemies.
-The Balkan people were also divided and Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria were
never satisfied by the boundaries they were given by the international community. Their
guiding principle was ‘ The Balkans for the Balkan nations.’
-The Balkan states had conflicting ambitions. Serbia (one of the independent Balkan States)
wanted to create a single independent state of the Southern Slavs which would be called
Yugoslavia. In this state, she would include Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, since 1878, had
partly been ruled by Austria- Hungary.
- There was conflict of interest between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balkans. They
both bordered the countries and wanted to control the area to gain access to the Mediterranean
Sea.

Bosnian Crisis, 1908

 In October 1908, Austria-Hungary took advantage of the political instability in Turkey

when the Young Turks carried out a revolution and overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid.
 It annexed the Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina which it had administered
since 1878.

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  The annexation was meant to thwart the influence of Serbia in mobilising Slav
nationalism in the two provinces.
 Austria-Hungary also annexed the provinces to strengthen its position on the Adriatic
Sea.
 Germany opposed Austrian action since it was against its policy of friendship with
Turkey.
 However, Germany supported Austria-Hungary to show that it was annoyed by
Russia’s decision to join the Triple Entente in 1907.

How did the crisis contribute to the First World War?

 The crisis increased tension between Austria-Hungary and Serbia as it left the latter
hostile to the former. Serbia had always harboured the dream of uniting with Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
 Serbia turned to Russia for support against Austria-Hungary.
 About a million Slavs were lost to Austria-Hungary. Serbia encouraged Slav
nationalism and became more determined to unite the Slavs under its control.
 The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina humiliated Russia because its rival Austria-
Hungary had made definite gains in the Balkans. Russia was interested in gaining
control of the Black Sea and access to the Mediterranean. Russian interests in the
Balkans also included protecting Slav-speaking peoples including Serbia. Russia was
forced to accept its humiliation because it was still recovering from its defeat by Japan
in the Far East in 1904-5. Russia could not take action because it failed to get support
from its allies of Britain and France.
 Russian response was to encourage anti-Austrian feelings in Serbia and other Balkan
provinces. The Russian actions provoked Austrian fears of Slav nationalism in the
region.
 Russia had suffered a severe setback in the Balkans but was determined not to accept
future humiliation from Austria-Hungary so Russia embarked on a program of military
construction so that future confrontations would not find her wanting.

The First Balkan War (1912-1913)

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  The First Balkan War was fought between the Turkish Empire and members of the
Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro) over the question of
Macedonia where the Turks were persecuting the Christians.
 The Balkan League raised a combined army of 75,000 soldiers.
 The war began on 8 October 1912 when Montenegro declared war on Turkey. The other
members of the League joined the war against Turkey 10 days later.
 The members of the Balkan League soon won several victories against Turkey. For
example, Bulgaria defeated the main Turkish army in Thrace and advanced to
Constantinople (now Istanbul). Serbia won a great victory in Macedonia.
 The Turkish defeat was so complete that all parties agreed to conclude an armistice on
3 December 1912. A peace conference was opened in London. A peace treaty was
finally signed in London on 30 May 1913 (The Treaty of London)Turkey was forced
to surrender all of its European territories including all of Macedonia and Albania
except the area around Constantinople. Turkey also lost the island of Crete to Greece
while the members of the Balkan League were to divide Macedonia between them.
Albania was made an independent state as a result of the insistence of the Austrians
who were determined that Serbia should not gain an outlet to the Adriatic Sea.

Impact of the First Balkan War

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  The first Balkan War contributed to increased tension in Europe.
 The first Balkan War weakened the Turkish Empire which might otherwise have kept
Serbia under control. This tilted the balance of power in Europe in favour of Russia.
 Serbia was frustrated by its failure to get Albania because as a land-locked country it
wanted to have access to the Adriatic Sea.
 The Greeks were also unhappy because they got a small part of Macedonia.
 Bulgaria also complained that it did not get enough territory.
 Russia felt humiliated that its ally Serbia did not get Albania.
 Germany had firmly supported Austria-Hungary in the creation of an independent
Albania to stop Serbia from becoming too strong.

The Second Balkan War, 1913

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  The Second Balkan War began when Bulgaria quarrelled with Serbia, Romania and
Greece over the division of Macedonia. Bulgaria complained that it did not get enough
territory.
 The war began on the night of 29 June 1913 when King Ferdinand of Bulgaria ordered
his troops to attack Serbian and Greek forces in Macedonia.
 Soon after, Romania and Turkey joined the war against Bulgaria. Bulgaria was quickly
defeated and peace was signed on 10 August 1913.
 Under the terms of the treaty, Greece and Serbia divided most of Macedonia between
them and left Bulgaria with only a small part of the region.
 Germany and Austria-Hungary put pressure to deny Serbia access to the sea.
Impact of the Second Balkan War
 The Second Balkan War increased international tension in Europe.
 Bulgaria was frustrated in Macedonia and looked to Austria-Hungary for support.
 Serbia which was forced by Austria-Hungary to give up its conquests of Albania
regarded Austria-Hungary with greater hostility than ever before.
 However, Serbia emerged from the war with more territory. This increased Serbian
determination to bring more Slavs under its control including those in Bosnia and
Herzegovina who were under Austria-Hungary.
 Many in Austria-Hungary began to welcome war to prevent Serbia from supporting
Slav nationalism.
 The Second Balkan War made the Franco-Russian and the Austro-German alliances
stronger.
 The Germans began to accept the prospects of war. Germany was now determined to
back its friend Austria-Hungary to take a firm stand against Serbia. Germany assured
Austria-Hungary of unlimited support.
 On the other hand, France stopped restraining its ally Russia. It became committed to
supporting Russia in the event of an attack by Germany.
 The increased tensions in the Balkans reached their climax in the First World War which
was sparked by the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne in Sarajevo, Bosnia,
on 28 June 1914.

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The assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Focus Point 4: How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war?
 The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on 28 June 1914 at Sarajevo,
the capital city of Bosnia sparked off the First World War. Sarajevo was the centre of
Slav nationalism and anti-Austrian feelings.
 Ferdinand and his wife were shot and killed by a young Bosnian nationalist, Gavrillo
Princip while parading through the streets in an open car.
 Gavrilo Princip was a member of a secret society called the Black Hand which was
connected to the Serbian government.
 However, it was never established whether the Serbian government was involved in the
murder but Serbia was blamed for the murder by Austria-Hungary.
 The assassination triggered the July Crisis which turned a local European war into a
world war.
 Two days after the assassination, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Franz Josef concluded
that the policy of patience with Serbia was over.
 On 5 July 1914, Austria-Hungary sent an envoy to Berlin to ascertain German attitudes
before taking a firm line against Serbia. Kaiser William II was angry at the death of his
friend and assured Austria-Hungary of full support in dealing with Serbia. The
unconditional German support is often known as the blank cheque.
 On 20 July 1915, French President Raymond Poincare paid a three day state visit to
Russia and urged strong opposition to any Austrian action against Serbia.
 Meanwhile, Austria-Hungary was assured of German support and sent an ultimatum to
Serbia on 23 July 1914. It demanded Serbia to accept its demands within 48 hours.
 Austria-Hungary made the following demands on Serbia:
1. Serbia should suppress Slav nationalism
2. Serbia should dismiss officials accused of spreading anti-Austrian propaganda
3. Austrian officials should be allowed into Serbia to suppress Slav nationalism and carry
out investigations concerning the murder.
 On 24 July 1914 Serbia sought Russian support and Russia advised Serbia to reject the
ultimatum.
 The next day Russia began partial mobilisation of 1.1 million soldiers against Austria-
Hungary.
 On the same day, Serbia responded to the ultimatum from Austria-Hungary.

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  Serbia did not give full acceptance to the demands as it refused to allow Austrian
officials into its territory to carry out investigations. Serbia agreed to submit this to
international arbitration.
 Austria-Hungary rejected this and broke diplomatic relations with Serbia.
 Serbia began to mobilise its army.
 On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and began to bombard the
Serbian capital of Belgrade.
 On 29 July Russia ordered a general mobilisation of its army against Austria-Hungary
and Germany in support of Serbia. Germany warned Russia not to help the Serbs.
 On 1 August Germany declared war on Russia and also began moving it’s army towards
France and Belgium.
 On 2 August the French army was made ready to fight any German invasion
 On 3 August Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Britain ordered
Germany to withdraw from Belgium.
 On 4 August with Germans still in Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany
 On 6 August Austria declared war on Russia.

German Schlieffen Plan

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  The German Schlieffen Plan was an immediate cause of the First World War in that it
helped to spread the war to involve all the Great Powers.
 The Schlieffen Plan had been drawn in 1905 by the German General von Schlieffen.
 The German strategy was a quick knockout blow in the west to defeat France in six
weeks and then turn on Russia which they believed would be slow to mobilise its troops.
 Thus on 31 July 1914, Germany demanded that Russia stop its mobilisation within
twelve hours. Russia refused.
 On the same day, Britain asked both France and Germany to declare their support for
the neutrality of Belgium. France agreed but Germany did not respond.
 Germany also demanded France to remain neutral in case of war between Germany and
Russia. France refused to give the assurance.
 Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914 and on France on 3 August 1914.
 Germany demanded free passage of its troops through Belgium to attack France.
 Britain declared war on Germany after failure to receive assurance from the Germans
that they would respect Belgian neutrality.
 On 6 August 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.
 Japan declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914 in honour of the Anglo-Japanese
Alliance.
 Japan also declared war on Austria-Hungary on 25 August 1914. Thus the First World
War had begun.

Which country was to blame for the outbreak of the First World War?
Austria-Hungary
 Austria-Hungary was the first country that started the war by attacking Serbia on 28
July 1914.
 Austria-Hungary sent harsh demands on Serbia and did not accept the rejection of some
of its demands. Serbia had shown a conciliatory attitude by requesting submission to
international arbitration. All this showed that Austria-Hungary had come to the decision
to crush Serbia once and for all.
 The fact that Austria-Hungary demanded Serbia to accept all its demands in 48 hours
showed that it had taken an aggressive mood to the crisis. The time was too short to
allow other countries to mediate for peace.

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  Austria-Hungary could also have made a serious miscalculation in assuming that the
war with Serbia would be localised as the Balkan Wars had been in 1912-13.
 She pursued a careless foreign policy towards the Balkans.
 She failed to respect the sovereignty of the Balkan states by annexing Bosnia and
Herzegovina which angered Russia and Serbia breeding hatred and grudge.
 She wanted to destroy Serbia once and for all.
 She made unreasonable demands meant to punish Serbia for the death of Archduke
Francis Ferdinand.
 She supported the creation of an independent Albania at the treaty of London [1913]
which created enmity with Serbia.
 Austria-Hungary made an agreement with Russia to
 partition the Balkans which angered Serbia.
 She opposed the creation of a Russian backed Slav nation by Serbia because this would
attract the support of the Slavs inside AustriaHungary.
 She was involved in the system of alliances.
 She involved herself in the Balkans to make up for the losses in Italy and Germany
[which became unified in 1870 and 1871 respectively].

Germany
 Germany was the closest ally of Austria-Hungary and probably the strongest military
power in Europe.
 It was in a strong position to control Austria-Hungary.
 Moreover, Austria-Hungary was a weak state that could not have acted boldly without
strong German support.
 Kaiser William’s blank cheque gave Austria-Hungary the confidence to take military
action against Serbia.
 Germany was also to blame for the Schlieffen Plan. This military strategy forced the
Germans to send ultimatums to Russia, France and Belgium thereby turning a local
conflict into a European war that involved all the major powers.
 Germany was also involved in starting the alliance system, the Moroccan crises, the
arms and naval race all of which helped to increase tension in Europe.
Russia
 Russia contributed to the outbreak of the First World War because of its support for
Slav nationalism.

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  Russian support gave Serbia the hope that one day it would unite all Slavs under its
rule.
 Russia also advised Serbia not to accept Austria-Hungary’s demands in 1914.
 Russia was also to blame because it was the first Great Power to mobilise its forces
after war had broken out between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. This reduced the
chances of a peaceful settlement to the crisis.
 As a member of the Triple Entente, Russia was to blame because these alliances divided
Europe into two armed camps which were always suspicious of each other.
France
 France was to blame for the outbreak of the First World because of its involvement in
the alliance system.
 It created a military alliance with Russia in 1894 and the Triple Entente with Russia,
and Britain in 1907.
 When the crisis started the French president visited Russia and encouraged it to oppose
Austria-Hungary in Serbia. Russia took a bold stand in support of Serbia because it was
assured of French support.
 France also refused the German demand to remain neutral in a war between Germany
and Russia.
 France had harboured a sense of revenge against Germany since its defeat in the Franco-
Prussian War of 1870-71 and subsequent loss of the rich provinces of Alsace and
Lorraine.
Britain
 Britain was drawn into the war by the German invasion of Belgium. It was one of the
countries that had guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium in a European war.
 The violation of Belgian neutrality assured the British government that the British
public would support a war against Germany.
 British firm support to France during the Moroccan crises and its naval arrangements
with the country in 1912 showed its determination to fight against Germany.
 British entry into the war was meant to protect its economic interests and defend the
English Channel from possible German attack.
 British involvement in the naval race with Germany was a clear indication of the
country’s desire to maintain a leading position in Europe.

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