World War I
By Andrew James McGowan
By Andrew James McGowan
19th century and early 20th century Europe were dominated by five major powers. These powers were:
1. Britain
2. France
3. Germany
4. Russia
5. and Austria-Hungary
August 1914
The five major powers of Europe began a conflict that was fought all over the world and ended the lives of over 10 million soldiers.
Britain
1. Powerful nation because of her colonies, most trade, largest navy and very wealthy.
2. King George V was on the throne (1914)
3. King George V had a German cousin who was a German ruler.
4. British Empire had some advantages such as: ¼ of the worlds land was included in the British Empire, more people to recruit for their armies and more trade
5. Britain had her own problems e.g. Workers going on strike and demonstrations.
Germany
1. Germany was less than 50 years old in 1914; Germany was united as one country in 1871.
2. Germany was ruled by King George V’s (Of England) cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II.
3. Kaiser Wilhelm was jealous of the “Mighty” British Empire, so he decided that Germany too must have overseas colonies.
4. Germany had overseas colonies ( Togo, South west Africa, East Africa, Kiaochow and Cameroon)
5. Germany’s colonies were very small compared to Britain’s.
6. 1 in 3 German civilians supported the Socialists.
Russia
1. Russia was described as “The weak giant” because Russia was a large country (Giant) but it was too cold to farm and the long coast line was frozen for ½ of the year (Weak)
2. Tsar Nicolas II ruled Russia in 1914.
3. Russia was a hard country to govern because people spoke different languages, most people lived in the Western part of the country and Tsar Nicolas II was a weak man.
4. Tsar was a bad ruler and very unpopular because he was weak and did not pay attention to his people.
5. Russian peasants had a hard life because they worked long hours and were paid low wages.
Austria-Hungary
1. Austria-Hungary was hard to govern because of each the populations culture and languages. (Patchwork empire)
2. Poles, Slovaks, Romanians, Czechs, Germans and Italians were all included in their population.
3. Franz Josef II Ruled Austria Hungary in 1914 (He was 84 years old)
4. They were not liked, Many languages, many customs, many groups of people and individuals wanting to be independent.
France
1. Raymond Poincare ruled France in 1914.
2. France was weaker than Britain and Germany because of their defeat by the Prussians, Farms grew less and her population was decreasing.
3. The French was losing national pride after 1870 because of their defeat form the Prussians.
4. The French bitterly hated the Germans after 1870 because they lost two of their colonies (Alsace and Lorraine)
5. The French empire was large but was not as big as the British or Russian Empire. The soil was fertile and the population hard working but their farms provided less than surrounding countries.
The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente
The Triple Alliance was a firm military alliance in which the three members (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) swore to help each other in an event of war.
Germany felt threatened and had a great fear of France because they (The Germans) had took two of France’s provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) and the Germans knew that the French seeked revenge and that they would have it.
This Alliance consisted of Britain, Russia and France. Although Britain only had friendship agreements with the other two countries (she had not promised to help in the event of event of war.) These friendship agreements ended long disputes. France and Russia had promised to help each other in the event of war.
Before The Triple Entente Britain had a foreign policy, this was “Splendid Isolation” this meant that Britain as a country was careful to avoid to being involved with European affairs. This was because she did not want to be dragged in to any argument or dispute over affairs that did not involve her, she did not need any European friends due to her thinking her Navy could protect her.
Britain began to come away from “Splendid isolation” because she knew she would need friends in the event of war.
· 1904 – Britain and France sign the Entente Cordiale. (A Friendly agreement.)
· 1907 – Britain and Russia sign an agreement but will not definitely go to war for each other.
The Balkan Problem
Austria Hungary
Austria Hungary wanted to extend her empire south in to the Balkans this would increase her opportunities of trade. She had already taken over the Balkan state of Bosnia in 1908 which Bosnians and Serbians were not too pleased with this.
Austria would take any chance to punish Serbia for supporting the Bosnian nationalists that wanted independence.
Russia
Russia wished at all costs to stop Austria Hungary from further expanding her influence in the Balkans. This was partly due to Russia and the Balkan people sharing the same race (Slav) and religion. The Balkan people had seen Russia as their protector.
Russia was unable to stop Austria Hungary from taking over the Balkan state of Bosnia due to the Russian Army being too weak after losing a war against Japan in 1905. This however made Russia more determined to stop Austria-Hungary from taking over anymore territory.
Russia wanted to gain control of the Turkish port of Constantinople.
Italy
Italy wanted to gain control of land on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, both to extend her territory and enhance trade.
Germany
Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to construct a railway from Berlin to Baghdad in Persia (Modern day Iraq) where there were rich oil fields (Including British oil fields, this worried the British.). This 4,000km railway would have to go through the centre of the Balkans.
Serbia
By 1914, Serbia had emerged as the strongest of the Slav states in the Balkans. Serbia hoped to see the creation of a “United Slav state” they encouraged fellow Slavs to fight for independence. Serbian support for Bosnian Nationalists after 1908 was a major cause of unrest between Austria and Serbia.
Rivalry between Britain and Germany
The Naval Race
One of many reasons why Britain came away from Isolation was because of the growing threat from Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany.
The Kaiser was a very jealous of the British Empire. Wilhelm said that “Germany’s future lies on the waters” and “Germany too must have a place in the sun.” To acquire and control overseas colonies by force Germany would need a strong navy. In 1898 and 1900 Germany passed new naval laws, which approved the building of more warships to make the German navy the same size as the British navy. Britain saw this as a hostile move and feared that Germany might use her navy to take over British colonies, or even attack Britain herself.
In response, Britain modernised her naval fleet. In 1906 Britain launched a new type of Battleship called the Dreadnought. It was faster and more heavily armed than any other battleship in the world. It made all other battleships look like small rowing boats. Soon Germany announced that they too would build dreadnoughts that would be used in their navy. This began “The Naval Race” between Britain & Germany. Britain built 26 Dreadnoughts compared to Germany only building 17 Dreadnoughts. However the naval race ruined relations between the two countries and the two ruling cousins.
1. Scottish naval bases were constructed at Rosyth, Invergordon and Scapaflow. These would be used as ports for easy access to the North Sea in case of any threat from German attack.
2. Ships changed from using coal to oil fuel, allowing the battleship to travel faster and for greater distances.
3. British Battleships were called back home from protecting the British trade in the Mediterranean to deal with any threat Germany may cause.
4. The battle cruiser was developed by Lord Fisher. It was almost as powerful as a battleship but much faster due to the sacrifice of some protective armour to save weight and give it more speed.
5. He also encouraged the development of submarines and reorganised officer training.
In the years before 1914 Britain also took steps to modernise her army. A series of reforms were introduced by Lord Haldane, The Secretary for War.
Army Reforms
1. The establishment of The British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) that could be sent to Europe at short notice. It consisted of six infantry and one cavalry divisions. (Approx. 100,000 men). These men were professional and this was their full time job, before being sent to Europe they had already served several years in the B.E.F.
2. The formation of a permanent General Staff to make plans and oversee operations in the event of war,
3. The formation of The T.A, A part time army to supplement the regular army in war and be available for home defence. These were part time soldiers with ordinary jobs who took part in weekend and summer camps.
4. The officer training corps was introduced to recruit and train officers from universities and schools to allow rapid expansion of the army in event of war.
Assassination at Sarajevo
June 28th 1914
On 28 June 1914 the archduke of Austria-Hungary who was heir to the Austria-Hungary throne and his wife Sofia, were on a state visit to the capital of Bosnia (Sarajevo). The Bosnian newspapers had published a map with the route of their procession. A group of would-be assassins had positioned themselves along the route that would be taken by the archduke and his wife.
A bomb was thrown at the archduke’s car but failed to injure him or his wife due to a 10 second delay.
In the afternoon the Archduke, accompanied by his wife had lunch with the Mayor of Sarajevo in the City Hall. The archduke decided to change the route of the remainder of the procession because he wanted to visit his injured friend. (The first bomb that was thrown blew up under the car behind Archdukes.)
The driver was unaware of this change and took a wrong turn and had to reverse, little did he know that this wrong turn would claim the lives of 10 million soldiers and the archduke and his wife’s lives. By chance or by fate, the car stopped outside a café where one of the would-be assassins who had fled in fear of being captured, was eating a sandwich. He was a young Bosnian Student dying slowly of Cholera, his name was Gaurillo Princip. He then casually left the café took a revolver from the inside of his jacket and fired two shots, point blank at the archduke and his wife almost instantly killing both of them. This assassination sparked off trouble between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Why? Because the group that the assassins belonged to was called the Black Hand gang which was financed by the Serbian government and they were trained by Serbian Army officials. The Black Hand gang wished to free Bosnia from Austria-Hungary control and unite them with Serbia.
Countdown to war
Steps to War (July – August 1914)
1. Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia – 28 July
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassinations at Sarajevo and was determined to crush Serbia once and for all. On the 23rd July, The Austrian government sent Serbia an ultimatum containing ten demands. Austria made it clear that if Serbia did not accept all of the demands Austria-Hungary would declare war on her. King Peter of Serbia only had 48 hours to agree. The Austrians demanded that Serbia get rid of the “Black Hand” and any other Anti-Austrian societies. In addition, The Serbian government must let Austrian officials in to the country to see that the job was done correctly. Shortly before the deadline King Peter accepted eight of ten of the demands but refused to let Austrian officials in to Serbia because that would mean the end of Serbia’s independence. With full support from her ally Germany, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28th July 1914. Exactly one month from when The Archduke and his wife were murdered.
2. Germany declares war on Russia – 1st AugustIn response to the Austrian attack, the Serbian government appealed to the traditional protector of the Slavs, Russia for help on 29 July. Tsar Nicolas ordered an army to prepare for war.Russia failed to protect Bosnia against Austria-Hungary in 1908. However, this time she was determined to Protect Serbia, so she began to mobilise her armies. Germany (The ally of Austria-Hungary) warned Russia to stop mobilising her armies, when Russia refused Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914. On the same day, France began to mobilise her forces to support her ally Russia.
3. Germany declares war on France – 3rd AugustIn spite of German warnings to stop, France continued to mobilise her army. Germany therefore declared war on France on 3rd August 1914.
4. Britain declares war on Germany – 4th AugustGermany invaded Belgium in order to attack France more easily. By doing this she had broken the “Treaty of London” (1839) by which all major European powers had promised had promised to protect Belgium’s neutrality and independence. The British government sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding that she withdrew her troops from Belgium. When Germany failed to complete this demand Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914.
Reasons for British entry
Britain had entry this war against Germany on the side of France and Russia even although she had no firm military commitment to either country, only friendship agreements. There were several reasons for Britain’s decision to enter the war:
1. Britain decided to stand by her obligation under the Treaty of London even although Germany considered this seventy-five year old treaty to represent nothing more than a “Scrap of paper”.
2. At first British public opinion felt that the war in Europe had nothing to do with British affairs. However, this opinion quickly changed when the public found that Germans had invaded neutral Belgium. The British public opinion now was to intervene and to protect “Poor little Belgium” against the German Bully. The British government could not ignore this strength of feeling.
3. The British government did not want not want Belgium under German control as it could be easily used as a base for the invasion of Britain.
4. Britain had for some time been worried by the growing threat from German industrial strength and naval strength. Therefore the British did not want to see Europe dominated by a Germany.
5. Britain felt that it was a matter of honour to aide her friends in their time of trouble.
The Schlieffen Plan
The need for the plan
The Germans realised that if Germany was to be involved in a future war it would be against France and Russia because of the Dual alliance (1894). This would cause problems or Germany as she would be faced with a war on two fronts. Russia in the east and France in the west at the same time.
As early as 1905, a war plan to deal with such a situation was drawn up by General Von Schlieffen, the Chief of the German General Staff. Although he had died in 1913 it was the Schlieffen Plan which formed the basis of the German attack on France in August 1914.
Details of the Plan
Schlieffen had thought that Russia would not be a problem in the early weeks of a two-front war as he thought it would take her huge army so long to mobilise. In any case it was hoped that Germans ally, Austria-Hungary, would be able to cope with Russia herself for a short time. Schlieffen therefore planned to start with an all-out attack on France.
This attack on France was to be launched through Belgium as the French border with Belgium was poorly defended whereas the border with Germany was heavily defended. In addition Belgium was flat and so easily crossed; it also had a good railway network which the Germans hoped to make use of.
After passing through Belgium the main force of the German army could advance through Northern France and encircles Paris. The capture of Paris would force the French in to surrender. It was hoped that this stage of the plan would be completed within six weeks.
Invasion of Belgium
Long before 1914 the Germans had worked on a plan for a future war on two fronts. One of front was against France to the west and the other against Russia to the east. This plan was called the Schlieffen Plan. It aimed to get a quick victory over France, quick enough for the German armies to turn eastwards and fight the Russians.
A quick victory could not be gained by attacking the frontier between Germany and France, which was well defended. So the German plan had to find an easier and quicker route.
In August 1914 Germany asked Belgium to let the German Army through. Belgium refused. Britain sent warning to Germany that the British had an agreement to defend Belgium’s positions as neutral. The Germans took no notice of this and proceeded with their plan and invaded Belgium.
Britain declared war on Germany and sent the B.E.F to help the Belgians and the
Reasons for the failure of the plan
Belgian resistance
The Belgian Army fought more fiercely than the Germans had expected, slowing down their advantage at Liege and Brussels. The Belgians even destroyed their own railways to stop them being used by the German troops, thus forcing the German troops to advance on foot covering 40 miles per day. They were exhausted by the long marches and lack of food.
Russian Mobilisation
The Russians mobilised their army more quickly than the Germans expected and because of its massive size the Austrians were unable to hold it back. Russian troops were soon advancing into the east of Germany. Germany was therefore forced to transfer troops from France to deal with this. This meant that the strength of the German attack on France was severely weakened.
The B.E.F
As soon as war was declared the B.E.F was sent to France. This was only a small army of 100,000 men but it managed to slow down the German advance at Mons and Le Château, inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans because of the accuracy of their rifle fire
French Counter-attack (September)
The Germans, tried and short of supplies changed their route Instead of encircling Paris from behind, the German army under Von Kluck turned and headed straight towards Paris. It soon had crossed the River Marne. However, although the French had been forced too withdraw from Germany they were still in good order and helped by the B.E.F, Launched a counter-attack to save Paris. The Battle of the Marne lasted six days and involved over two million men. When it ended the Germans had been driven back across the River Aisne.
The Importance of the Battle of the Marne
For the French, the Battle of the Marne had saved Paris and prevented their defeat. For Germany, defeat at the River Marne meant that the Schliffen plan had failed and so Germany was now faced with a war on two fronts against.
France and Russia at the same time. The war also changed in character. Before the Battle if the Marne the war had been one of movement; after “Trench warfare” developed – both sides dug protective trenches and earthwork defences. By the end of 1914 lines of trenches stretched from the English channel to the Swiss Border. The western front did not change much in the next four years as neither side was able to advance far.
2. Germany declares war on Russia – 1st AugustIn response to the Austrian attack, the Serbian government appealed to the traditional protector of the Slavs, Russia for help on 29 July. Tsar Nicolas ordered an army to prepare for war.Russia failed to protect Bosnia against Austria-Hungary in 1908. However, this time she was determined to Protect Serbia, so she began to mobilise her armies. Germany (The ally of Austria-Hungary) warned Russia to stop mobilising her armies, when Russia refused Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914. On the same day, France began to mobilise her forces to support her ally Russia.
3. Germany declares war on France – 3rd AugustIn spite of German warnings to stop, France continued to mobilise her army. Germany therefore declared war on France on 3rd August 1914.
4. Britain declares war on Germany – 4th AugustGermany invaded Belgium in order to attack France more easily. By doing this she had broken the “Treaty of London” (1839) by which all major European powers had promised had promised to protect Belgium’s neutrality and independence. The British government sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding that she withdrew her troops from Belgium. When Germany failed to complete this demand Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914.
Reasons for British entry
Britain had entry this war against Germany on the side of France and Russia even although she had no firm military commitment to either country, only friendship agreements. There were several reasons for Britain’s decision to enter the war:
1. Britain decided to stand by her obligation under the Treaty of London even although Germany considered this seventy-five year old treaty to represent nothing more than a “Scrap of paper”.
2. At first British public opinion felt that the war in Europe had nothing to do with British affairs. However, this opinion quickly changed when the public found that Germans had invaded neutral Belgium. The British public opinion now was to intervene and to protect “Poor little Belgium” against the German Bully. The British government could not ignore this strength of feeling.
3. The British government did not want not want Belgium under German control as it could be easily used as a base for the invasion of Britain.
4. Britain had for some time been worried by the growing threat from German industrial strength and naval strength. Therefore the British did not want to see Europe dominated by a Germany.
5. Britain felt that it was a matter of honour to aide her friends in their time of trouble.
The Schlieffen Plan
The need for the plan
The Germans realised that if Germany was to be involved in a future war it would be against France and Russia because of the Dual alliance (1894). This would cause problems or Germany as she would be faced with a war on two fronts. Russia in the east and France in the west at the same time.
As early as 1905, a war plan to deal with such a situation was drawn up by General Von Schlieffen, the Chief of the German General Staff. Although he had died in 1913 it was the Schlieffen Plan which formed the basis of the German attack on France in August 1914.
Details of the Plan
Schlieffen had thought that Russia would not be a problem in the early weeks of a two-front war as he thought it would take her huge army so long to mobilise. In any case it was hoped that Germans ally, Austria-Hungary, would be able to cope with Russia herself for a short time. Schlieffen therefore planned to start with an all-out attack on France.
This attack on France was to be launched through Belgium as the French border with Belgium was poorly defended whereas the border with Germany was heavily defended. In addition Belgium was flat and so easily crossed; it also had a good railway network which the Germans hoped to make use of.
After passing through Belgium the main force of the German army could advance through Northern France and encircles Paris. The capture of Paris would force the French in to surrender. It was hoped that this stage of the plan would be completed within six weeks.
Invasion of Belgium
Long before 1914 the Germans had worked on a plan for a future war on two fronts. One of front was against France to the west and the other against Russia to the east. This plan was called the Schlieffen Plan. It aimed to get a quick victory over France, quick enough for the German armies to turn eastwards and fight the Russians.
A quick victory could not be gained by attacking the frontier between Germany and France, which was well defended. So the German plan had to find an easier and quicker route.
In August 1914 Germany asked Belgium to let the German Army through. Belgium refused. Britain sent warning to Germany that the British had an agreement to defend Belgium’s positions as neutral. The Germans took no notice of this and proceeded with their plan and invaded Belgium.
Britain declared war on Germany and sent the B.E.F to help the Belgians and the
Reasons for the failure of the plan
Belgian resistance
The Belgian Army fought more fiercely than the Germans had expected, slowing down their advantage at Liege and Brussels. The Belgians even destroyed their own railways to stop them being used by the German troops, thus forcing the German troops to advance on foot covering 40 miles per day. They were exhausted by the long marches and lack of food.
Russian Mobilisation
The Russians mobilised their army more quickly than the Germans expected and because of its massive size the Austrians were unable to hold it back. Russian troops were soon advancing into the east of Germany. Germany was therefore forced to transfer troops from France to deal with this. This meant that the strength of the German attack on France was severely weakened.
The B.E.F
As soon as war was declared the B.E.F was sent to France. This was only a small army of 100,000 men but it managed to slow down the German advance at Mons and Le Château, inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans because of the accuracy of their rifle fire
French Counter-attack (September)
The Germans, tried and short of supplies changed their route Instead of encircling Paris from behind, the German army under Von Kluck turned and headed straight towards Paris. It soon had crossed the River Marne. However, although the French had been forced too withdraw from Germany they were still in good order and helped by the B.E.F, Launched a counter-attack to save Paris. The Battle of the Marne lasted six days and involved over two million men. When it ended the Germans had been driven back across the River Aisne.
The Importance of the Battle of the Marne
For the French, the Battle of the Marne had saved Paris and prevented their defeat. For Germany, defeat at the River Marne meant that the Schliffen plan had failed and so Germany was now faced with a war on two fronts against.
France and Russia at the same time. The war also changed in character. Before the Battle if the Marne the war had been one of movement; after “Trench warfare” developed – both sides dug protective trenches and earthwork defences. By the end of 1914 lines of trenches stretched from the English channel to the Swiss Border. The western front did not change much in the next four years as neither side was able to advance far.
TO BE CONTINUED...
