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| Alex Krzyston |
Sidney B. Fay - U.S. historian known primarily for his classical reexamination of the causes of World War I. (received his Ph.D. (1900) from Harvard University) Fay was the first U.S. historian to challenge the widely held notion that Germany alone was responsible for initiating World War I. His Origins of the World War, 2 vol. (1928),
“By the 1930s moderate historians had concluded, with Lloyd George, that no one country was to blame for the war: “We all stumbled into it.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Debate over the origins of World War I was from the start partisan and moral in tone. Each of the belligerents published documentary collections selected to shift the blame and prove that it was fighting in self-defense. Serbia was defending itself against Austrian aggression. Austria-Hungary was defending its very existence against terror plotted on foreign soil. Russia was defending Serbia and the Slavic cause against German imperialism. Germany was defending its lone reliable ally from attack and itself from entente encirclement. France, with most justification, was defending itself against unprovoked German attack. And Britain was fighting in defense of Belgium, international law, and the balance of power.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Imperialism
“Italy’s pursuit of colonies in north Africa brought it into conflict with France and led in 1882 to it’s joining the Triple Alliance”
Wilhelm provoked conflict-the Moroccan Crises on 1905 and 1911 to test Britain-France alliance
“Italy’s attack on the crumbling Ottoman Empire in pursuit of the North African colony of Libya triggered a series of crises in the Balkans culminating in World War 1.”
(A.P. Euro review book)
Nationalism
“Diplomacy based on brinkmanship was especially frightening in view of the nature of the European state system. Each nation-state regarded itself as sovereign, subject to no higher interest or authority. Each state was motivated by its own self-interest and success. As Emperor William II of Germany remarked: ‘In questions of honor and vital interests, you don’t consult others.’ Such attitudes made war an ever-present possibility, particularly since most statesmen considered war an acceptable way to preserve the power of their national states.” (Spielvogel)
“The growth of nationalism in the nineteenth century had yet another serious consequence. Not all ethnic groups had achieved the goal of nationhood. Slavic minorities in the Balkans and the Austrian Empire, for example, still dreamed of creating their own national states. So did the Irish in the British Empire and the Poles in the Russian Empire.” (Spielvogel)
“Declarations of war were greeted with songs, flowers, wild enthusiasm, and dancing in the streets. Crowds welcomed the battles to come with delirium of cheering a favorite team in sports match. Some embraced war as test of greatness, a purification of a society that had become in 1914, it was a choice, not an accident.” (Civilizations in the West)
“Nationalism made it difficult for nations to compromise what they perceived as their national honor”
“Nationalism fed nationalism in the Balkans that drew Austria and Russia into conflict there.” (A.P Euro review book)
Internal Dissent
“Leftist historians like the American A.J. Mayer then applied the “primacy of domestic policy” thesis and hypothesized that all the European powers had courted war as a means of cowing or distracting their working classes and national minorities.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
conservative historian Gerhard Ritter “The real problem, he argued, was not fear of the Social Democrats but the age-old tension between civilian and military influence in the Prussian-German government.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
A moderate German historian, Wolfgang J. Mommsen “Mommsen blamed the war on the survival of precapitalist regimes that simply proved “no longer adequate in the face of rapid social change and the steady advance of mass politics.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Socialist labor movements had grown more powerful and were increasingly inclined to use strikes, even violent ones to achieve their goals. Some conservative leaders, alarmed at the increase in labor strife and class division, even feared that European nations were on the verge of revolution” (Spielvogel)
“Some historians have argued that the desire to suppress internal disorder may have encouraged some leaders to take the plunge into war in 1914.” (Spielvogel)
“To promote unity, governments promoted imperialism and fanned nationalist sentiments. (Some leaders could have viewed world war one as an opportunity to solve domestic issues) When war broke out, citizens celebrated in European capitals, and political dissenters called for an end to internal disputes. Wilhelm called fro Burgfrieden, civil peace, for the duration of the war, while in Britain, female suffrage and Irish home rule were tabled. Socialist parties, which wished to unite workers of all nations, generally supported the call to arms. Mass politics had worked only too well in promoting popular nationalist sentiment on favor of war.” (A.P. Euro review book)
“Germany has been blamed because she invaded Belgium in August 1914 when Britain had promised to protect Belgium. However, the street celebrations that accompanied the British and French declaration of war gives historians the impression that the move was popular and politicians tend to go with the popular mood.”
Chris Trueman BA (Hons), MA has written all the content for the site from his in-depth knowledge of History having taught History and Politics at a major secondary school in England for the last 26 years. Chris graduated with a BA (Honours) in History from Aberystwyth University, Wales in 1979 and has since studied at Loughborough University and gained a MA in management from Brighton University in 2000.
Militarism
a moderate German historian, Wolfgang J. Mommsen “Germany's rapid industrialization and the tardiness of modernization in Austria-Hungary and Russia, he concluded, created instabilities in central and eastern Europe that found expression in desperate self-assertion.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“The growth of large mass armies after 1900 not only heightened the existing tensions in Europe, but made it inevitable that if war did come it would be highly destructive. Conscription had been established as a regular practice in most Western countries before 1914. European military machines had doubled in size between 1890 and 1914.” (Spielvogel)
“Militarism, however, involved more than just large armies. As armies grew, so too did the influence of military leaders who drew up vast and complex plans for quickly mobilizing millions of men and enormous qualities of supplies in the event of war. Fearful that changes in these plans would cause chaos in the armed forces, military leaders insisted that their plans could nor be altered. In the crises during the summer of 1914, the generals’ lack of flexibility forced European political leaders to make decisions for military instead of political reasons.” (Spielvogel)
“Russia's hasty mobilization expanded the crisis beyond the Balkans, initiated a round of military moves, and contributed to German panic.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
German tension
When Wilhelm dismissed Bismarck in 1890 he let Bismarck’s alliance system collapse which was designed to keep the balance of power. “Within the Bismarckian alliance structure, no great power could count on the support of any other should it initiate war.” (A.P. Euro review book)
“As it industrialized and pursued colonies more vigorously, Germany’s potential military and economic might created concern among the other great powers.” (A.P. Euro review book)
“Emperor Wilhelm 11’s world policy, which was aimed at finding Germany’s ‘place in the sun,’ created considerable ill will and unrest among other European states, especially Britain. Moreover, the emperor had an unfortunate tendency to stir up trouble by his often tactless public remarks. In this 1908 interview Wilhelm II intended to strengthen Germany’s ties with Britain. His words had just the opposite effect and raised a storm of protest in both Britain and Germany.”
“You English are mad, mad, mad, as March hares.”
“The prevailing sentiment among large sections of the middle and lower classes of my own people is not friendly to England.”
“I resent your refusal to accept my pledge word that I am the friend of England. I strive without ceasing to improve relations, and you retort that I am your arch-enemy.”
“Germany must have a powerful fleet to protect that commerce, and her manifold interests in even the most distant seas. She expects those interests to go on growing, and she must be able to champion them manfully in any quarter of the globe. Germany looks ahead. Her horizons stretch far away. She must be prepared for any eventualities in the Far East.”
(Spielvogel)
“The German historian Fritz Fischer published a massive study of German war aims during 1914–18 and held that Germany's government, social elites, and even broad masses had consciously pursued a breakthrough to world power in the years before World War I and that the German government, fully aware of the risks of world war and of British belligerency, had deliberately provoked the 1914 crisis.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Other historians saw links to the Bismarckian technique of using foreign policy excursions to stifle domestic reform, a technique dubbed “social imperialism.” Germany's rulers, it appeared, had resolved before 1914 to overthrow the world order in hopes of preserving the domestic order.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Upon completion of the Franco-Russian alliance in 1894, Germany began work on the Schliffen Plan. When Germany mobilized troops in 1914 in accordance with the Shlieffen Plan all hopes of political negotiations to prevent war were lost.” (A.P. Euro review book)
2 great causes of friction between Britain and Germany
!. Germany's fear of the huge British Empire.
“By 1900, Britain owned a quarter of the world. Countries such as Canada, India, South Africa, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand were owned by Britain as part of the British Empire. Queen Victoria had been crowned Empress of India. Huge amounts of money were made from these colonies and Britain had a powerful military presence in all parts of the world. The Empire was seen as the status symbol of a country that was the most powerful in the world. “
“Germany clearly believed that a sign of a great power was possession of overseas colonies. The 'best' had already been taken by Britain but Germany resolved to gain as much colonial territory as possible. “
Set their goal in Africa= “anger in London as Germany's new territories were near South Africa with its huge diamond and gold reserves. In reality, Germany's African colonies were of little economic importance but it gave her the opportunity to demonstrate to the German people that she had Great Power status even if this did make relations with Britain more fragile than was perhaps necessary for the economic returns Germany got from her colonies. “
2. Germany's desire to increase the size of her navy.
“Britain accepted that Germany, as a large land-based country, needed a large army. But Germany had a very small coastline and Britain could not accept that Germany needed a large navy.”
“Britain concluded that Germany's desire to increase the size of her navy was to threaten Britain's naval might in the North Sea. The British government concluded that as an island we needed a large navy and they could not accept any challenges from Germany. As a result, a naval race took place. Both countries spent vast sums of money building new warships and the cost soared when Britain launched a new type of battleship - the Dreadnought. Germany immediately responded by building her equivalent.”
Chris Trueman BA (Hons), MA has written all the content for the site from his in-depth knowledge of History having taught History and Politics at a major secondary school in England for the last 26 years. Chris graduated with a BA (Honours) in History from Aberystwyth University, Wales in 1979 and has since studied at Loughborough University and gained a MA in management from Brighton University in 2000.
“Germany’s desire to build a world class fleet of battleships antagonized Great Britain and made an enemy out of a potential ally. Kaisar Wilhelm II was convinced that if Germany wished a ‘place in the sun’ it must develop a commercial empire akin to Britain’s. This threat to British navel dominance represented the first of many actions by Germany upsetting the balance of power.” (A.P. Euro review book)
Balkans
Serbia supported by Russia was determined to create a large independent Slavic state in the Balkans but Austria because of its own Slavic minorities wanted to prevent it.
British ambassador to Vienna wrote in 1913:
“Serbia will some day set Europe by the ears, and bring about a universal war on the Continent…I cannot tell you how exasperated people are getting here at the continual worry which that little country causes to Austria under encouragement form Russia.. It will be lucky if Europe succeeds in avoiding war as a result of the present crisis. The next time a Serbian crisis arises…, I feel sure that Austria –Hungary will refuse to admit of any Russian interference in the dispute and that she will proceed to settle her differences with her little neighbor by herself.” (Spielvogel)
With assassination of the Arch duke by a Serbian nationalist Austria saw an opportunity to “render Serbia impotent once and for all by a display of force.” (Spielvogel)
Austria feared Russian intervention and sought support from Germany. Germany responded with the Blank Check and assured Austria that could rely on full support form Germany.
“German government had issued the risky “blank check” and urged Vienna on an aggressive course. It had swept aside all proposals for mediation until events had gained irreversible momentum.” (Encyclopedia Britannic)
Alliance system
“The system of nation-states that had emerged in Europe in the last half of the nineteenth century led not to cooperation but to competition. Rivalries over colonial and commercial interests intensified during an era of frenzied imperialist expansion, and the division of Europe’s great powers into two loose alliances only added tensions.” (Spielvogel)
“In either case, by 1914, the major European states had come to believe that their allies were important and that their security depended on supporting those allies, even when they took foolish risks.” (Spielvogel)
Triple Entante
“Wilhelm’s efforts to match Britain’s navy, and his militant personal styles, drove France and Britain together with the Entante Cordiale in 1904” (A.P. Euro review book)
“Russia also had a huge army and with France on the west of Europe and Russia on the east, the 'message' sent to Germany was that she was confronted by two huge armies on either side of her borders. Therefore, it was not a good move by Germany to provoke trouble in Europe - that was the hoped for message sent out by the Triple Entente”
(Russia's royal family, the Romanovs, was related to the British Royal Family.)
Chris Trueman BA (Hons), MA has written all the content for the site from his in-depth knowledge of History having taught History and Politics at a major secondary school in England for the last 26 years. Chris graduated with a BA (Honours) in History from Aberystwyth University, Wales in 1979 and has since studied at Loughborough University and gained a MA in management from Brighton University in 2000.
Rrefutation
“Imperialist crises, though tense at times, had always been resolved, and even Germany's ambitions were on the verge of being served through a 1914 agreement with Britain on a planned partition of the Portuguese empire. Imperial politics were simply not a casus belli for anyone except Britain. Military preparedness was at a peak, but armaments are responses to tensions, not the cause of them, and they had, perhaps, served to deter war in the numerous crises preceding 1914. Capitalist activity tied the nations of Europe together as never before, and in 1914 most leading businessmen were advocates of peace. The alliance systems themselves were defensive and deterrent by design and had served as such for decades. Nor were they inflexible.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
