The Causes of World War I

Country Profiles

Before we begin examining the dynamics which led to the first World War, it is vital to understand the state of each European power in the build-up to the war.

Germany

The German Empire was one of Europe’s youngest states, having only existed since 1871.

The empire was nominally ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II, a childish, reckless man who viewed war as a game.

In a bid for power, the Kaiser removed Otto von Bismarck from his office as Chancellor so that William could rule more absolutely. This move will prove to be catastrophic.

In every German war game, tradition expected that whichever army the Kaiser commanded would win.

The Kaiser’s irrationality will lead his cabinet members to purposely keep him uninformed on pressing national issues.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Germany

Germany boasted Europe’s strongest industrial economy, had a massive population, and the best land army on the continent.

The slow expansion of the Imperial German Navy, the Kaiserliche Marine, will pose a major threat to Great Britain.

The core of German foreign policy was to neutralize Russia at all costs.

Germany was constantly paranoid (justifiably so) at fighting a two-front war against France and Russia.

In the event of a major European War, Germany would need to rapidly neutralize France before Russia could fully mobilize.

This will become known as the Schlieffen Plan.

Germany’s strongest alliance was with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

France

France in 1914 was Europe’s largest democracy.

France had experienced a century of civil strife, revolution, and scandal during the 19th Century.

Her humiliation at the hands of the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) left a deep feeling of resentment and national shame.

In the intervening years, France sought to modernize its armies and strategized extensively for a war of vengeance against the Germans (this would eventually be known as Plan XVII.)

France

The president of France during this pre-war period was Raymond Poincaré.

The cornerstone of the French war plan and foreign policy was their alliance with Russia, effectively surrounding Germany with hostile states.

France’s economy, population, colonial possessions, and military capacity will rank it as a first-rate power.

French President Raymond Poincaré

Russia

Imperial Russia in the years leading up to WWI was struggling to maintain its position as a 1st rate European power.

Russia was ruled by the Romanov Czar Nicholas II.

His father, Alexander III’s, sudden death placed Nicholas on the throne with no training or experience in leading his country.

Nicholas will prove to be a leader incapable of dealing with the political, social, and military issues which will plague his country.

Czar Nicholas II

Russia

Russia was rapidly falling behind the other European powers in terms of industrial potential and modernization.

Russia’s humiliation during the Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War revealed the backwards nature of its armed forces.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian navy was effectively annihilated during the Battle of Tsushima.

The Revolution of 1905 badly shook the absolute power the czar wielded and revealed deep divisions in Russian society.

Despite these setbacks, the enormous manpower reserves of the Russian army terrified all the other European powers.

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary was a declining power in the early 1900s.

The Dual Monarchy was led by Emperor Franz Joseph, who by 1914 had led his empire for 65 years.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a polyglot, ethnically and religiously diverse European power.

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was disliked by Franz Joseph for his political and personal beliefs.

Emperor Franz Joseph

Austria-Hungary

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was disliked by Franz Joseph for his political and personal beliefs.

Franz Ferdinand favored the opening up of negotiations with the Serbian populations within the empire.

He also married Sophie Chotek, a lower noble who was viewed as “unworthy” of the Hapsburgs.

Generally speaking, he was unpopular both at home and abroad.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Ottoman Empire

The declining Ottoman Empire was referred to as “the sick man of Europe.”

Rising nationalism within the empire, combined with the sultan’s weak armed forces, was a recipe for revolution.

The ineffective leadership gave rise to a group called the Young Turks who sought to modernize the Ottoman state.

The Young Turks (and the Ottoman state) will be led by a military officer named Enver Pasha during the First World War.

Enver Pasha

The Ottoman Empire

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the great European powers sought to assimilate Ottoman lands into their own empires.

Russia, chief amongst these, sought to recapture Istanbul (Constantinople). This would impart two great benefits:

Russia would have an unobstructed and guaranteed passage through the Dardanelles.

Russia would also be able to unify all Eastern Orthodoxy under her leadership.

Another important dynamic to consider for the importance of the Ottoman Empire was its control of the massive Arabian oil fields.

Recently Britain had converted its navy from coal-powered to oil-powered engines.

This switch in fuel will have significant importance for not only the coming conflict, but world history up to today.

The Ottoman Empire, pre-WWI

The Balkan Peninsula

In 1888, Otto von Bismarck said that “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” 

The Balkan Peninsula was (and still is) a territory which has a large amount of ethnic and cultural diversity in Europe.

The region is inhabited by Albanians, Bulgarians, Bosniaks, Croats, Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs, Slovenes, Romanians, and Turks.

With the declining control by the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary’s attempt to acquire more territory there, many of these ethnic groups sought to rise up and to create their own independent states.

This tension between these nationalistic groups and imperial powers will ultimately create the spark which will set off the powder keg of Europe.

The Balkan Peninsula

Serbia

During the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) the Ottoman Empire was effectively kicked out of Europe.

Serbia will emerge as a growing power in the region. Serbian nationalists, despising Austro-Hungarian

control of some of their ethnic territory, will begin planning revolutionary activities against the empire.

One such nationalistic group, the Narodna Odbrana (“National Defense”) will form as a reaction to Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908.

A militant branch of this organization, the Black Hand, will begin planning more radical attacks against the Hapsburg dynasty.

It is also important to note that Serbians are ethnically Slavs, the same ethnic group as Russia. This ethnic bond will create a further complication in the lead-up to the war.

Great Britain

Great Britain was the wealthiest country in Europe with a massive empire spanning across the globe.

Because of the need to defend their trade and island nation, Britain was also Europe’s dominant naval power.

The British were not overwhelmingly concerned with the outbreak of war in 1914.

Most of their attention was focused on the issue of Irish Home Rule.

They were also not solidly bound to any treaty with any continental power in Europe.

They did have an entente, or agreement, with France and Russia concerning colonial possessions and a promise of aid in any future conflicts.

Royal Families of Europe

Nicholas II and George V

The Powers of Europe, 1914

1st Rate Powers

Declining Powers

2nd Rate Powers

Germany Russia Ottoman Empire

FranceAustro-

Hungarian Empire

Italy

Great Britain Serbia

United States(probably a 3rd rate

power)

Review Questions

1. Why was Germany so fearful of a two-front war?

2. Why was the Balkan Peninsula an unstable region in Europe?

3. Why were the French eager for a war against Germany?

4. Why was the perception of Russia worse than the reality of fighting them?

5. Why were the British not overly concerned with a future continental war?

MAIN Causes

Militarism - the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

Alliances - a union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations.

Imperialism - a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Nationalism - The strong belief that the interests of a particular nation-state are of primary importance. Also, the belief that a people who share a common language, history, and culture should constitute an independent nation, free of foreign domination.

Militarism

By 1914, Europe had not experienced a continental war since Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo almost 100 years earlier.

During the interim years, European nations focused their economic, political, and military energies on expanding their global influence and industrializing their countries.

Militarily, the countries of Europe still modeled their tactics and strategies off of a Napoleonic-style of warfare.

Technologically speaking, these armies were exponentially more powerful than they were at Waterloo. Unfortunately, most European armies only had experience fighting the natives in their colonies and did not appreciate the killing potential of their armies against European foes.

Military advisors would accompany other armies when they went off to war, most notably during the American Civil War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the Crimean War.

The couplet “Whatever happens we have got, the Maxim gun, and they have not” no longer rang true when both sides had Maxim guns.

Militarism

The pervading feeling among the European powers was a paranoia about their mobilization process.

Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war.

Each nation planned extensively for how long it would take to mobilize. In each case, days and even hours mattered.

There was a great fear of having war declared and an enemy nation being able to field an army before you could.

If this was the case, your nation would be conquered.

German war planners were able to perfect the mobilization process and align all of the necessary pieces in order to go to war as quickly as possible.

The anticipation of a coming European war will be referred to (under hushed breaths) as Der Tag (“the day”).

Once mobilization plans were put in place it was almost impossible to stop them.

Naval Expansion

In 1890 an American admiral, Alfred Thayler Mahan, wrote an influential book called The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660–1783. This book outlined the rise of major world powers throughout history and was hugely influential in impacting naval policy in countries like the United States, Japan, Great Britain, and Germany.

The most advanced warship of the age, the dreadnaught-class battleship, became a crucial symbol of international power.

HMS Dreadnaught

Anglo-German Naval Arms Race

Naval Strength, 1914

Country Personnel # of Dreadnaugh

ts

Tonnage

Russia 54,000 4 328,000

France 68,000 10 731,000

Britain 209,000 29 2,205,000

TOTAL

331,000 43 3,264,000

Germany 79,000 17 1,019,000

Austria-Hungary

16,000 3 249,000

TOTAL

95,000 20 1,268,000

GRAND TOTAL

426,000 63 4,532,000

Military Philosophy

The war departments of the major powers subscribed to the idea of offensive wars (wars in which you are constantly attacking no matter what the cost.)

This mentality will take a firm hold in strategic planning and tactically considerations in the years leading up to the war and in the first few years of the conflict.

In reality, technological advancements had made defensive capabilities in warfare much more efficient and deadlier than these planners imagined.

Franco-German Border Defenses

The Schlieffen Plan & Plan XVII

Alliances

The complex web of European alliances (b0th defensive and offensive) meant that any issue arising between two countries would then entangle the entire continent.

Diplomacy was centered around the belief in a 5-power war, where it was vital to be on the side with 3.

National self-interest also determined whether or not an alliance needed to be followed, exploited, or ignored.

Allied nations also exerted influence on one another either directly or indirectly.

It is also important to note that the main diplomatic communication being done between these nations is through their ambassadors. Any future conflict would be brought into being by them, not the people of their country.

Alliances

Alliances

Alliances

Germany

Russia France Great Britain

Austria-Hungary

Serbia

Germany

Russia

France

Great Britain

Austria-Hungary

Serbia

Imperialism

Conflicts abroad between European nations also had the potential for causing a continental war.

If an imperial power felt their colonial possessions were at risk, hostilities could commence.

When the Ottoman Empire began to recede across northern Africa, the French began to establish colonies along Africa’s Mediterranean coast.

As part of the Entente Cordiale, Britain and France agreed to divide up Northern Africa amongst themselves.

The Germans, angered at being shut out from these negotiations, took it upon themselves to take a more aggressive position in Africa.

This will trigger what will be known as the Moroccan Crises, an escalation which will push Europe even closer to war.

Global Empires and Alliances

Nationalism

The 1st rate powers were in a struggle for European (and global) supremacy.

Each nation had a motivation behind provoking a European War and through honor, interest, or fear wound up starting one.

The struggle between old, decaying states and young, rising powers will also prove to be a vital aspect surrounding the outbreak of World War I.

Serbian nationalism and independence, hard won during the Balkan Wars, was severely challenged by the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires.

The Black Hand, the Serbian nationalist group, began planning the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand when he planned on visiting Sarajevo in June 1914.

FRANZ FERDINAND AND SOPHIE, SARAJEVO, 1914