The Long Road to War1871-1914

Pair Commune• After its defeat in 1871 the

French reestablished the monarchy.

• March 26, 1871 Radicals in Paris formed an independent government.

• April The National Assembly sent in troops to besiege Paris.

• By May mass starvation led to the downfall of the Commune.

• 20,000 executions and 10,000 deportations to Devil’s Island

France• Disputes over who to

make king resulted in the passage of a temporary constitution.

• Senate and Chamber of Deputies created

• Constitution of 1875 lasted for 65 years.

• Third Republic

Germany Under Bismarck• Reichstag• Ministers reported

directly to the Kaiser.• Kaiser also controlled

the military, foreign policy, and internal administration.

• Army general staff answered only to the Kaiser.

Uniting Germany• Kulturkampf• 1873 Bismarck created

the Dreikaiser Bund between Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia.

• 1878 Unsuccessful attempt to crackdown on socialists.

• 1890 Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed Bismarck due to personal reasons.

Setting the Stage• By 1914 Germany had

become the largest military and industrial power in Europe.

• In 1890 Russia began industrialization, and became the 4th largest steel producer by 1900.

• 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War

• 1905 Czar Nicolas II created the Duma.

• By 1900 the United States became the richest and most industrially prosperous nation in the world.

Setting the Stage

• By the 1880’s European nations had began a race for colonial expansion into Africa.

• 1882 Britain took possession of the Suez Canal.

• Japan began to modernize its economy on the US model.

• Japan created a powerful military state as a result.

Road to War

• Kaiser Wilhelm II allowed the Dreikaiser Bund to lapse resulting in a Russian, French alliance.

• 1907 Russia, Britain, and France signed an alliance called the Triple Entente.

• Germany, Austria, and Italy signed the Triple Alliance soon after.

Balkan Crisis 1908-1913

• 1908 Bosnia and Herzegovina were annexed by Austria against Serbia’s wishes.

• Russia agreed to back the Serbs, who in turn began to prepare for war with Austria.

• Germany forced Russia to accept the annexation with a threat of war.

• 1912 Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro formed the Balkan League and won the First Balkan War against the Ottomans.

Second Balkan War of 1913

• Serbia, Greece, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire defeated Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War in 1913.

• London Conference Austria blocked an attempt by Serbia to gain an Adriatic Port.

• Austria began to view Serbia as the greatest threat in the Balkans and against Austria itself.

• France and Russia agreed not to back down in the next crisis.

Road to War

• 1905 First Moroccan Crisis• 1908 Daily Telegraph Controversy• 1911 Second Moroccan Crisis