Blame Germany For The Outbreak Of World War I Essay, Research Paper
To what extent
is it reasonable to blame Germany for the outbreak of World War I. ??????????? Germany?s
invasion of France via Belgium was the initial act of war that brought about
the commencement of war.? However, is it
fair to say that it was Germany and Germany alone who acted to bring about this
first step?? I would argue that a series
of events led to the German invasion of Belgium, but to what extent could
Germany be blamed for this series of events? ??????????? Germany was
a new power in Europe; the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in
January 1871 was the result of the brilliant diplomacy of Otto von Bismarck who
by skilful use of war, and his excellent methods of convincing others of his
good intentions created the new empire.?
However, the emergence of the German empire had upset the balance of
Central Europe maintained for centuries by the Holy Roman Empire and
temporarily sustained by the German Confederation.? Many people believe that the invoking of hatred within France by
the creation of this new empire and the mistrust of the other surrounding
empires over Prussian expansionist tendencies led inevitably to a European
war.? The fact that war was averted for
nearly forty years was due to Bismarck?s brilliant diplomacy.? He managed to convince the other European
powers that Prussia?s only ambition was to consolidate its gains and not to
expand further.? He also made a series
of complex treaties with Russia, Austria and Italy.? The basic outcome of this web of agreements was that Germany had
a neutrality pact with Russia in the event of an Austro-Russian war, whilst
promising support to Austria and Italy in the event of a war with another
country.? These treaties succeeded in
isolating France a kept the peace for a considerable time, in this way what
Bismarck achieved was momentous.?
Whether, had Bismarck continued as German Chancellor after 1890 on the
accession of Wilhelm II, war may have been averted we will never know.? It is unlikely that Bismarck?s delay could
have been sustained indefinitely even had Bismarck remained as Chancellor.
However, war, if inevitable, would have come about in a different way under
Bismarck as he would have never allowed the alliance system of 1914 exist had
he been in power. ??????????? Caprivi?s
legacy was not perhaps as rosy as his predecessor had intended.? Despite France?s still being isolated and
treaties still existing between Germany and Russia, Italy and Austria, the
situation was more complex.? Problems
had existed between Austria and Russia for many years over an area known as the
Balkans.? The Ottoman Empire was in a
state of disintegration with both Austria and Russia vying for a greater
influence in the area.? Both powers held
a right to do so as Russia, predominantly a Slav country, felt that they should
have an influence with their fellow Slavs.?
However, Austria felt that if she did not have an influence in the area,
Russia?s policy would lead to a surge of Slav nationalist spirit with the
inevitable result that Austria?s Slavic peoples would rise up and overthrow
Habsburg rule.? Austria was a declining
power by this time and had regions of the empire begun to break away, it was
likely that a Slav nationalist uprising would result in the overthrow of the
system and an end to Habsburg rule.? For
these reasons, Russia and Austria clashed frequently over the issue of the
Balkans and indeed it was from this area that the spark for the First World War
would come. ??????????? The most
important of the Balkan crises came in 1878.?
In 1876-77, full-scale Bulgarian uprising led to a confrontation between
Turkey (The Ottoman empire) and Russia that led to a war from 1877-1878 over
the future of Bulgaria resulted in a defeat for the Turks.? The Russians then forced the Turks to sign
the Treaty of San Stefano.? This treaty
contained harsh terms that were felt by Britain and Austria-Hungary to give
Russia too much power in the Balkans area.?
Bismarck, unwilling to upset either Austria or Russia decided to play
the ?honest broker? in the conference of Berlin in 1878.? The result was that Russia was unhappy about
the settlement over Bulgaria, as it appeared to them that the Germans,
represented by Bismarck had sided with Austria.? Even Bismarck?s diplomacy had floundered over the difficult and
complex situation in the Balkans. The result was a distinct cooling of
relations between Russia and Germany, resulting in the effectual invalidation
of the Reinsurance Treaty between the two powers that insured the neutrality of
Russia in the event of a war with France.?
??????????? When the
Reinsurance Treaty was brought up in 1890, it could have been renewed through
clever diplomacy, had Germany sought reconciliation with Russia.? However, no such reconciliation was sought
and the Treaty that effectively stopped European war through ensuring that
France remained isolated was allowed to lapse.?
However, not only had this agreement been damaged by Bismarck?s handling
of the San Stefano treaty, but it had been further damaged by Wilhelm II who
seemed increasingly in favour of Germany forging closer links with Austria and
Italy and pursuing a more expansionist policy.?
The result was that Russia felt isolated and sought a treaty with
France.? It is perhaps surprising that
no treaty of this kind was forged previously. However, Russia and France had
had many differences in the past due to France?s revolutionary progressive
history; in contrast Russia still maintained its autocratic Tsarist
system.? However, bordered by
potentially hostile powers each needed an ally in the event of war.? France was showed immediate interest in this
agreement as it resulted in not only an ally, but also a means through which to
get even with Germany. France and Germany had become
enemies through a series of wars during the 19th century.? During the Napoleonic wars, Napoleon had not
only beaten Prussia on several occasions, but Prussia had been humiliated.? The result of this humiliation was that
Prussia sought to get even, and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 resulted in
not only a humiliating defeat for France, but also the unification of Germany.? France had been looking for revenge ever
since, and the prospect of an alliance against Germany appealed to the
nationalist feelings within France. The later Entente Cordiale
between Britain and France in 1904 and the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907 effectively
ensured that Europe was split by two opposing alliances, the Triple Alliance
(Germany, Austria and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France and
Russia.) These alliances were the key that made European war possible, however,
even at this stage; war was far from inevitable and could have been avoided. ??????????? The trigger
factor was the successful assassination attempt by a Serbian terrorist
organisation, ?The Black Hand? on the life of the Austrian heir to the Habsburg
throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.? This
event took place in Sarajevo on Sunday 18th June 1914. It was
originally a state visit by the Archduke to the capital whilst Austrian troops
carried out manovres close to the Serbia border through fear of a Slav attack
on newly taken Bosnia, due to the revised San Stefano Treaty.? It was the wedding anniversary of the
Archduke and his wife Sophie, and they celebrated by driving through the
streets of Sarajevo in an open top car enjoying the warm weather. The bungled
attempts by the ?Black Hand? gang, a group of amateur assassins were initially
unsuccessful as a hand grenade thrown at the car missed the intended target
injuring some twenty onlookers.? The
officials in charge of the visit decided to change the route, however, a wrong
turn was made by the first car and as the Archduke?s driver tried in vain to
reverse, a second assassin, Princip, fired several shots at point blank range
killing the Archduke and Sophie. ??????????? This event
seems to be relatively insignificant, except that the Austrians took the event
as a deep affront on their national pride.?
They felt that in an age where an insult could not be left unavenged
somebody must be to blame. It had been Archduke Franz Ferdinand who had time
and again prevented war as a cool headed general; it seems ironic that his
death caused the very thing he had been trying to avoid.?? The ?Black Hand? were certainly a Serbian
terrorist organisation, whether the Serb government had any knowledge of their
actions is unsure, but what is for sure is that Austria blamed Serbia for the
attack.? However, if Austria was to
commence an attack on Serbia, it was almost inevitable that Russia would get
involved.? For this reason Austria
refused to act without the prior promise of support from Germany. On July 5th,
one week after the assassination, Austria sent an envoy to Germany requesting
permission for a response.? It was at
this point that war could have been avoided. Had the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II,
refused the Austrian request for support, it is probable that war would have
been avoided.? So why did the German
Kaiser give the Austrians a ?blank cheque? and promise unconditional support to
Austria?? It is in this action that
Germany?s responsibility lies, were they planning war, or did they not expect
Austria to actually go to war over the event? ??????????? Kaiser
Wilhelm II was brought up in a liberal family, but a withered arm and having
liberalism spoon fed into him from an early age caused him to blame his mother
for his withered arm and rebel against her liberal ideas.? The result is that we see Germany turning
away from liberal ideas during his reign.?
He became obsessed with the military and surrounded himself with
military advisors, indeed he only saw his Chancellor once weekly, though the
Chief of the Military cabinet met with the Kaiser three times weekly.? This led to policies such as naval
expansion, which invoked the ill will of Britain. In December 1912, the Germans
held a war council at Potsdam; the real question is were the Germans planning
European war even in 1912 or were they simply preparing for the possibility
that European war might occur? It seems to me that the conference did not set a
date for war, but simply discussed what Germany should do should the situation
arise.? However, the war conference
shows that Germany was not reluctant to enter into a war, and the Kaiser and
his advisors, yearning for expansion of the Empire saw the potential benefits
of such a war. ??????????? The ?Blank
Cheque? given by Germany to Austria led to war. Is it possible that Austria?s
intentions for war with Germany?s backing could have been mistaken?? However, this was an extremely difficult and
precarious position for the Germans.? If
they refused to support Austria, they would be accused of leaving Austria in
the lurch, and Austria might turn to the open arms of the Triple Entente,
however, if Austria were encouraged to pursue a course of action, Germany could
have been accused of pushing Europe towards war.? The result was the non-committal, but essentially vital ?Blank
Cheque.? The Austrians wanted revenge, and
German backing allowed them to commence a war with Serbia.? It was the ultimatum intentionally
containing completely unacceptable terms that Austria offered Serbia that
enabled war to commence. On 26th July 1914, Austria declared war on
Serbia despite Serbia?s acceptance of all bar one of the conditions on the
ultimatum. ??????????? Even at
this stage war could have been averted, but in fact mismanagement of the crisis
led to war.? It was predictable that
Russia, supported by France, would get involved; however, Russia initially did
not intend to engage Germany.? Russia
had two schemes for mobilisation, part mobilisation or full mobilisation, the
two were not interchangeable, once part mobilisation was ordered, because of
the rolling stock required etc. troops could end up stranded miles from the
front being rendered utterly useless, the result was that troops were fully
mobilise and placed along the entire front. ??????????? This again
was not an act of war towards Germany, but simply a threat of war, however, Russia?s
full mobilisation allowed Germany to blame the first move on Russia.? Despite the entreaties of Tsar Nicholas II,
Germany?s entire plan hinged upon a Blitzkrieg to wipe out France
followed by a concentration of forces on the Eastern Front.? For centuries, due to geographical position,
Germany had been petrified of a war on two fronts, Bismarck was obsessed by the
possibility and hence the Reinsurance treaty with Russia.? This had caused Germany to draw up a plan
known as the Schlieffen plan, which basically involved an attack on France
through Belgium, encircling Paris and thereby disabling France, causing her to
seek peace, hence allowing Germany to concentrate on Russia. The plan assumed
that it would take months for the Russian war machine to get moving, giving
Germany enough time to achieve victory against France. The result of this plan
was that as soon as Germany declared was on Russia, the trains went west,
through Belgium to attack France. ??????????? So, to what
extent was Germany responsible for the war of 1914? If one considers that the
Alliance system rendered war inevitable, then it can be said that Germany was
entirely to blame. It was Germany?s Triple Alliance with Austria and Italy that
began the system of Alliances under Bismarck. Germany can also be held
responsible for the lapse of the Reinsurance treaty with the result of a
Franco-Russian alliance followed closely by a Triple Entente between Russia,
Britain and France. Therefore, the defensive alliances, which were certainly
conducive to a hostile atmosphere, could certainly be blamed no Germany and
indeed these were vital in the eventual European war.? However, these alliances cannot be entirely blamed for the war. ??????????? The war
came about because of the mismanagement of a crisis.? In itself, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand should
not have led to war.? However, it was
the spark that lit the fuse in an atmosphere of hostility.? The communications breakdown between the two
?camps?, led in many ways to the commencement of war.? Again Germany played a role in the mismanagement of the Balkans
crisis, although in this case I think that a large part of the blame can be
laid on Austria.? If Austria had not
decided that the most appropriate form of revenge was war, then perhaps a full
scale European war could have been averted.?
It was the unacceptable ultimatum, and consequent declaration of war on
Serbia that led to the involvement of Russia and therefore a fight between the
alliances.? In this way we can blame the
fact that Austria was in the process of disintegration, and felt that it was
vital to her survival that a war was fought to prove her major power
status.? However, Germany cannot be
exemplified from blame, it was the promise of unconditional support that
allowed Austria to act.? It is difficult
to comprehend why Germany did this, but it is reasonable to assume that either
Germany wanted war or that she trusted Austria not to go to war.? Either way it is reasonable to say that as a
consequence of Germany?s non-committal ?Blank Cheque?, Austria was able to go
to war with the full support of its powerful ally. The lack of communication was
again seen in the almost accidental outbreak of war.? Russia?s full mobilisation caused Germany to feel threatened, and
as their plan relied upon surprise attack on France before turning east to
concentrate on Russia, war was brought about.?
However, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to mobilise fully right across the
front because of the practicalities of mobilising the huge Russian army, had
communication between Russia and Germany been better, perhaps the crisis could
have been controlled by an explanation of actions on Russians part, as both
Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II seemed intent on averting war. In conclusion, Germany can
certainly be blamed for causing the hostile atmosphere that had developed by
1914 due to the alliance system, and also for giving Austria unconditional
support in the Balkans crisis.? However,
to simply blame Germany for the outbreak of war would be not to consider all
the facts.? Austria?s loss of status,
and subsequent wish to restore itself as a great power through war led to a