The First World War is one of the most important event in human history not only because it results in so many deaths and such widespread destruction but because it highlights a certain flaw in human nature and the nature of civilization that has plagued mankind for 4000 years. Up until the start of the -called "Great War", humanity is doomed to remain in a cycle of war and destruction. It is the first world war, its futility and prevent-ability that forever changed human's perspective to conflicts and civilization.

1. AS Level
1780 - 1917
HISTORY 04

2. The beginning of it
THE FIRST WORLD
WAR

3. The Wrong Turn to the 1st World War
• June 1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro
Hungarian throne visited Sarajevo Bosnia
• Ant-Austrian agitation was high in the area, and it was time of
trouble in the Balkan – even the police and authority felt the visit
was not appropriate
• Sarajevo was a hot spot for extreme Serbs activity – fueled by
nationalism ideals – a Serbian extremist Gavrilo Princip assassinated
the Archduke and his wife.
• This was the first shot of World War 1

4. The Alliance System
• The alliance system was one of the main causes of the First World
War
• Certain countries would only go to war if reassured that they would
be supported
• It dragged other nations into a war that would’ve been between 2

5. Germany
• Ruled by a monarchy – Kaiser Wilhelm 2nd
• Had a Reichstag – constantly influenced by public opinion
• Was under the command of Otto Von Bismarck – an important
figure in Europe – later dismissed 1890
• Enemy of France – tried to isolate them
• Fear being encircled by France and Russia

6. Britain
• Constitutional Monarchy – the king had limited power – country
governed by the parliament
• More involved with the oversea empire
• Distrusted France
• Had issues with Russia over the Mediterranean
• The Suez Canal to India

7. France
• Governed as a republic
• Lost the Franco Prussian
• Recovering economy
• Wanted revenge against Germany
• Internal problems
• Distrusted Austro-Hungary
• Distrusted Britain

8. Austria-Hungary
• Governed by a Monarchy
• Regarded Prussia as an ally – the merciful peace settlement after
the Austro-Prussian war
• Had interest in the Balkan – came into conflict with Russia

9. Russia
• Absolute Monarchy – unlimited power
• Tsar Nicholas the 2nd
• Maintained good relationship with Germany
• Faced Austria-Hungary in Balkan
• Fought a war with Japan – Russo Japanese war – was defeated
• Had issues with Britain over India/ Suez Canal

10. Turkey
• AKA. The Ottoman Empire
• AKA. The Sick man of Europe
• An Absolute Monarchy
• An empire that was declining in influence by 1900
• Many regions were breaking away – most notably the Balkan

11. Germany’s Rise to the Superpowers
• Fully unified – 1871
• Had a thriving economy
• Large population
• An army that won 3 wars – The War
with Denmark, Austro-Prussian war,
Franco-Prussian War
• For many, Bismarck was the center
of all this
• Eg. Stolen Alsace Lorraine from
France for its economical value
• Forced France to pay a lot of
reparation
• Note how this came into play in the
Treaty of Versailles

12. Isolation of France
• Bismarck knew that he had to isolate France to prevent revenge
• Britain wasn’t a likely partner due to the ongoing Naval race
• The Only 2 possible partners:
• AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
• RUSSIA

13. The Three Emperor’s league - 1873
• Dreikaiserbund
• Working to an agreement between:
• Franz Joseph I and Tsar Nicholas II
• Tried to reduce problems with Balkan
• The 2 nations had long-standing disputes
• This eventually caused them to break apart by 1879

14. The Dual Alliance - 1879
• Bismarck decided to form an alliance with Austria
• They will help each other in the event of a Russian attack
• Would remain neutral if attacked by a different country
• This alliance was kept secret

15. The Triple Alliance (1882)
• Germany and Austria Hungary included Italy into the gang
• This was effectively the formation of the first gang in the war
• Italy would help if the other 2 countries were attacked by a
superpower
• This could guarantee national security for Italy
• They were also unhappy that France took Tunisia
• The other 2 countries didn’t see Italy as an important
• Bismarck: this was a useful tool to isolate France’
• Italy: No action against Britain, no guarantee to help Austria
Hungary

16. The Reinsurance Treaty - 1887
• Germany wouldn’t be able to isolate France without Russia in the
mix
• The nation could still be encircled by France and Russia
• There was no guarantee of good help – both Austria and Italy did
not boast strong armies
• Therefore – the Reinsurance treaty in 1887
• They would remain neutral if attacked by France or Austria
• Germany would concentrate on the west while Russia could work
on Balkan – preventing confrontation

17. The Changing Atmosphere
• All these secret treaties, although the terms were not shared still
gave rise to suspicion between nations
• Bismarck was the one smart enough to hold the threads together
• This changed when Kaiser Wilhelm II took the throne
• He hated Russia and was envious of Bismarck’s achievement
• He forced Bismarck to resign and decided not to renew the
Reinsurance treaty
• To many countries, this was a sure sign that a storm of war was on
the rise

18. The Franco- Russian Alliance 1894
• When Germany did not renew the Reinsurance treaty – Russia felt
threatened
• While this was the case, France and Russia had had an improving
relationship
• France provided Russia with cheap loan for rail construction
• They saw what was going on with the Triple Alliance
• Decided to make a defensive alliance of their own
• Stated that they would help each other if attacked

19. The Splendid Isolation
• Britain had their focus mostly on oversea empire
• Did not commit to any formal alliance at the end of the 19th century
• Did try to resolve African conflicts with Germany e.g. The Boer War
• Britain tried to make friends with Germany
• These do not end well as Wilhelm II insist on expansionism

20. Britain’s growing involvement
• Seeing how conflicts with European power was inevitable – Britain
started making treaties
• Treaty with Japan – 1902
• Offered protection for British colony in Asia – mostly against Russia
• But who else would this superpower side with?

21. Germany?
• Both were monarchy
• Wilhelm II was queen Victoria’s grandson
• Prince Albert was German
• Germany would be a great trading partner
• German philosophers/ scientists highly regarded in britain

22. Probably not France…
• An unstable republic
• The Napoleonic war wasn’t too far behind
• Both countries had been through many war against each other
• France was proven to be a weak military force – the Franco-Prussian
war
• France was close with Russia – who conflicted with Britain over
India/ China
• Russia had an underdeveloped economy, a weak military
• France had ambitions with colonies

23. Strangely enough… Entente Cordiale - 1904
• Britain sided with France and Russia
• Mainly due to Germany’s relentless naval expansion threatening
Britain
• From this treaty France got: Morocco and military protection
• Britain got: Support against Germany and Egypt
• The international atmosphere shifted
• The sides have been chosen

24. The Anglo Russian Alliance Entente - 1907
• Started becoming more fearful of Germany
• Saw Triple Alliance as a threat
• Concerned that Austria/ Germany were going to take over the
Balkan region – this could take over the Dardanelles – a trade route
that accounted for 40% of Russian export
• Knew itself to be economically underdeveloped
• Large but weak army
• Defeated in the Russo Japanese War
• Anglo Russian Entente was finally formed as Britain gre less fearful
of Russia

25. Increasing Armaments in Germany
• For the German – military was important
• Frederick the great used military to expand Prussia in the 18th
Century
• Unification was achieved through 3 wars – which were won through
the strength of the military
• Army generals were respected
• Had to go through academies – no buying positions
• By 20th Century – the army was very well financed and highly
trained

26. Increasing Armaments in Germany
• The budget increased from 50 million to 90 million
• The size of the army increased
• However – many thought their allies were weak

27. France attempts to follow up
• France was very fearful of Germany
• The memory of the 1871 war was still fresh
• They decided to extend conscription to the colonies
• Increase the the terms of service for soldiers to 3 years in 1913
• This concerned Germany as Britain was already very strong and
would be a match for them but neither Austria nor Italy would be
good enough up against France
• Russia may have had a weak military but it had a LARGE military
• In the war of attrition, they stood a chance to win
• From the Napoleonic invasion of Russia – It was proven that Russia
was impenetrable

28. Russia Attempts to follow up
• After the Russo Japanese War,
Russia knew its situation
• They had to expand and modernize
its military force
• Russia could do this quick – because
of the large population – help as
soldiers and technicians
• Most of the officers were noblemen
– poorly trained
• Wanted no change to the army
• Russia tried to improve transport
system
• Modernize its weaponries

29. Austria Hungary
• Once was a powerful military force – now in a decline
• Was too slow to mechanize or modernize
• Traditions of fighting was old-fashioned
• Recruitment of generals were corrupted
• Defeated by Prussia and Italy when they tried to unify
• They might be able to win smaller Balkan countries but not the
super powers of Europe

30. Britain
• Had a large navy
• Its army was small
• No system of conscription or compulsory service
• Britain only had enough to deal with oversea countries in Africa
• In the case of the Boer War – victory took very long to achieve

31. The Naval Race
• Began in 1906: Britain launched the Dreadnought Battleships (larger
faster and better armed than anything else)
• Germany responded to this by trying to improve their navy
• Germany claimed this was to protect its empire
• Britain claimed that Germany’s colonies were not of enough
number to need such a large protection
• The peaceful atmosphere of Europe began to shake

32. The Naval Race
• Britain built a naval base on the east coast of Scotland
• This was designed very obviously to defend from Germany
• Both countries tried to negotiate to limit the size – this failed
• The people from both countries were supportive of the program
• By 1914, Britain still had a larger navy (29 dreadnoughts) but had to
cover the entire world for its colony
• Germany had 17, but could concentrate protection on domestic
ports
• They had warships at points in the North Sea where they could
intercept attacks from British ships
• HOWEVER, the British knew exactly what it was doing – protect the
country – Germany’s navy did not

33. Expansionism and Imperialism
• By 19th Century, rivalries extended out of Europe
• Nations were going out to get lands in Africa and Asia
• Concessions: Area that involved trading rights between different
countries
• By 1914, the only two African countries retaining sovereignty was
Ethiopia and Liberia

34. Why imperialism
• Britain: Looking to expand itself to the far east – already had the
largest empire ever – also wanted more of Africa
• France: Trying to retain its Great Power name after the defeat in the
Franco Prussia – through gaining colonies and expanding itself
• Germany: Weltpolitik (World Policy) – Kaiser Wilhelm II tried to go
against Bismarck's attempt to concentrate in Europe – would find
new markets/ raw materials in Africa – could really improve itself –
wanted A Place in The Sun like Britain
• Italy: Wanted a place among the great powers – economy needed
improvement – tried to annex Abyssinia in 1896 and failed
• Russia: Was split between expand toward Persia/ Afghanistan – but
would lose turkey – wanted to go far east but could lose China

35. Rising tensions
• These ambitions brought them into conflicts
• Britain and France claimed rights for Egypt/ Sudan
• In 1898 – soldiers came head to head at Fashoda near the source of
River Nile
• A compromise was reached – preventing all out war
• This peaceful end showed that these 2 nations could get along –
hence the Entente Cordiale in 1904
• The Second Boer War

36. The Moroccan Crisis
• The most serious of crises took place in Morocco North Africa
• Morocco was independent
• Britain and France had rival trade interest
• France claimed that the border was not clear and close to France Algeria –
France claimed the region
• 1905 Kaiser Wilhelm declared independent Morocco – to break France and
Britain and to improve Germany’s position
• This backfired – France and Britain saw it as a challenge
• 1906 – the crisis was defused – France recognized as the controlling power
• 1908 – Second Moroccan crisis – resolved quick
• 1911 – third crisis when a German gunboat was sent into the Moroccan port –
undermining France’s power
• Britain saw this as a dangerous use of German navy
• Many were prepared to go to was
• The Kaiser backed down
• As a result – a diplomatic defeat for Germany and friendship between France
and Britain

37. Instability in the Balkan
• The Turkish empire had been declining since the 17th Century
• It was spared from the superpowers because they couldn’t decide
how to divide it
• Turkey lost a lot by the end of the 19th Century
• Emerged the new Balkan states: Montenegro, Serbia and Bulgaria
• They started turning against each other

38. Nationalism in the Balkan region
• Turkey’s control over the region was weak
• There were different in race and culture combined with them
wanting to break out and apart
• A power vacuum as Turkey lost control
• Russia and Austria wanted a piece of that

39. Why would Austria want it?
• Austria had just lost Germany and Italy
• It now needed to prove itself a superpower
• The growth of nationalism and separationist could spill over into
the Austro-Hungarian empire
• The empire was made up of many different cultures – vulnerable to
nationalism

40. Why would Russia want it?
• They just lost the Crimean war AND the Russo Japanese War (1905)
• Failed to extend influence into the Mediterranean – opposition
from Britain
• Failed to extend to far east – again, Britain
• However, it had links culturally with the Slavic Serbian
• There were voices crying for Austria to be the lead Slavic state

41. The first Balkan Crisis
• 1908, 1909
• Austria annexed Bosnia
• Serbia and its Ally Russia were not happy
• Germany backed Austria – was very happy to invade Serbia to show
for it
• Russia and Serbia backed down
• Germany took this as a sign that Russia was too weak to start

42. The Balkan League
• 1912 – the Balkan league rose against Turkey
• The Great powers held conference in London to resolve the issues
• The Serbia made some gains
• They were convinced that Austria was a declining power (which it
was)
• Persuading the other Serbs to start rising up

43. The Assassination
• When the assassination happened – most European power did not
see it as a possible cause for a war
• Thought that this might resolve diplomatically like usual
• They were wrong

44. The Ultimatum
• Austrian saw the assassination as a chance to take down
nationalism in the Balkan
• They sent Serbia a list of demand that they mist publically accept
• Accused Serbia of orchestrating the assassination
• The murderers were to be prosecuted
• All anti imperialism activity to be eradicated
• All anti imperialism propaganda to be banned
• Austria could send in army to inspect
• 23 July: This must be returned in 48 hours
• Serbian was okay for the most part – only they would not accept
involvement with the murder and thought the situation should be
settled by others – The Hague Tribunals or the conference with the
Great Powers

45. The subsequent intervention
• Russia immediately intervened
• Mobilizing its army on the 29th of July to pressure Austria
• Germany encouraged Austria to go on
• It mobilized the army on the 30th July in response to Russia
• France, being a friend of Russia and a grave enemy of Germany,
mobilized on the 1st of August
• Britain still remained neutral

46. Britain Vs. Germany
• Despite the naval race, the diplomatic relation between Britain and
Germany wasn’t too grave by 1914
• Britain still preferred splendid isolation
• Most politicians did not see the point of going to war
• They called for negotiations without favoring either side
• Germany was already letting go of its unsuccessful oversea empire
construction – no direct conflict with Britain here

47. Britain Vs. Germany
• Germany and Britain still had close business relationship
• They were not comfortable with the entente cordiale or the Anglo-
Russian entente – the entente did not state anything about going to
war
• Britain did not care very much about the Balkan region
• To Germany, Britain was still not a major problem

48. The Schlieffen Plan and the Invasion of Germany
• Germany did not want a 2 front war
• The Schlieffen plan was devised in that Germany would attack
France quickly through Belgium (because the direct front of France
would take too long to go through)
• Then as Russia took its time to mobilize (being a big country and
all), Germany would assemble enough army on the eastern front to
win
• Belgium was weak but politically neutral and protected by the
treaties of 1839
• The Assumption made: It would take long for Russia to mobilize,
France could be defeated in 6 weeks, Belgium was too weak to
fight back, Britain would not go to war over Belgium

49. The Invasion of Belgium caused Britain to enter
the war
• It was a matter of honor to
protect the smaller Belgium
• Geographical importance
• Britain’s priority was the
oversea empire
• Safeguard itself from oversea
invasion
• The situation of Belgium meant
it would make a great naval
base for Germany
• Germany also found that
France was more powerful
than it imagined – the war
actually dragged on

50. Count Leopold Berchtold
• The Austrian foreign minister from 1912 – 15
• Against Serbian nationalism
• Supported the ultimatum
• Would’ve loved to skip the step and invade immediately

51. Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
• Chancellor of Germany from 1909 -17
• Had to deal with right wing extremists
• Liberal domestic group
• Militaristic groups
• Kaiser stupid expansionistic personality
• He did support the 1914’s war but did not want nor expect it to be a
long one

52. Sir Edward grey
• British foreign minister from 1905 – 1916
• Supported the Entente Cordial
• Was fearful of Germany’s military
• Thought that if they had better navy, Britain would be doomed
• Supported the war when Germany declared against Russia

53. Nikola Pasic
• Prime minister of Serbia from 1912 to 1918
• Had to deal with nationalism
• Had to deal with Austria Hungary’s reaction
• Was blamed by Austria for the assassination
• Tried to make peace by capturing the men involved
• Lost control eventually

54. Raymond Poincare
• President of France – 1912 to 1920
• Anti German
• Pro Russian
• Tried to pursue good relation with Britain
• Wanted to turn Entente Cordiale to a firm alliance

55. Sergei Sazonov
• Russian foreign minister from 1910 to 1916
• Opposed Austro Hungarian influence in the Balkans
• Many believed he was too moderate
• Wanted him to assert more Russian influence

56. The Declaration of War – The How
• Austria declared against Serbia
• Russia mobilized its army
• Germany mobilized
• France mobilized
• Germany declared against Russia and France and Belgium
• Britain declared against Germany
• 6 weeks – all Europe was involved including the British colony

57. The Declaration of War – Why now and and not
then
• Austria Hungary was determined to destroy Serbian nationalism
• They thought it would be a swift victory with Germany's help
• Urgent action was meant to show power
• Serbia was encouraged by its success in the third crisis – believed
that Austria was declining in power
• Germany knew Austria was its only reliable ally – while Britain had
France and a potentially dangerous Russia
• Russia’s friendship with Serbia was a major cause – brought France
in and hence brought Germany in – causing it to fight 2 frontal wars
• Hence the involvement of Belgium
• Russia also wanted to stand against Austria – since it had been
defeated multiple times – gave them same ambition as Serbia
• France had to stand because Russia was its one ally
• Britain had to join because of Belgium (Belgium and Holland were
two possible places to launch an invasion of England)

58. THE FEAR
• Austria feared losing its position in the great powers – if Serbia was
not punished
• Britain feared the growth of German navy and the subsequent
invasion of Belgium
• France feared German ambition and wanted to recover from its
defeat and take back Alsace Lorraine
• Germany feared being encircled and was afraid of losing allies
• Russia wanted to be the big brother of the Balkan and felt it had
been too weak in the Balkan crisis