Family Feud: 3 Cousins of WWI - all grandsons of Queen Victoria of Great Britain King George V of Great Britain Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany Tsar Nicholas II of Russia Tsar Nicholas (left) and King George V (right) Odd Man Out: Kaiser Wilhelm CAUSES Arms buildup throughout Europe Personal vendettas: Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm against his cousins Britain's King George V and Russia’s Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Competition for Imperialism Germany vying for power Entangling Alliances Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary Assassination of Franz Ferdinand Control over Serbia Nicholas and George's friendship, too, was no match for the shoals of politics. When Nicholas abdicated in 1917, the provisional Russian government asked the British to give the tsar and his family political asylum. The British government initially said yes, but George – who had told Nicholas a few years before, "Remember, you can always count on me as your friend" – was convinced that if his now deeply unpopular cousin came to England, his own position would be threatened. It was the first time his friendship with Nicholas had been genuinely tested; he responded by lobbying energetically for the invitation to be withdrawn, and it was. Whether the imperial family could actually have been spirited out of Russia is unknown, but George's reaction was a negation of all the decades of protestations of family closeness. Nicholas and his family were murdered at Ekaterinburg 18 months later. 6 Alliances - 1917 Germany Austria-Hungary Turkey Bulgaria Russia France Great Britain United States Central Powers: Allies: Italy MOTIVES Germany: Believed that war with Russia was inevitable Argued it would be better to fight Russia while its army was still poorly armed and untrained, rather than to wait until it could pose a greater threat. England Germany built up a naval fleet, with the specific goal of matching Britain on the high seas. England saw this as a threat to the balance of power in Europe. MOTIVES, con’t France: Had lost the territories of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany Believed that if Germany were distracted by a war with Russia, France could regain these territories. Russia: Motives are less clear-cut Russian military leaders had strong nationalistic leanings & encouraged Tsar Nicholas II to join the war A time of great instability in Russia A military victory would likely help the tsar politically General Info Started on July 28, 1914 US entered war in April, 1917 Ended on November 11, 1918 Almost 8,000,000 dead. Almost 22,000,000 wounded 3 million US men drafted 2 million volunteered Cost US $32 million 1 million U.S. women entered work force Map of Europe greatly changed. Europe on the Eve of World War I, 1914 The Black Hand The main objective of the Black Hand was the creation of a Greater Serbia, by means of violence. spark tha ...