Leading up to the Great War
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Transcript of Leading up to the Great War
Leading up to the Great War
The Balkans
Fierce rivalry between key players
Germany Italy Russia Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Britain France
Rivalries
Territorial claims Nationalism Imperialism Militarism & arms race Industrialization races Balance of Power Old, bitter disputes
Triple Alliance (Central Powers) Bismarck turns to Europe after unifying
Germany sees France as biggest “threat,” so tries to isolate it
Finds allies in Austria-Hungary and Italy = Triple Alliance
Russia also wooed by Germany, but not successfully
(Italy leaves when the war starts, citing alliance was for defensive purposes; Ottoman Empire added)
Triple Entente (Allied Powers) Wilhelm I dies, Wilhelm II is Kaiser kicks
out Bismarck Wilhelm is militaristic and greedy (without
the political savvy of Bismarck) = bad combo Britain & France united against common
enemy (Germany) to counter Balance of Power; convince Russia to join
1907 – Europe divided into two alliances
Crisis in the Balkans Balkans = Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia (was Yugoslavia until 1990s) + Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Turkey (kind of).
Very politically, religiously, and culturally diverse Used to be ruled by Ottoman Empire, which is
crumbling Now split between Ottomans and A-H Empires
series of wars between the two in 1800s Not as rich as rest of the empire and other parts of
Europe + feelings of being conquered = lots of nationalism
Congress of Berlin Seven big powers sit down to resolve geo-political mess that is
Balkans in 1878 Hosted by Bismarck in Berlin (no small countries invited) Goals:
Sort out Russo-Turkish war dBalance power via territory redistribution
Cripple Pan-Slavism (& Russia) Protect Christian Europeans in Ottoman Empire
Results: Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania given independence Macedonia goes to Ottomans Bosnia-Herzegovina goes to Austria Britain gets Cyprus Ottomans promise many reforms
Greater Serbia During Ottoman rule, people moved around
freely, so largest ethnic group, Serbia, scattered in all these new lands
Serbia 1.) believes it is their right to united lands into one
larger Serbia that can be major player in Europe 2.) don’t trust A-H to stop with B-H
Plays on young nationalism starting extremist, terrorist groups known as the Black HandPlan is to do something violent in A-H to get
Serbians there to revolt and join Serbia
The Great War starts After failing to assassinate other royals, Black Hand settle on Franz
Ferdinand Series of errors lead to Archduke Franz Ferdinand & wife Sofie killed June
28, 1914 Ferdinand is heir to A-H emperor Franz Josef Gavrilo Princip, 19, (member of Black Hand) assassinates him Austria makes ridiculous ultimatum to Serbia Serbia rejects them; Russia promises to protect Slavic brothers Serbia Germany tells them both to chill Austria asks Germany for “blank check” Kaiser is on vacation,
Germany says “yes” (without thinking) Austria attacks, Russia backs Serbia, France backs Russia (Triple
Entente), Germany backs Austria Ottomans jump in to get even with Russia Germany has plan for invasion called Schlieffen Plan (France then
Russia) Britain is cautious but promises to protect Belgium (royal families friends) Germany invades France around Maginot Line via Belgium Britain declares war on Germany
East-West vs. Central
Ottoman’s join Triple Alliance to get even with Russia from Russo-Turk War
Two teams:Britain (Belgium), France, Russia (Serbia) =
Triple EntenteGermany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
= Triple Alliance